Housing insecurity is widespread, in part due to unemployment and related financial issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. The civil legal process of eviction is complex and can be confusing to renters and landlords alike. People experiencing eviction may have difficulty finding safe and decent housing options; become separated from families, jobs, and schools; and face poor health outcomes. Eviction can have far-reaching and long-lasting effects.

Libraries are well positioned to provide access to legal information that is particularly helpful during the early phases of the eviction process. By leveraging their reference skills and partnering with law libraries... Read more

As the REALM project (REopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums) continues to gather and adapt science-based information to inform local decision making by libraries, archives, and museums, it’s been essential to listen to the real-world experiences at these institutions. These perspectives ensure that the information is relevant to the operations and services of the field. In a collection of nine interviews, leaders of libraries, museums, and member associations describe how they leveraged their institutions’ core strengths and drew upon trusted partners to navigate the crisis, helping to protect the health and well-being of staff and community members. These interviews help identify... Read more

Outreach efforts in the public library increasingly center around building, sustaining, and leveraging community partnerships, including with public health partners. That fact was evident at the 2021 Association of Bookmobile & Outreach Services’ (ABOS) Virtual Conference, held October 11-15. The conference featured at least six sessions focused on outreach librarians working with public health partners, including:

Mobilizing partnerships, featuring Jeff Davis County Library’s efforts to create a new outreach vehicle called “Mobile Comunidad: Feeding Minds & Bodies,” through partnerships in rural West Texas

Social Worker in the Library, AMITA Health, featuring the Chicago Public... Read more

Facing eviction, temporarily out of work, and with no stable income, Theresa Morgan was at her wit’s end, desperate to keep a roof over the heads of her four children, until she learned she could find help in a seemingly unlikely place – the Library.

Since July (2020), the New Orleans Public Library has been partnering with Southeast Louisiana Legal Services to offer free Virtual Legal Clinics to eligible Library users twice a month, focusing on assisting low-income families and individuals with civil legal issues.

Morgan, whose name has been changed in this article to protect her privacy,... Read more