Not All Staying is the Same: Unpacking Retention and Turnover in Academic Libraries

Abstract

In Brief: Although the academic libraries profession recognizes that retention is a complex and important issue, especially for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and supporting BIPOC librarians, the library literature largely avoids defining or providing a measurement for retention at all. We explore the distinction between involuntarily staying and voluntarily staying, as well as the coping strategies library employees may engage in when they involuntarily stay. Finally, we make the argument that functional retention is a relationship between the organization and the individual employee in which both sides are positively contributing to the workplace culture.

Keywords

• academic libraries
• library leadership and management
• organizational culture
• retention
• turnover