Acknowledgements
Preface
Introduction
1. Understanding Your Library’s Unique Needs
2. Transforming Library Culture
3. Person-Centered Programming and Services for Patrons’ Needs
4. Addressing the Needs of Specific Patron Populations
5. Library Collaborations for Addressing Patrons’ Needs
6. Organizational Approaches for Best Supporting Staff
7. Anticipating Challenges to Change
Afterword
Suggested Reading
Appendix A. Sample Needs Assessment: Patrons
Appendix B. Sample Needs Assessment: Staff
Appendix C. Sample Needs Assessment: Community
Appendix D. Referral Sheet Template
Appendix E. Sample Behavior Response Guide
Index
A comprehensive overview of various services, programs, and collaborations to help libraries serve high-need patrons as well as strategies for supporting staff working with these individuals.
Elizabeth A. Wahler is Professor and Director of the
School of Social Work at The University of North Carolina at
Charlotte, USA.
Sarah C. Johnson is adjunct lecturer at the School of
Information Sciences at the University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, USA.
What would it take for libraries to truly become places that
support everyone who steps into them, including library workers
themselves? Creating a Person-Centered Library answers this
question in a clear, timely, and usable way. Drawing upon social
work principles and practices, Wahler and Johnson guide us through
the process of transforming relationships among library staff, with
our patrons, and with our potential partners, including social
workers themselves. Along the way, they deploy their extensive
experience to guide us through challenges that may stand in the way
of change, preparing us to clear those hurdles. I recommend this
treasure trove of useful information to anyone striving to
transform how libraries support both communities and themselves in
the trying times in which we find ourselves.
*Noah Lenstra, Associate Professor of Library & Information Science
at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, USA*
A practical and compassionate resource for libraries to support
their work with high-needs patrons and the staff who serve them.
The right book at the right time for libraries around the
world.
*Jane Garner, PhD, School of Information and Communication Studies,
Charles Sturt University, Australia*
A helpful collection that will inform high-needs patron services,
targeted toward public libraries but useful everywhere.
*Library Journal*
In the ever-changing library landscape, Creating a Person-Centered
Library, by Wahler and Johnson, shines as an essential compass
guiding us through diverse challenges—embracing mental health,
housing, and inclusivity. With its clear definitions and proven
models, this empowering playbook extends a helping hand to
high-needs patrons, transcending urban or rural boundaries. For
librarians and advocates seeking to forge inclusive and empathetic
havens within their libraries, this book is an absolute must-have
guide.
*Chris M. Brown, Commissioner, Chicago Public Library, USA*
This timely and relevant volume provides invaluable guidance to
librarians seeking to meet the social needs of their communities
and the individuals who make up those communities. It brings
together the perspectives of social workers and librarians and
benefits from the complementary and reinforcing expertise of those
human-centered professions.
*Maria Bonn, Associate Professor and Director, MS Library and
Information Science, School of Information Sciences, University of
Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA*
I highly recommend that someone from each library read this
book.
*Library Life*
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