Reshaping Perspectives on Flexible Work: The Impact of COVID-19 on Academic Library Management

During COVID-19, academic library employees pivoted to predominantly remote work. Associate deans, associate university librarians, and equivalent managers at the top 50 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) institutions were interviewed about benefits, challenges, pre-pandemic norms, necessary conditions, and the future of flexible work arrangements (FWAs). The findings suggest that successful FWAs require adequate technology and effective managerial communication and depend on the types of positions and individuals involved. Most managers believe FWAs will increase in academic libraries in the future. FWAs provide benefits for both organizations and employees and will likely have a positive impact on library space, recruitment, and retention. At the same time, careful communication and compassionate leadership are needed for successful FWAs.

Copyright © 2021 Johns Hopkins University Press. This article first appeared in portal: Libraries and the Academy, Volume 21, Issue 4, October 2021, pages 695-713.

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Work Title Reshaping Perspectives on Flexible Work: The Impact of COVID-19 on Academic Library Management
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Mihoko Hosoi
  2. Lauren Reiter
  3. Diane Zabel
Keyword
  1. Flexible work
  2. Academic libraries
License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication Date October 2021
Subject
  1. Flexible work
  2. Academic libraries
Language
  1. English
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. doi:10.1353/pla.2021.0038
Geographic Area
  1. United States
Related URLs
Deposited September 27, 2021

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  • Added Creator LAUREN M REITER
  • Added Creator Diane Marion Zabel
  • Renamed Creator Lauren Reiter Show Changes
    • LAUREN M REITER
    • Lauren Reiter
  • Renamed Creator Diane Zabel Show Changes
    • Diane Marion Zabel
    • Diane Zabel
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    Related URLs
    • https://preprint.press.jhu.edu/portal/sites/ajm/files/hosoi.pdf
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    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
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    License
    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
  • Updated Creator Lauren Reiter
  • Updated License Show Changes
    License
    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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    Publisher Identifier (DOI)
    • doi:10.1353/pla.2021.0038
    Publisher's Statement
    • Copyright © 2021 Johns Hopkins University Press. This article first appeared in portal: Libraries and the Academy, Volume 21,
    • Issue 4, October 2021, pages 695-713.
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  • Updated Related URLs Show Changes
    Related URLs
    • https://preprint.press.jhu.edu/portal/sites/ajm/files/hosoi.pdf
    • https://preprint.press.jhu.edu/portal/sites/default/files/hosoi.pdf
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