Books, Programming, Resources: Helping Patrons Through the Opioid Crisis

WebJunction /

The opioid crisis which has crashed through American communities has brought patrons to public libraries seeking information about opioids and addiction. This collection of resources can help you connect patrons to the information that they need to support themselves or a loved one. Library staff are also encouraged to review these eight research-based case studies of public libraries and their local, community partners who are responding to the opioid crisis together.  

You can copy the information on this page to repurpose for your library's website or resource list.

Resource guides - some libraries have responded by creating online guides to help patrons seeking information:

Programming - hosting public forums, discussions or training is another way that libraries are supporting the community around the opioid addiction. Examples range from events that are planned and hosted by a library, to those which depend on library space to house the event.

Books - consider adding these items to your collection, which include both fiction and non-fiction titles:

Young Adult

Adult

Handouts and flyers - these printable handouts and resources for patrons can be shared by or in the library:

Also check with your local and state health departments to discover what resources they may be able to share. Most of these resources were shared by members in the Facebook group, Libraries and the Opioid Crisis

Image credits:
Top: "Opioids" by K-State Research and Extension is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Bottom: Dreamland book cover is copyright Bloomsburg Press, 2015

This page was originally published in January 2020, and was updated in June 2023.