Des Moines library's first social worker is helping make it a center of community resources; Des Moines Register, December

F. Amanda Tugade, Des Moines Register; Des Moines library's first social worker is helping make it a center of community resources

De resources

"Allee is one of the dozens of patrons who have found refuge in Lippert at the library, which sits just blocks away from Central Iowa Shelter and Services, the city's largest emergency shelter. Lippert joined the staff in late August, part of an effort to expand the library's role as a center of community resources, helping connect people to agencies across the city and metro area...

Sue Woody, the library's director, said she and other librarians have seen the needs of their patrons go beyond book titles and literacy issues. Visitors want referrals for housing, mental health and substance abuse programs — services that exceed her librarians' expertise.

"We are not social workers," Woody said. "We don't have doctorates and master's in social work and social sciences."...

Even Lippert said she didn't know libraries had social workers until she came across Central Library's job post. But the more she thought about it, the more the post reminded her of social work's true mission."

Editorial: Support and expand Social Work in Libraries Program; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 28, 2023

  THE EDITORIAL BOARD, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Editorial: Support and expand Social Work in Libraries Program

"The Social Work in Libraries Program, a collaboration among the Allegheny County Library Association, the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, began bringing professionals into libraries this September. The Downtown, East Liberty, Allegheny, Oakland and Hill District CLP branches now each have their own in-house social worker.

These experts can handle more intense interventions. They can take the time to guide people to a food bank or to help them find addiction treatment. They can pull someone into another room to place a phone call to a shelter or help research where they might get an ID. 

Pittsburgh isn’t the only city with this idea, either. Baltimore, Salt Lake City, St. Louis and Seattle have all brought social workers into libraries in the past year.

The local program is still getting established: The social workers are short-term interns, generally students earning a degree in social work. And the other 17 CLP branches are on their own. We hope the county government and local foundations will consider funding to expand the program further.

It’s a creative way to ease the stress on librarians and to bring more services to the people who need them. And it brings help to one of the few public spaces where people are still encouraged to ask for it."

Why US libraries are on the frontlines of the homelessness crisis; The Guardian, January 24, 2023

 MacKenzie Ryan, The Guardian; Why US libraries are on the frontlines of the homelessness crisis

"“Many libraries have added social workers to their staff,” said Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada, the American Library Association president, citing a trend that started in the past decade...

When Dowd trains library staff on de-escalation tactics, he hears a lot of comments like, “They didn’t teach me this stuff in library school,” he said. He says he teaches library staff to focus on the behavior they’re seeing. If someone is unhoused and caused a problem, then they have to deal with it. If a multimillionaire is in the library causing a problem, they also have to deal with it.""

Why your local library might be hiring a social worker; NPR, January 3, 2021

DARIAN BENSON, NPR; Why your local library might be hiring a social worker

"For years, libraries have been a place people turn to for information to help them solve problems. But the challenges patrons are dealing with are increasingly beyond the scope of what most librarians are trained to handle — and that's where social workers can fill in the gaps."

San Francisco recruits army of social workers, librarians and investigators to track Covid-19; The Guardian, May 1, 2020

Maanvi Singh , The Guardian; San Francisco recruits army of social workers, librarians and investigators to track Covid-19

"San Francisco has assembled an army of librarians, social workers, attorneys, investigators and medical students to find and warn anyone and everyone who may have been exposed to Covid-19...

Immigrant communities are justifiably worried that each time they share information about their status and location, “it will come back to haunt them,” Hayes-Bautista said. “It makes sense that people are scared.”...

San Francisco has similarly publicized that the contact tracing is “voluntary, confidential, and culturally and linguistically appropriate. Immigration status will have no bearing on these conversations.”"