(via the volume editors)
The call for proposals is open for the upcoming ACRL Press publication Cultivating Personal Meaning: Reframing Success and Thriving in Academic Librarianship. The deadline is Monday, March 30.
In academic libraries, we frequently define student success and institutional success – yet we far less often examine what professional success means for librarians and library workers themselves. This edited collection reframes success not as a singular endpoint, but as contribution, meaning, sustainability, and impact shaped by real-world conditions.
The volume centers on three themes:
- Reconsidering Success in Academic Librarianship
- Professional Lives Across Roles and Career Paths
- Sustainability, Well-Being, and Collective Contexts
We welcome reflective essays, empirical studies, case studies, theoretical analyses, creative or hybrid formats, and contributions from across professional roles–including librarians, paraprofessionals, technologists, administrators, students, and collaborative partners.
We use the term “contributors” intentionally to emphasize that meaningful institutional impact is not limited by title, rank, degree status, or methodology. We welcome proposals from librarians, paraprofessionals (defined as library workers in positions that do not require an advanced degree), technologists, administrators, students, and collaborative partners at all career stages and across institutional contexts.
We recognize that professional success is not experienced uniformly. We especially encourage submissions that surface the experiences of non-degreed and paraprofessional library workers and others whose contributions are essential yet often undervalued. Chapters should move beyond description to demonstrate how professional work supports organizational health, equity, sustainability, and meaningful institutional change.
We especially encourage proposals that integrate equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) and that offer solution-based, adaptable insights.
Please via the full call for proposals here. Submit your proposal here.
Direct any questions to Russell Michalak, at michalr@gbc.edu.