A critical analysis of stress and burnout studies of librarians published over the last ten years The researchers fall into two camps those who want to investigate the prevalence of stress/ burnout and those who merely insist that it exists Unfortunately, the believers are more numerous than the empiricists No conclusive evidence regarding the existence of stress and burnout amongst librarians was discovered A brief review of the most popular stress remedies is given and, finally, tentative proposals are made as to the most appropriate direction for future research
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Coleman, V.Stress control. Maurice Temple Smith, 1978.
2.
Collins dictionary of the English language. William Collins, 1979.
3.
Selye, H.A.A syndrome produced by nocuous agents. Nature, 1936, 138, 32.
4.
Bunge, C.Stress in the library. Library Journal, 1987 , 112 (15), 47-51.
Birch, N., Marchant, M.P., and Smith, N.M.Perceived role conflict, role ambiguity, and reference librarian burnout in public libraries. Library and Information Science Research , 1986, 8, 53-65.
21.
Smith, N.M., Birch, N., and Marchant, M.P.Stress, distress, and burnout: a survey of public reference librarians. Public Libraries, Fall 1984, 82-5.
22.
Schwab, R.L., and Iwanicki, E.F.Perceived role conflict, role ambiguity, and teacher burnout. Educational Administration Quarterly, 1982, 18, 60-74.
23.
Handy, J.A.Theoretical and methodological problems within occupational stress and burnout research. Human Relations, 1988, 41 (5), 351-69.
24.
Meier, S.T.The construct validity of burnout. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 1984, 57, 211-19.
25.
Smith, N.M., and Nielsen, L.F.Burnout: a survey of corporate librarians. Special Libraries , 1984, 75 (3), 221-7.
26.
Nelson, V.C.Burnout: a reality for law librarians? Law Library Journal , 1987, 79 (2), 267-75.
27.
Newell, G., Stevenson, A., and Redgrove, E.Stress levels among university and college librarians. Australasian College Libraries, 1988, 6 (2/3), 51-8.
28.
Smith, N.M. , Bybee, H.C., and Raish, M.H.Burnout and the library admmistrator: carrier or cure? Journal of Library Administration, 1988, 9 (2), 13-21.
29.
Marshall, J.G.Stress, assertiveness, and library work . Bibliotheca Medica Canadiana, 1987, 9 (2), 89-92.
30.
Eaton, Janet (ed.). TV Times special selection: summer '89, 4th edn. TV Times, 1989, 96.
31.
Dumaine, B.Cool cures for burnout. Fortune , 20 June 1988, 58-62.
32.
Neville, S.H.Job stress and burnout: occupational hazards for services staff. College and Research Libraries, 1981, 42 (3), 242-7.
33.
Nauratil, M.J.Librarian burnout and alienation: causes and cures. Canadian Library Journal, 1987, 44 (6), 385-9.
