Advances in Library Administration and Organization (ALAO)
Volume 46: Building and Sustaining Positive and Healthy Work Environments
Series Editor: David Ketchum, University of Oregon
Volume Co-Editor: Kim Duckett, North Carolina State University
Volume Co-Editor: Nancy Falciani-White, Randolph-Macon College
Positive and healthy work environments enhance job satisfaction and workplace engagement and play a significant role in the healthy functioning of library organizations. Higher levels of workplace satisfaction and engagement are also attributed to increased productivity, creativity, and performance, and by extension improved services and organizational culture. But how do we define, cultivate, and sustain positive and healthy work environments, particularly in libraries which can be under-resourced, unappreciated or devalued, or even toxic?
ALAO seeks chapter submissions for a volume entitled Building and Sustaining Positive and Healthy Work Environments. This volume will examine the opportunities, challenges, and successes of fostering and nurturing workplace environments that enhance job satisfaction, engagement, and success. Proposals that emphasize research-based projects will be prioritized and submissions in the following areas are of particular interest, as they relate to building and sustaining positive work environments:
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Strategic organizational change
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Enhancing physical workspace
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Service transformation
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Employee development and/or succession planning
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Successful leadership practices
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Flexible and hybrid work arrangements
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Fostering inclusivity
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Benefits and advocacy
ALAO publishes long-form research and content, theoretical and philosophical discussions, and in-depth accounts of practice related to library administration and organization. The series helps answer the questions, "How have libraries been managed and how could they be managed better?" Through this series, readers explore library-related challenges and solutions and glean new approaches to library administration and organization.
How to Submit
We are currently seeking proposals for the 2026 volume, Building and Sustaining Positive and Healthy Work Environments. If you are interested in contributing to this volume, please complete this form - including a brief author bio and chapter proposal - no later than April 1, 2025, https://forms.gle/MgAYY47R1GNAPD827. Chapters with multiple authors are welcome! Contact David Ketchum at dketchum@uoregon.edu if you have any questions.
Timeline
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Proposal deadline: 4/1/2025
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Notification of acceptance: 5/15/2025
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Submission deadline, full chapters: 8/15/2025
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Editorial response to authors: 10/1/2025
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Submission deadline, revised chapters: 11/15/2025
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Print publication: July 2026
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David Ketchum
Director, Access and Delivery Services
University of Oregon Libraries
He/Him/His
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