Small Staff, Big Personalities – Managing Conflict in a Small Library

Marc Ross, Head, Hanley and Haskell Libraries, University of Pittsburgh Bradford and Titusville, PA (FTE: 1,300)

Small libraries often have small staffs. There are many positives to having a small staff–everyone knows each other, they work closely on projects together, and they work in close contact. All of these positives can be turned into negatives when a personality conflict arises. The conflicts in a small library get magnified, and unless they are addressed quickly, they have the potential to spiral out of control and move the library away from its central mission. This lightning talk will examine a personality conflict at a small regional academic library and the steps taken to address the conflict using cultural awareness, asset based strengths, library programming, and coaching/mentoring.

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