Whole Person Librarianship: A Social Work Approach to Patron Services

by Sara K. Zettervall, Mary C. Nienow

Overview

Whole Person Librarianship guides librarians through the practical process of facilitating connections among libraries, social workers, and social services; explains why those connections are important; and puts them in the context of a national movement.

Collaboration between libraries and social workers is an exploding trend that will continue to be relevant to the future of public and academic libraries. Whole Person Librarianship incorporates practical examples with insights from librarians and social workers. The result is a new vision of library services.

The authors provide multiple examples of how public and academic librarians are connecting their patrons with social services. They explore skills and techniques librarians can learn from social workers, such as how to set healthy boundaries and work with patrons experiencing homelessness; they also offer ideas for how librarians can self-educate on these topics.

The book additionally provides insights for social work partners on how they can benefit from working with librarians. While librarians and social workers share social justice motivations, their methods are complementary and yet still distinct—librarians do not have to become social workers. Librarian readers will come away with many practical ideas for collaboration as well as the ability to explain why collaboration with social workers is important for the future of librarianship.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440857768
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	08/14/2019
Pages:	190
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Sara K. Zettervall, MLIS, MFA, is founding consultant and trainer at Whole Person Librarianship. She instructs library staff across the nation and world on applying social work concepts to improve library service.

Mary C. Nienow, PhD, is assistant professor and BSW program director at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Terminology x

