Libraries as social hubs

In the article “In the Field Note--Creating Trauma-Informed Library Spaces: Lessons Learned from a Pilot Program,” libraries are described as a place open to all and one that supports the community even during an emergency. A place for the homeless to seek comfort and resources to assist with getting them on their feet. In recent years social workers have been hired at libraries to help provide services to community members who need assistance and a safe place to access computers and resources. During the COVID pandemic additional social workers were hired at my school as well. They were there to assist with the growing issues the students were facing adjusting to coming back to school and social anxiety of being around other students again. Just a couple of weeks ago a student named me as one of her safe places to be take a break if she was having a bad day, confirmation that a library is considered a safe place for people who may be in distress. The article also describes a program that was developed to help people with trauma with six key principles safety, trustworthiness, peer support, collaboration, empowerment, cultural, historical, and gender issues. Understanding these principles can help the community feel even more safe when visiting the library. Yesterday I was in a meeting with the other middle school librarians. One of them kept saying how she kept having to tell little Johnny to be quiet with the usual shhh. Then they asked me if my library was quiet, and I said oh no not at all. Well right now it because we are in the middle of state testing. On a normal day it is alive with a buzz of activities. To be honest over the years I got tired of doing the typical librarian staple of telling the students to shh and be quiet. The library has become so much more than a place to study and read. It is a place to feel safe away from the chaos of being outside. A place to create. It is a place to meet up and connect. The library has definitely become a social hub.

Works Cited

Sharkey, Caroline N., et al. “Field Note--Creating Trauma-Informed Library Spaces: Lessons Learned from a Pilot Program.” Journal of Social Work Education, vol. 59, no. 2, Jan. 2023, pp. 583–90. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.palomar.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/10437797.2021.1978913