Caltech Library News

California Library Association Conference: Report from the Field by Benjamin Maggio

Photo Credit: Rob Quigley

The 2024 California Library Association Conference took place at the Pasadena Convention Center on October 17-19, and several Caltech Library staff members attended. Benjamin Maggio, who supports Document Delivery and Interlibrary Loan requests in the department of Access & Collection Services, reports from the field.

The California Library Association tackled the theme of mental health in the workplace at the annual conference in October. Titled “Balancing Act: Shelf Care & Self Care,” the three-day conference offered numerous lectures under a united theme of libraries as a safe environment for patrons and staff with mental health concerns.

Some librarians gave presentations on activities they had organized for their communities. During “Self Care is Fresh Air,” staff from San Mateo County Libraries described organizing outdoor summer activities for both kids and adults. This included nature walks in city and state parks, and watercolors in the library garden. In another talk, Camille Hyatt shared photos and videos from animal encounters and pet adoption events for kids at the San Diego Public Library.

Other lectures were for the direct benefit of the attendees. Some were geared toward offering career advice to librarians, including presenting at conferences or applying to jobs after finishing school. Still others, many themed around mindfulness, sought to help librarians by instructing them in practices for creating a psychologically safe workplace. Among these was a talk that acknowledged the inherent stress of working in library advocacy, and that included advice about mindfulness meant specifically for advocates. “Music, Intentionality, and Mental Health” concluded with presenter Scott Farthing asking the listeners to compile an individual “arsenal of songs” that makes each of them feel positive emotions. He recommended that listeners who live with anxiety use their personal playlist to counteract triggering situations.

During the Saturday talk “Mindset Matters,” Kathleen Farris encouraged librarians to utilize kindness and self-reflection in the workplace. Particularly effective in her presentation was a slide titled “Changing Mindsets,” which encouraged workers to replace self-defeating thoughts (“I will never find a path”) with more positive, reinforcing language (“What are my options?”). Some of these presentations did not necessarily use the word “mindfulness.” However, the conference overall repeatedly demonstrated that that theme was always on the periphery of what was being discussed.

By highlighting activities like music and being immersed in nature, and emphasizing themes like self-compassion, kindness, intentionality, and community, the presenters demonstrated the rewards that mindfulness can offer to library staff, students, and the public. For that reason alone, the conference was a very rewarding experience.