When the World Feels Heavy, Reach for a Story: Bibliotherapy for Radical Tenderness and Collective Resilience
Library workers across the globe are carrying an extraordinary emotional load while supporting patrons in crisis, navigating censorship and political tension, and holding space for communities living through grief, uncertainty, and change. In this restorative keynote, therapist and author Emely Rumble invites participants to explore how the healing power of story can sustain both patrons and the people who serve them. Attendees will learn simple bibliotherapy tools to bring steadiness, connection, and hope into their daily work while honoring their own inner lives. This keynote affirms libraries as vital healing ecosystems and reminds us that when the world feels heavy, stories can help us carry the weight together.
Keynote Speaker: Emely Rumble
Emely Rumble, LICSW, is a distinguished licensed clinical social worker, school social worker, and seasoned biblio/psychotherapist with over 15 years of professional experience. Committed to making mental health services more accessible, Emely specializes in the transformative practice of bibliotherapy.
Rumble is passionate about advocating for the integration of creative arts in psychotherapy, mental well-being, and self-improvement. Emely champions the social model of disability and embraces a neurodiversity-affirming therapeutic approach. Emely’s work has been featured in respected publications such as Parents Magazine, School Library Journal, Dazed Magazine, Success Magazine, BronxNet News, The Bronx is Reading, Essence Magazine, CNN Health, The New York Times, Bustle Wellness, and Therapy for Black Girls, among others. Her debut book, "Bibliotherapy in the Bronx," released in April 2025, explores the modality of literature-based therapy in healing practice. Learn more on her website: https://literapynyc.podia.com
