After-lunch course: Resolving Conflicts in the Library
Library workers face increasingly difficult interactions at the library. How can library staff address conflicts and manage difficult conversations? In this webinar, participants will learn about the nature of conflict and how they as individuals respond to conflict. They will also learn some techniques for de-escalating tense exchanges and resolving conflicts with patrons, volunteers, board members, and others, by acknowledging someone’s feelings or frustrations with empathy and responding calmly and clearly about the library’s role and/or position. Participants may bring their own experiences into the conversation and consider how they can respond to these situations in the moment going forward.
Resources
- Presentation Recording
- Presentation Slides
- Conflict Management and De-Escalation Tips
- Conflict Styles Exercises
- Bibliography
Presenters
Courtney Breese is Executive Director of the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD), a network of innovators who bring people together across divides to discuss, decide, and take action together effectively on today’s toughest issues. She is a trainer, mediator, and facilitator with extensive experience working on state and municipal engagement efforts. She has led various workshops on facilitation for library workers as part of NCDD’s partnership with the American Library Association’s Libraries Transforming Communities Initiative.
Jamila Mindingall is the founding Executive Director of the South Fulton Community Mediation Center. She is also a member of the National Association for Community Mediation (NAFCM), and volunteers with the Savannah Mediation Center. Jamila has nearly 20 years of ADR experience, having been first introduced to mediation as a paralegal in 2003. She has a bachelor’s in English Literature and Women’s Studies from Morris Brown College, a master’s in Organizational Development and Leadership from Fielding Graduate University, and a master’s in Conflict Management from Kennesaw State University.