“Some Days, My Work Is Unbearable”: The Impact of Chronic Illness and Disability on Recruitment and Retention for Workers in American Archival Repositories and Special Collections Libraries

Abstract

This survey-based article explores how chronic illness and disability impacts workers in archives and special collections, and focuses on how these individuals experience recruitment, retention, and working life in the United States. At the cultural level, it explores how the profession can create inclusive environments that enable all practitioners, including those with physical, mental, and neurological illness and/or disability, to enter, remain, and flourish in the field. The paper concludes with suggestions for systemic, structural change based on participant responses.