United States Perspective xi

Appendixes and Online Resources xi

Introduction Sister Professions 1

A Little Bit of History 1

Current Statistics 3

Shared Ethics 4

Service 5

Privacy and Confidentiality 5

Access to Information 6

Respect for Rights 6

Professional Skills and Integrity 7

Social Justice 7

Growth of Library-Social Work Collaboration 8

Online Resources 10

Chapter 1 Relationships Are the New Reference Collection 11

Overview 11

Sara's Story 12

Building the Relationship-Based Reference Collection 16

What Do Social Workers Do? 17

"I'm Not a Social Worker, but I Know Where to Find One" 19

The Living Relationship 22

Social Work Concepts for Patron Services 24

Person-in-Environment 24

PIE in Action 27

Online Resources 29

Chapter 2 Partners in the Library 31

Overview 31

Harrison's Story 32

Inspiration into Justification 35

Justification into Action 38

Types of Partnerships 39

Action into Sustainability 41

Space in the Library 41

Data Collection and Sharing 42

Benefits to Community Partners 42

Adaptations for Academic Libraries 44

Online Resources 47

Chapter 3 Social Work Students: "Living the Dream" in the Library 49

Overview 49

Jason's Story 50

Social Work Education: The Basics 54

Collaborating with the School of Social Work 56

Internship Purpose and Requirements 57

Examples of Internship Projects 58

Academic Librarians and Social Work Students 61

Online Resources 63

Chapter 4 Full-Time Library Social Workers 65

Overview 65

Ashley's Story 66

The Classic Model: San Francisco Public Library 71

Micro: Outreach and Crisis Management 72

Mezzo: Community Connections and Case Referrals 75

Macro: Systematic Change 76

Logistics of the Hire 77

Host Organizations and Funding 79

Data Collection and Documentation 84

Social Service Data Collection 85

Collaboration and Data Sharing 86

Onboarding 88

Roles and Communication 88

Special Considerations for Working with Youth 90

Boundary Setting 91

Supporting the Social Worker 92

Quick-and-Dirty Library Education 92

Supervision and Professional Connection 93

Online Resources 95

Chapter 5 Advocating for Change 97

Overview 97

Leslie's Story 97

Advocacy through a Social Work Lens 103

Internal and External Advocacy 105

Internal Advocacy 106

External Advocacy 109

Online Resources 113

Chapter 6 Sustainable Practice 115

Overview 115

Karen's Story 116

Self-Care vs. Sustainable Practice 118

Cultural Humility 121

Lifelong Learning and Critical Self-Reflection 122

Challenge Power Imbalances 123

Institutional Accountability 124

Reflective Practice and Reflective Supervision 125

Online Resources 128

Conclusion Future Directions 129

Libraries as Social Work Host Sites 129

Social Work Education for Library School Students 130

Multiple Social Workers in a Library System 131

Whole Person Library Management 132

Professional Involvement and Professional Organizations 133

Online Resources 134

Appendix A PIE Chart Worksheet 135

Appendix B Community Needs Assessment 137

Appendix C Learning Contract Template 143

Appendix D Sample Intake Form 151

Appendix E Sample Staff Survey 153

Appendix F Reflective Practice Worksheet 157

References 159

Index 163

What People are Saying About This

Sarah C. Johnson

"After endorsing Zettervall and Nienow’s work for years, I’m thrilled at the publication of this definitive, authoritative manuscript on the collaboration between public libraries and social work. As leading experts in such partnerships, their work is timely and much needed. I will continue to refer to their wisdom in my own work, as well as recommending Whole Person Librarianship to the pioneering social workers, interns, and librarians among us."

Melissa I. Cardenas-Dow

"Whole Person Librarianship is a critical, vital text for anyone who is concerned about library practice in the 21st century. This book provides us great information that centers our service work within our communities and teaches us how we can reinvigorate and strengthen the role of librarians and libraries in the lives and social networks of our patrons. Librarianship and social work as professions have a lot to learn from each other."

Noah Lenstra

"Sara K. Zettervall and Dr. Mary C. Nienow, MSW, provide us with the tools we need to develop empathic practices, form partnerships, and bring social workers and social work expertise into libraries of all types. Whole Person Librarianship contains the practical information we need to make our libraries even more supportive community hubs. The book will impact front-line library staff, library administrators, library educators, and social work students and social workers. Throughout the book, stories of actual librarians and social workers powerfully illustrate the concepts discussed. The book concludes with inspiring chapters on how to sustain and advocate for whole person librarianship and, therefore, how to advocate for our patrons and communities. Zettervall and Nienow have distilled their expertise on this topic into a book accessible and useful for library staff, library educators, and social workers."

Leah Esguerra

"Whole Person Librarianship highlights the strengths of social work and librarianship, demonstrating how these approaches can be used in tandem to produce effective results in addressing needs of the most vulnerable library patrons. This book shows how patron services can be improved with the collaboration of the two disciplines' distinct yet similar roles and purpose, and it shines a light on several intersectionalities within both fields, such as access to resources and the promotion of social justice. In short, this book is recommended as a well-researched guide for libraries considering implementation of social services into their systems."

Catherine Penkert

“This book is the first of its kind to document and explore the vast possibilities of library-social work collaborations. Zettervall and Nienow have written an invaluable guide to bringing library staff and social workers together for the good of communities.”

Jennifer Peterson

"Regardless of where libraries aim to settle in the continuum of social work collaborations, this important book responds to the plea from library staff for practical and applicable methods which enable whole person service with minimal burnout. These social work concepts inform sustainable solutions relevant to every library type and community size."

Tracy M. Soska

"While aiming to educate librarians about social work as a complement to public service in and through libraries, Whole Person Librarianship: A Social Work Approach to Patron Services is certainly important to social workers who are seeking new community partners and career pathways, as well as to social work educators who are seeking exciting internships and learning opportunities for their students. Libraries are emerging as the new community centers and settlement houses of today—centers for lifelong learning and civic engagement. Social workers who read this book will want to spend more time at their public library—and for good reasons."

Editorial Reviews

Whole Person Librarianship is a relevant, skillfully crafted, refreshingly optimistic, and highly recommended read.” —Booklist Online

“A valuable guide for teaching students how to integrate social work approaches as emerging public or academic library professionals.” —Jourbanal of Education for Library and Information Science

From the Publisher