NASIG 2026

Slow Librarianship made its debut in 2017 in an In the Library with the Lead Pipe article written by Julia Glassman, but the concept had been around before that with the Slow Food movement that took off in the late 1980s. The idea of Slow, as it applies to our lifestyles, resists the fast-paced culture that modern-day living and technology demand of us and instead encourages us to focus on mindfulness, connection, and quality in a far more sustainable manner.
Combined with limited budget and staffing shortages, the fast-paced culture and exponential growth in technology, libraries and librarians are forced to do more with less. These realities leave us keeping up with large to-do lists, an increased number of meetings, fewer opportunities for authentic connections among colleagues (a challenge we are still facing since the pandemic), more opportunities for errors to arise, and burnout. These challenges are likely to continue along with the fast-paced culture and growth in technology, but it is not sustainable. Emphasizing a slow librarianship approach may be the ultimate tool that saves us all. The approach isn’t a one-size-fits-all, and it will evolve as life naturally does.
“Slow Down for What?” will begin with an overview of the fast-paced culture and the negative impacts it has on our work before providing a more comprehensive overview of slow librarianship and how it counters the fast-paced culture without compromising efficiency and deadlines. From there, “Slow Down for What?” will cover tangible opportunities on how librarians can incorporate slow librarianship into their daily lives to keep up with responsibilities, connect with colleagues, and serve our users in ways that will honor ourselves and allow us to continue our work at a sustainable level. Examples of the tangibles will include, but are not limited to, task management tools, strategies to reign in expectations and set boundaries, and ideas on how to build stronger working relationships. From there, a reflective activity will take place where attendees will take a few minutes to independently respond to prompts such as “What’s one aspect of my role that already incorporates a slow librarianship approach?” and “What’s one area of my role that could benefit from a slow librarianship approach?” While attendees reflect, they will also be invited to share their own tips and tricks on incorporating slow librarianship into their lives, as well as general questions they may have related to the presentation.
Any attendees who are even the slightest bit curious about slow librarianship are invited to attend this session, where they will learn about the origin of slow librarianship, the negative impacts of a fast-paced culture, and how they can incorporate slow librarianship approaches into their lives to resist the fast-paced culture. Attendees will have the opportunity to practice slow librarianship through an independent reflection exercise to demonstrate how easily a slow librarianship approach can be incorporated into our daily lives.