Soooo…..we built the Library Worker Support Network, ran it, grew it, and somewhere in the middle of all that living and doing, we never quite got around to sharing how that very first year went. I suppose that is what happens with you are an organization with only five part-time employees. And to be honest, … Read more
When we talk about trauma in the context of library work, it’s important to remember that trauma rarely exists in isolation. It often intersects with other forms of stress, exhaustion, and harm that shape how we experience our jobs and relate to our communities. Some of these experiences may not qualify as trauma in a … Read more
The Urban Library Trauma Study (ULTS) used emancipatory and participatory action research frameworks to explore how public library workers in urban centers experience trauma while providing library services and create a path forward for exploring institutional and individual solutions that will enable library workers and their institutions to continue providing vital library services to communities … Read more
It’s been a quiet few months at my branch, but not June, June wasn’t really quiet at all. During June, I experienced two separate incidents in which men approached me aggressively at work, leading me to feel unsafe. In the first incident, a patron who was frustrated attempted to get past another staff member to … Read more
Almost every library worker has a story about one event at work that left them shaken. Sometimes it’s an abusive patron, sometimes it’s workplace bullying, and sometimes it’s that haunting feeling left behind when a patron needed more help than you could provide. The Urban Library Trauma Study (ULTS) looked to take these anecdotal stories, … Read more
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Brooklyn, NY 11211
Phone: (718) 569-7309
