Institutions continue to innovate while meeting community needs, piloting targeted tools, dedicating roles and spaces to well-being, and investing in specialty programming and services for both patrons and staff. American Libraries spoke with workers from four libraries that are pioneering mental health practices in the field. Supporting Staff Strategically Oak Park (Ill.) Library When, in … Continue reading Working for Well-Being
Hylton spent years doing archival research and building relationships with former patients and staff members at Crownsville, one of the last segregated psychiatric hospitals with surviving records. During that time, she learned more about the history of the facility, which operated from 1911 to 2004, and of psychiatry more generally, particularly from the perspective of … Continue reading Newsmaker: Antonia Hylton
A lormal is a library formal event, put on in celebration of student workers at the end of the school year, according to Abby Vande Walle, coordinator of circulation services at University of Notre Dame’s (Ind.) Hesburgh Libraries. Student workers are invited to dress up and walk the red carpet, eat fancy food, and have … Continue reading What Is a “Lormal”?
Over 11 years, Hylton built relationships with and interviewed former Crownsville patients and staff members and examined records at the Maryland State Archives. Her new book, Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum (Legacy Lit), to be released January 23, traces Crownsville’s nearly 100-year history. Milton Kent, journalism professor at Morgan State University … Continue reading Breaking the Stigma
El Progreso Memorial Library (EPML) in Uvalde, Texas, is one of an increasing number of libraries, with help from community partners, organizing programming about handling grief during the holiday season. EPML has been a center for grief recovery since May 25, 2022. The day before, the community faced the unimaginable tragedy of losing 21 community … Continue reading Holiday Healing
Donahoe, teen librarian at Mt. Lebanon Public Library (MLPL) in Pittsburgh, says that many elementary, middle, and high school students who visited the library would express that they were dealing with stress and anxiety issues. She wanted a different way of introducing “mindfulness or stress relief for this age group that’s not something you can … Continue reading Tranquil Tones
That was the question presented by Rebecca Hass, programming and outreach manager at Anne Arundel County (Md.) Public Library, at “Building Joy-Centric Libraries,” a June 26 session held during the American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago. Hass discussed the concepts of joy, how it can be worked into every interaction into … Continue reading Planting Seeds of Joy
“We had five books that a conservative community member objected to,” she says, referring to LGBTQ books and titles about President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. “We have the form to fill out. There’s a process that would work if people would go through it.” Instead, McMahon says, the patron did not file … Continue reading Under Pressure
The novel form of exercise, which was founded by Lainey Morse in 2016 with her Original Goat Yoga company and has since found loyal fans all over the country, gives new meaning to community engagement. Just ask Mary Woodward, circulation services supervisor at Bedford (Tex.) Public Library(BPL). After considering ways to rethink her library’s approach … Continue reading Baa-maste!
First, American Libraries Associate Editor and podcast Diana Panuncial speaks with Randa Lopez Morgan, programming and events librarian for Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, about LSU’s Relaxation Room and how it has helped students decompress during finals week. Next, American Libraries Managing Editor Terra Dankowski interviews Rebecca Tolley, author of A Trauma-Informed Approach to … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Setting Up for Self-Care
“Students have a very rigorous and intense school day based on perceptions of what they should be doing and on the expectations of teachers and their parents,” Schaub says. “Adults recognize more readily how we are pulled and stretched in different ways in our time and expectations, but students don’t always recognize that.” In October … Continue reading Bookend: Go with the Flow
Fisher is now the principal investigator for “Trauma in the Library: Symptoms of PTSD Among Staff and Methods for Ensuring Trauma-Informed Care,” an Institute of Museum and Library Services–funded study of the effects of workplace trauma exposure on library workers. She and Lauren Alexa Gambrill, research manager of the study, presented their preliminary findings during … Continue reading The Trauma of Library Work
