Person-Centered Management in Academic Libraries

Editors Cook (learning and user experience, UC San Diego; coauthor, Learner-Centered Pedagogy), Maoria J. Kirker (learning and teaching, George Mason Univ.), and Diann Smothers (founder, Conference on Academic Library Management) offer a guide to improving workplace conditions through person-centered management. In their introduction, the editors note that the concept of person-centered management was borrowed from the midcentury humanistic psychology movement. Both the therapeutic framework and the management practice are built around three pillars—congruence (being one’s authentic self), unconditional positive regard (being curious), and empathy (being open)—which the editors put into context with an eye toward management in academic libraries. The book’s six sections address learning to be a person-centered manager, applying the practice to improve processes such as interviewing and performance assessment, leveraging the concepts for better communication, applying the practice in the management of student employees, considering boundary setting through a person-centered lens, and centering self-care. These tenets and applications are clearly explained; the sections addressing processes and communication are particularly useful.