Role-related Stress Experienced by Academic Librarians

Although a substantial body of research has identified stressors and their consequences in a number of organizational populations, very little systematic research has investigated the stress experienced by librarians. The study described here addresses this oversight by examining two sources of role-related stress experienced in a diverse sample of academic librarians. Results of the study were largely consistent with predictions. The librarians experienced role ambiguity, role overload, and burnout at or above the level experienced by other occupational samples, and the role stressors significantly predicted an array of psychological, health-related, and work-related outcomes. Implications of the results for the prevention of role stress and interventional programs are discussed.