Are you feeling the strain of serving patrons with complex needs? Is your library seeing increased patron behavioral issues and mental health concerns? This session reviews ideas and approaches for how libraries can support both high-needs patrons and staff. As a result of this webinar, you will be able to:

• Articulate the changing needs of library patrons and how these impact staff 
• Learn strategies for assessing your library’s unique needs
• Discuss helpful programs, collaborations, and/or services for high-needs patrons
• Apply person-centered strategies to begin creating cultural change in your library
• Anticipate potential barriers to change

Presented by: Beth Wahler, PhD, MSW, Social Work Consultant with Public Libraries, Founder and Principal Consultant, Beth Wahler Consulting; and Sarah Johnson, MLIS, LMSW, Adjunct Lecturer, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, both co-authors, Creating a Person-Centered Library: Best Practices for Supporting High-Needs Patrons

Note: 90-minute session

Access Recording

•  View Webinar Recording (You will be prompted to login to our free Course Catalog.)

Webinar Attachments

• View slides (pdf)
  
• View chat (xls)
• View captions (txt)
• Learner Guide (doc) Use alone or with others to extend your learning.

Related Resources and Links

• Presentation bibliography
  
• Beth Wahler Consulting
• Social Work Students & Public Libraries, Sarah Johnson
  
• Creating a Person-Centered Library: Best Practices for Supporting High-Needs Patrons (2023) by Beth Wahler and Sarah Johnson
• Previous WebJunction webinar with Sarah Johnson, Social Work Students and Public Library Partnerships
• On secondary traumatic stress, National Child Traumatic Stress Network
• 6 Guiding Principles To A Trauma-Informed Approach, CDC 2020
• SAMHSA’s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach (pdf)
• Trauma-informed Approaches edition, Public Libraries May/June 2023, including, "A Trauma-Informed Approach to Assessing Your Library's Needs"
• Whole Person Librarianship, including book by Sara K. Zettervall and Mary C. Nienow, and map of library-social work collaborations
• A Trauma-Informed Approach to Library Services (2020) by Rebecca Tolley
• A Trauma-Informed Framework for Supporting Patrons: The PLA Workbook of Best Practices (2022) by the PLA Social Worker Task Force
• Bringing trauma-informed practices to underserved patrons at university libraries [book chapter], pp. 91-108, Richardson et al. (2021). In Underserved Patrons in University Libraries: Assisting Students Facing Trauma, Abuse, and Discrimination, Skinner and Gross (Ed.)
  
  
• Additional links shared in chat
• Fulton County Library System, Social Services
  
• Charles County Public Library, Peer Outreach Services
• Decatur Public Library, Social Services
• Wellness Hubs at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
• WebJunction article, Together we heal: Exploring mental health peer support at the library, including peer navigators
• Tough Topics list example
• WebJunction course category, Personal growth & development
• Ryan Dowd's Homelessness Trainings
• WebJunction article, Mental Health Resources for Libraries
• WebJunction webinars:
• Mental Health First Aid and Trauma-Informed Approaches for Libraries
  
• Creating a Restorative Library Culture
• Library Safety and Security: A Holistic Approach
• Researching low morale in libraries, and two related WebJunction webinars: Low Morale in Libraries: Impacts and Countermeasures and Revitalizing Morale: Cultivating a Supportive Library Culture
• Trauma stewardship : an everyday guide to caring for self while caring for others, by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, Connie Burk, and Jon R. Conte