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Evaluation ViewAttendees 26

Professionalism + Leadership at Every Level

Management + Business Acumen

Changing Dynamics in the Workplace: Redefining What Is “Professional” in the Law Library

Tuesday, July 23, 2024
8:30am – 9:30am CDT
Room: Grand Ballroom A (East Tower Gold Level)
Wordly Closed Captioning: https://attend.wordly.ai/join/JTJH-3598

What is "professionalism" and do law library employees always exhibit these traits? The concept of “professionalism” crosses “those managing/those managed” lines. Just because one has the degrees and the professional acronyms behind the name does not necessarily mean someone acts “professionally”—“professionalism” is just as much a state of mind and behavior (if not more so) than the credentials achieved. This program will address how the amorphous definition of professionalism applies to librarianship and how we can instill, teach, and nurture this concept in new employees, interns, and students. This program will open a dialogue that will examine and discuss the evolving definition and demands of professionalism, soft skills to foster a successful working environment, communication formats, and differing workplace courtesies, be they remote or in-person. The program will also address how some professionalism standards may discourage young professionals or conflict with efforts to diversify our profession.

Target Audience:

Librarians at all levels of experience, in all departments, and in all types of libraries will benefit from this program since learning how and why professionalism is defined affects all staff.

Learning Objectives:

  • Participants will define and distinguish the meaning of "professionalism" across diverse workplace cultures and environments while considering both historical influences and new expectations.
  • Participants will identify effective strategies for balancing differing views of professionalism, particularly including issues that may appear around DEI initiatives, generational viewpoints, and remote workers to address gatekeeping tendencies and foster inclusive spaces.
  • Participants will be able to utilize and convey specific, fundamental, and nuanced skills and techniques (including “soft skills”) and brainstorm strategies for seamless integration in their own environment.