Karaoke Study Break was held the second to last week of our fall term. The last two weeks of term is often a time when students feel heightened stress, as exams, projects, research papers and deadlines loom on the horizon. Karaoke Study Break, an hour of turning our library Reading Room into a Karaoke party, was created as an outlet for stress relief.
As a librarian, you may face stressful or potentially harmful situations on the job. Maybe you’ve recently had a run-in with a patron asking you uncomfortable questions or had a program that was met with protests. What are the best ways to de-escalate these situations? Luckily, they are techniques you probably already have in your librarian toolbox.
How is everyone doing? Not to sound like the dozens of emails you’ve no doubt received from countless large corporations, but what an unprecedented time we are living in. (Are you tired of hearing that yet? Me too.) I’m willing to bet your education and training did not prepare you for this.
In early December, the University Library at Sonoma State (SSU) collaborated with the student-run SSU Tea Club to help students de-stress as they headed into the most stressful time of the semester.
Offered during Sonoma State's so-called "Dead Week," the week before finals, the Pop-Up Tea Library comforted library visitors with free steaming mugs of tea, Monday through Friday, from 6 to 9 p.m.
Sometimes, despite our best intentions, things fall apart. Or rather, it feels like we are falling apart, tearing at the seams. We scramble, gather the loose threads, look around desperately for someone to stitch us back together, but some life events are just too powerful. The emotions that come with these events bowl us over and yet we must carry on: children must be read to, timesheets must be submitted, reference questions must be answered, cameras flash and we smile and pretend everything is all right.
The holiday season can be a very stressful time for teens and their families. Some families may be facing financial issues, which can heighten teens' anxiety during the holiday shopping season. Other teens have divorced parents, which can mean complicated holiday plans.
