Tuesday October 11 2022
6 pm Pacific / 7 pm Mountain / 8 pm Central / 9 pm Eastern
This chat will be on the topic of disclosure, which we last talked about in pre-Covid times (February 2020). Please join us in talking about how we can thoughtfully navigate issues about disclosing mental health challenges or mental illness(es) in the workplace or at school. Anyone who is part of librarianship (LIS students/educators or library/archives workers) is welcome to participate.
Disclaimer: please share only what you’re comfortable sharing (anonymous posting is available, see below).
- Q1. Are you currently open in any aspect about your mental illness status at your workplace/school? Why or why not?
- Q2. What has been your experience disclosing or not disclosing your mental health status at work?
- Q3. What kinds of support does your employer offer in the workplace? What support do you think employers should offer?
- Q4. How have perceptions around disclosure changed (or not) in your workplace?
- Q5. What can we do to foster an environment where our colleagues can be more open about their mental health? How can we support colleagues who disclose their mental illness?
Twitter chat basics:
Participating in #LISMentalHealth chats requires a free Twitter account. Follow #LISMentalHealth on Twitter during the time of the chat by searching for “#LISMentalHealth” in the search field, then clicking on the “live” tab to see the most recent tweets. If you’re using the official Twitter app or website, you’ll need to refresh your search periodically to see the most recent tweets pop up.
Chats last one hour. The first five minutes of the chat are a chance for introductions: you might tweet, “Hi #LISMentalHealth, I’m Miss Scarlett and I work as a reference librarian in a public library in Idaho.” After people have had a chance to introduce themselves, moderators will tweet a question, such as: Q1. Do you like cats? #LISMentalHealth. You would then reply with: A1. Of course I like cats. #LISMentalHealth. Providing the hashtag #LISMentalHealth on your tweets allows for collocation of all tweets in the discussion.
Tips for a great Twitter chat experience:
- Only answer questions you are comfortable answering! Take care of yourself, first and foremost.
- If you would prefer to tweet anonymously during a chat, you can use the #LISMentalHealth anonymous Twitter relay, created by @metageeky, available at https://tinyurl.com/anonLISMH2. You (and everyone else following the #LISMentalHealth hashtag) will then see your tweet posted via the @LISMH_anon account.
- Consider using Tweetdeck, Tweetchat, or another app which allows for automatic loading of tweets. In Tweetdeck you can add a separate column which displays all the tweets with the #LISMentalHealth hashtag in chronological order.
- Remember to add the #LISMentalHealth hashtag to each of your tweets so people will see them.
- If your Twitter account is locked, feel free to participate, but be aware that only your followers will be able to view and interact with your tweets.
- Don’t feel the need to respond to every question or every comment. Take it at your own pace, and catch up with other comments later if you’d like.
- Jump right in! The success of a chat depends on lots of folks being willing to share their thoughts and experiences on a topic, even when they’re not experts. We’re glad to have new folks participating!
Need any more help? Feel free to tweet at or direct message @violetbfox or the moderators of the chat and they’ll be happy to help.