Whole Person Librarianship applies social work concepts to library practice to improve patron services across library types. As library-social work collaborations expand in number and type across the country, all library staff members can learn to provide more holistic service by applying tools and technique that are grounded in decades of social work practice and experience. The techniques used in a Whole Person Librarianship approach bolster library staff skills in areas of mental health, self care, and understanding and working with patrons in crisis, and more.
This course will engage learners in a personalized project that they develop over the course of five weeks, focused on these topic areas: introduction to library-social work collaboration, Person-in-Environment, resource mapping, Cultural Humility, and Reflective Practice. Participants will gain new perspectives on service that they can apply from the front line to the board room.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, the participant will be able to:
- Explain the importance of library-social work collaboration in a contemporary library service
- Describe key social work concepts for a whole person approach to library service
- Apply key social work concepts to their own library work
Who Should Attend
Library staff who work with special populations, library staff who provide outreach and engagement services, library managers, regional and multi-type library administrators, library consultants. Library staff who work directly with patron populations will benefit from new approaches to learning about and engaging with their patrons. Managers and administrators can apply whole person techniques to patron groups or to better understanding their own staff members. Library staff who work in multi-type systems will learn about this trend that will likely impact libraries in their systems (if it hasn't already) and how they can better support library staff in understanding and making best use of the concepts inspired by library-social work partnerships. Library consultants will gain new skills for learning about and engaging with various patron populations.
Instructor
Sara Zettervall is the founding consultant and trainer for Whole Person Librarianship, which applies social work concepts to library practice. She also works at Hennepin County Library as the community engagement librarian for East African refugees in Minneapolis. Her experience includes leading innovative projects in public, academic, and school libraries and archives. She was the 2017 winner of the Bogle Pratt International Travel Fund, in support of presenting on library-social work collaboration at the Symposium of the International Consortium for Social Development in Zagreb, Croatia. A 2014 American Library Association Emerging Leader, Sara has continued to serve ALA through involvement in the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Recommendations Implementation Working Group. She has published on outreach services in Public Libraries, VOYA, American Libraries, and Library Youth Outreach. She holds an MLIS from St. Catherine University (St. Paul, MN) and a MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan.
Registration
Cost
- $130 for RUSA members
- $175 for ALA members
- $210 for non-ALA members
- $100 for student members and retired members
How to Register
- Online
- By Email: download, complete and email form (PDF) to registration@ala.org
- By Mail: Download, complete and mail form (PDF) to American Library Association, ATTN: MACS/Online CE Registration, 225 N. Michigan Ave. Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60601
Tech Requirements
ALA uses Moodle for all online educational courses. It is hosted at http://ecourses.ala.og. Learn more about Moodle at www.moodle.org
Credits
Continuing Education Credit- A certificate of completion will be sent to each participant upon successful completion of a course.
Although this course is not CEU-certified, many licensing boards will accept it for credit. Requirements vary by state and school district regarding certification and continuing education credits. The decision to grant CEU credits remains entirely up to your state or school district. If you are in need of credits, check with your state and/or school district before enrolling to determine eligibility. Some states will review your certificate of completion and course description to determine eligibility.
Contact
Questions about your registration should be directed to registration@ala.org. Technical questions about the course should be directed to Ninah Moore at nmoore@ala.org
Thank you and we look forward to your participation!