Library Social Work

Jeff is the Head of Information and Adult Services at the Elizabeth Public Library (EPL) in New Jersey and president of New Jersey Library Association. Tune in to hear his perspective about EPL's collaboration with a professional social worker and how it benefits their patronage and library staff. 

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Leah T. Dudak, a former public librarian and current doctoral student at the Syracuse University iSchool, joins me for a timely discussion, despite Banned Books Week being a couple of weeks behind us. We explore how efforts to censor books and threats to library workers’ physical safety are affecting the profession. While much of the conversation focuses on urban libraries, the issues we discuss are equally relevant to academic and rural settings.

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Ryan Dowd is Chief Empathy Officer at HomelessTraining.com. As someone with decades of experience working with people experiencing homelessness, Ryan brings a great deal of energy and passion for helping public libraries (and now corporate spaces) navigate the “problematic behaviors associated with human vulnerability.” In this episode Ryan outlines the similarities and differences between empathy-driven and trauma informed approaches, three subgroups of the unhoused, a quick guide to conflict prevention, and the power of “pennies in a cup.” Even if your library isn’t facing challenges associated with homelessness, this episode contains worthwhile content for everyone.

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Ta’Kisha Moore is a Peer Support Specialist (also known as a “peer navigator”) and Project Coordinator of the Libraries For Health (L4H) program through Via Hope: a pilot project situating peers in nine public libraries in rural areas of Texas. Ta’Kisha (“Kisha”) explains the structure of this project including the training and supervision requirements of peers, the incredibly strong reception of peers by the libraries, and what makes a non-traditional placement such as a library particularly useful and helpful for library staff, the peers themselves, as well as the patrons they support as “connectors.” For libraries interested in hosting peer navigators, tune into this conversation with Ta’Kisha to hear her perspective about the advantages of a peer model and why it’s particularly needed for library patrons and staff in rural regions. 

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Emily Dalton is a library social worker at the Hoboken Public Library (HPL). Coming full circle as a lifelong Hoboken resident and HPL patron since childhood, Emily was hired as one of the branch’s first social work interns when she was studying for her master’s degree at Rutgers University. Now as HPL’s social worker, Emily discusses library programming and community outreach she’s involved in, including the supervision of social work practicum students. We also explore the importance of support networks for both student and professional library social workers.

Topics

• 0:00 Intro & announcements
• 2:41 Introducing Emily
• 05:23 Rutgers’ social work student internship program
• 6:44 Library social work at HPL
• 09:48 Why HPL hired a social worker
• 11:26 Community Care Kits
• 15:45 Project ID
• 16:52 Identifying and assessing community needs
• 19:30 Library-based social work students
• 31:34 Considerations for hiring a library social worker
  • 34:05 Similarities and distinctions between librarians and social workers
  • 34:55 Library social worker safety
  • 38:24 Why Emily opts not have an office
• 40:00 What makes Hoboken’s library social work a success
• 42:32 Supports for library social workers
• 44:00 To learn more about HPL’s social work program or to contact Emily: 
  • HPL Instagram
  • Emily on LinkedIn
• 44:48 Emily’s interests outside of work
• 46:22 Outro

• Recent article featuring Emily: Jung, T. (2024, August 9). Social worker adds to services at Hoboken Public Library. NJ Spotlight News.
• Whole Person Librarianship Group and Map
• HPL Social Work Services and drop in hours
• HPL’s Director Jennie Pu
• HPL Programs: 
  • Community Care Kits with the help of the NJ Dept of Health and the NJ Harm Reduction coalition
  • Project ID
• Library Social Work subreddit
• Johnson, S.C., Giesler, M., & Paauw, M.A. (2023). “Spending a Year in the Library Will Prepare You for Anything": Experiences of Social Work Interns at Public Library Field Placements. Advances in Social Work, 23(1), 166–184. https://doi.org/10.18060/26176 
• Giesler, M., Johnson, S., & Paauw, M. A. (2023). The Perceptions of Supervisors of Library Social Work Interns: Challenges and Recommendations. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2023.2255941

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Kevin King is Director of the East Lansing Public Library and the President-Elect for ALA Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures. In today’s episode, Kevin shares how he co-developed the Peer Navigators program at Kalamazoo Public Library (KPL) to help ensure patrons have what they need to succeed in life. He is also a consultant to libraries across the US on organizational health, customer service, library programming, and more. He has also trained library security personnel to work alongside peers and staff in trauma-informed approaches.

During this conversation, we discuss KPL’s partnership with a community organization to bring peers into the library; ensuring security and peers are embedded into library culture; the lack of resistance Kevin faced to establishing the peer program; and how library leaders can identify and amplify existing strengths of their staff.

Join us for an encouraging and fun conversation about the power of quality partnerships between libraries and peer navigators.

