None of This Is Reading: Balance Behind the Many Hats We Wear

On some days, leading a library feels like living several professional lives at once. Some days, balance feels impossible.

This week, in the span of a single day, I toggled between being a coder, an advisor, a budget negotiator, a teacher, a committee member, and a trainer. The night before, I had already been in the classroom, teaching a capstone course and guiding students through their projects. By the next morning, I was buried in technical services, fixing the footer code on the library’s webpage to update the link to the college’s privacy policy. A few minutes later, without warning, I was sitting with one of those same capstone students, helping them refine a broad idea on artificial intelligence and the stock market into a 6–10 page paper.

From there, the day moved quickly: signing up marketing students for access to the AI tools the library licenses for everyone, heading into a budget meeting with the VP of Finance and the Provost, returning to the library to teach first-year students how to prompt a chatbot and use Grammarly to revise their essays, and closing with two external committee meetings, the weekly operations meeting, and training four brand-new student workers on LC call numbers as we relabeled books whose spines had faded.

It’s at moments like this—when someone asks me, “So what do you specialize in?”—that I think of Ken in the Barbie movie. His job is just “beach.” And mine? Some days it feels like my job is just “library.”

The Challenge of Constant Role Switching

For librarians, the challenge isn’t just multitasking—it’s shifting mindsets. One hour requires technical precision, the next empathetic listening, and the next persuasive leadership.

Julian Birkinshaw & Jordan Cohen remind us that knowledge workers spend 41% of their time on tasks that could be delegated or dropped. Yet we often cling to them, because busyness feels like proof of value, or because we worry about letting others down. In libraries with reduced staff and growing responsibilities, this tendency is amplified.

At the same time, as I’ve written elsewhere, librarians in downsized environments must embrace self-management: knowing strengths and gaps, understanding how we work best, upholding professional values, building relationships, and planning with purpose. Without these strategies, the constant switching of hats can quickly lead to burnout.

Strategies for Regaining Balance

Here are five approaches that help me move from chaos to clarity:

1. Prioritize With Purpose
Not every task can hold equal weight. Identify two or three core priorities for the day and align them with your library’s mission. Ask: Does this task advance student learning, support equity, or strengthen our services?

2. Build Micro-Transitions
Shifting from one mindset to another takes mental energy. Instead of rushing, pause for 60 seconds before switching roles. A deep breath, a quick note, or even a moment of silence helps reset focus.

3. Share the Load
Delegation is not a weakness; it’s a leadership skill. Student workers can troubleshoot circulation basics. Faculty partners can help introduce AI tools. Delegating creates shared ownership and develops others’ skills.

4. Reflect, Don’t Just React
At the end of the day, spend 10 minutes writing down what went well, what drained you, and what you’d adjust tomorrow. Reflection turns chaotic days into opportunities for learning and resilience.

5. Drop, Delegate, or Redesign
Sort low-value tasks into categories: quick kills (stop now), off-loads (delegate), and long-term redesigns (change the workflow). Even small redesigns—like peer-to-peer training for student workers—lighten the daily load.

Closing Reflection

So yes—on the surface, my job is just “library.” But inside that one word are a dozen roles, each demanding a different mindset and skill set. Balance doesn’t come from doing it all. It comes from doing what matters most, setting down the hats that don’t need to be worn by us, and leaning into strategies that allow us to show up where we make the greatest impact.

And here’s the irony: none of that is reading.

Because in the end, librarianship is not about juggling faster. It’s about making sure every role we play advances student learning, empowers colleagues, and strengthens the mission of the library.

Further Reading

• Julian Birkinshaw & Jordan Cohen, Make Time for the Work That Matters, Harvard Business Review

• Russell Michalak, Managing Oneself in the Face of Downsizing: Strategies for Empowering Academic Librarians, College & Research Libraries News