ABSTRACT

Public library staff are increasingly required to work with members of the public with high social needs. Public libraries are places of sanctuary and connection for people experiencing challenges such as homelessness, poverty, mental illness, domestic violence and substance abuses. In recognizing their role to serve the needs of all people who enter their buildings, public library staff are often asked to work outside their areas of expertise to meet the needs of community members. Public library staff can experience feeling overwhelmed and anxious when working with this community, often wanting to help but not knowing where the boundary between providing support and undermining the self-determination of the individual lies, and not knowing what resources and services would best meet the needs of these visitors. To assist patrons with high social needs and library staff, the City of Melbourne Libraries followed an approach now common in the United States of America, but largely untested in Australia by working with a local housing group to place a social worker in their City Library. This article explores the early work of the Library Social Worker as she engaged with library patrons and provided training to library staff. Using statistics and case notes that describe her activities and their outcomes, we can see that although this practice is new for the Australian public library system, the placement of a social worker into a busy urban library has significant benefits to both patrons in need and the staff who work with them.

摘要

公共图书馆工作人员越来越需要与具有高度社会需求的公众合作。公共图书馆是无家可归、贫困、精神疾病、家庭暴力和药物滥用等挑战的人们的避难所和联系场所。公共图书馆工作人员认识到他们在满足所有进入其建筑物的人的需求方面的作用，因此经常被要求在其专业领域之外工作，以满足社区成员的需求。公共图书馆工作人员在与这个社区合作时可能会感到不知所措和焦虑，他们往往想要提供帮助，但不知道提供支持和破坏个人自决权之间的界限在哪里，也不知道哪些资源和服务最能满足他们的需求。这些游客的需求。为了帮助有高社会需求的顾客和图书馆工作人员，墨尔本市图书馆采用了一种现在在美国很常见的方法，但在澳大利亚基本上未经测试，与当地住房团体合作，在他们的城市图书馆安置一名社会工作者。本文探讨了图书馆社会工作者在与图书馆顾客互动并为图书馆工作人员提供培训时的早期工作。使用描述她的活动及其结果的统计数据和案例说明，我们可以看到，尽管这种做法对澳大利亚公共图书馆系统来说是新的，但将一名社会工作者安置在繁忙的城市图书馆中对有需要的顾客和与他们一起工作的员工。但在澳大利亚基本上没有通过与当地住房组织合作在他们的城市图书馆安置一名社会工作者而进行的测试。本文探讨了图书馆社会工作者在与图书馆顾客互动并为图书馆工作人员提供培训时的早期工作。使用描述她的活动及其结果的统计数据和案例说明，我们可以看到，尽管这种做法对澳大利亚公共图书馆系统来说是新的，但将一名社会工作者安置在繁忙的城市图书馆中对有需要的顾客和与他们一起工作的员工。但在澳大利亚基本上没有通过与当地住房组织合作在他们的城市图书馆安置一名社会工作者而进行的测试。本文探讨了图书馆社会工作者在与图书馆顾客互动并为图书馆工作人员提供培训时的早期工作。使用描述她的活动及其结果的统计数据和案例说明，我们可以看到，尽管这种做法对澳大利亚公共图书馆系统来说是新的，但将一名社会工作者安置在繁忙的城市图书馆中对有需要的顾客和与他们一起工作的员工。