Links

• What is a peer navigator?
• 10 minute video about Denver Public Library’s peer navigator program: Great Big Story. (2018, August 18). Inside the library fighting homelessness. YouTube [9:44 video]. https://youtu.be/0v5Z9RPrg6U
• Additional US libraries with peer programs. Message me if you know of more: Baltimore, Brooklyn, Denver, San Francisco, Washington DC Public Library; Libraries 4 Health in Texas
• Berdine, A., & NewsChannel 3. (2019, October 6). Kalamazoo Public Library’s peer navigator program offers resources to those in need. WWMT [1:30 min video]. http://wwmt.com/news/local/kalamazoo-public-librarys-peer-navigator-program-offers-resources-to-those-in-need
• Kalamazoo Public Library. (2024). Peer navigators & Western Michigan University social work interns at KPL. https://www.kpl.gov/about/dei/peer-navigators-western-michigan-university-social-work-interns-at-kpl/
• Recovery Institute of Southwest Michigan
• CliftonStrengths Assessment
• United Resiliency Center
• The Association of Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL) 2024 conference
• To contact Kevin King, email him at [email protected] 
• For a list of additional resources, check out the Bibliography page

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Dr. Beth Wahler is the Owner of Beth Wahler Consulting and an Affiliated Research Faculty member at the UNC Charlotte School of Social Work. Her expertise as a social work consultant to public libraries has taken her around the globe, including Australia, where she began collaborating with academic librarian Dr. Jane Garner. Together, they recently launched their Surviving the Stacks podcast. 

Dr. Wahler and I discuss the importance of transforming library culture to better support library staff, gaps in the research about library/social work partnerships, and clarify that not every library needs a social worker. She addresses common misconceptions about these interdisciplinary collaborations and suggests types of training and continuing education for both librarians and social workers. 

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 The first episode of the Library Social Work podcast is here! See below for the list of topics David and I discussed including relevant links and attachments to learn more. I look forward to reading your feedback.

Topics

• Introduction to podcast and this first episode
• David’s path to library social work at Long Branch
• “Typical” day and tasks
  • His role and responsibilities
• Growth of library social work in New Jersey
• 2024 American Library Association presentation about the Social Work Informed Library Services in New Jersey (SWILIBS-NJ) pilot program
• Library-based social work student internships
• Community Outreach Programs:
  • Fade to Books: Barbershop Literacy Initiative
  • Fresh Start re-entry
• Ingredients for successful library social work partnerships
• Librarians’ reception of David’s role
• What librarians need to understand about hosting social work students
  • Preferred track and characteristics of social work students
  • Student tasks
  • Work space, confidentiality, and safety
  • On and off-site social work supervision
• What social work students need to know about interning at a library
• Scope of library social work
• What isn’t working about these partnerships
• Quality orientation and planning
• Tailoring social work programs at the branch level
• The importance of self-care for social workers and what this looks like for David.

Links Head over to my Substack for more links and downloads

Whole Person Librarianship Map: Please comment if you know of partnerships not represented on the WPL map or any outdated pins.

Orientation tools: Two handbooks developed by Beth Wahler and I for the Social Work Informed Library Services in NJ program

• For librarian task supervisors of library-based social work student interns
• For social work students

David’s presentation with Beth Wahler at ALA ‘24

Social work students involvement with Long Branch’s Fresh Start program:

• Johnson, S.C., & Paauw, M.A. (2022). Partners in libraries: Social work students and the justice-involved. Public Libraries, 61(3), 28–36.

Wahler, E. A., Ressler, J. D., Johnson, S. C., Rortvedt, C., Saecker, T., Helling, J., Williams, M. A., & Hoover, D. (2022). Public library-based social work field placements: Guidance for public libraries planning to become a social work practicum site. Public Library Quarterly, 42(2), 141–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/01616846.2022.2044264

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Hello, and welcome to Library Social Work. I’m Sarah Johnson, a librarian and social worker, here to explore the fascinating intersection of public libraries and social services. While this combination might seem unusual to some, a growing network of individuals and libraries are discovering the significance of these partnerships.

In each episode, I’ll be joined by a diverse group of experts—social workers, librarians, social work students, educators, researchers, and administrators—who are actively involved in these cross-disciplinary collaborations. But don’t let the title of this podcast fool you: I’ll explore connections beyond social work that include public health experts, mental health advocates, and peer navigators. 

With years of experience researching and teaching about Library Social Work, my goal is to illuminate the factors that contribute to the success of these partnerships and identify areas for improvement. With over 300 collaborations emerging across North America and the South Pacific in the past 15 years, there's a wealth of insights and lessons to share.

Join me as we explore these groundbreaking collaborations and their far-reaching impact.

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