Core presents its President’s Program, “Seeking Clarity during Low-Morale Experiences: Actualizing Tools for Self-Preservation,” at ALA Annual

CHICAGO—Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures is honored to have Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, renowned author, scholar, facilitator, and co-host of the popular podcast series #FixMyLibrary as its President’s Program speaker at ALA Annual from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. CT on Saturday, June 26. Focusing on her research on morale in the workplace, Kendrick will discuss the impacts of repeated and long-term exposure to workplace abuse and/or neglect on employee emotional and physical health and career practice and outlook. Kendrick’s presentation will review low-morale research data, including data on how these experiences are being effected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and will offer attendees pathways to begin applying self-preservation tools immediately in their workplaces and personal lives.

A graduate of Clark Atlanta University School of Library and Information Studies and an alumna of Winthrop University, Kaetrena Davis Kendrick’s research interests include professionalism, ethics, racial and ethnic diversity in the LIS field, and the role of communities of practice in practical academic librarianship. She is co-editor of The Small and Rural Academic Library: Leveraging Resources and Overcoming Limitations (Chicago: ACRL 2016) and author of Kaleidoscopic Concern: An Annotated, Chronological Bibliography of Diversity, Recruitment, Retention, and Other Concerns Regarding African American and Ethnic Library Professionals and Global Evolution: An Annotated, Chronological Bibliography of International Students in U.S. Academic Libraries (ACRL 2009, 2007). Kendrick’s most recent work, “The Public Librarian Low-Morale Experience: A Qualitative Study”, received the 2020 Partnership Article Award from Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research. In 2019 Kendrick was named the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Academic/Research Librarian of the Year. 

In addition to the President’s Program, Core will hold live education programs as well as on-demand presentations available throughout the conference and interest group discussions and committee meetings. Core will also hold its first Core Board meeting at Annual from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. CT on Friday, June 25, followed by the Core Happy Hour, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. CT. Engage with Core and follow the conversation with #CoreAC21.

Core is a a division of the American Library Association that focuses on cultivating and amplifying the collective expertise of library workers in core functions through community building, advocacy and learning.