“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work….” Exodus 20:8-10 NKJV
I’ve worked in academic libraries for 37 years: 19 at Indiana University, 12 at Point Loma Nazarene University, and 6 at Lenoir-Rhyne University. All three institutions had some kind of faculty status for librarians, and all three allowed for promotion in rank, service on faculty committees, and other faculty responsibilities and benefits. For the most part, I think faculty status has been a strong positive for libraries and librarians. With these systems in place, I was promoted several times, received tenure at two different institutions, and served in leadership roles on faculty committees at all three institutions.
Somehow, though, I got through those 37 years without ever taking a sabbatical, despite being eligible for at least three. My wiser colleagues did, of course, take their sabbaticals. I always managed to be “too busy” to take them.
Looking back, I think I could’ve benefited greatly from sabbaticals. I would have returned refreshed and energized, more relaxed, and less stressed. It took an unexpected loss to make me understand that. I’ll spare you the details except to say that at the end of the 2023-24 academic year, I left my most recent institution. It wasn’t my preference, but it was my choice, so, after May 31, I was unemployed. I immediately started looking for other opportunities and, since November, have been happily working as the branch manager of a county public library system not far from home.
But a funny thing happened between June and November last year. In addition to looking for jobs, I also took on more household responsibilities, I walked more, and I was finally able to close my mother’s estate 15 months after her passing. I was a much more relaxed and happier person. My wife noticed the change right away. I know we were fortunate that we were able to get by for a time on just her salary as income, but even while looking for work, I felt happier and healthier and more clear-sighted. I now refer to that time as “my five-month sabbatical.” It wasn’t anything I applied for or expected or even wanted, but it was a genuine blessing to me and my family both, which brings me to the end of that passage from Exodus:
“…in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:11 NKJV
Sometimes we are offered sabbaticals, and sometimes they happen to us. Either can be stressful, but these times of rest can be real blessings. Whether you’re an academic librarian or not, whether you have faculty status or not, look for sabbaticals—even when they aren’t your choice—as opportunities for healing, hope, and restoration.
Frank Quinn
Frank is currently the Branch Library Supervisor at Lincoln County Library. He has been an ACL member since 1999 and currently resides in Hickory, NC.