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This study examines children’s understanding of the causality, treatment, and prevention of the common cold. Using a standardized, developmentally‐based, semi‐structured interview (ASK), 800 children (43 per cent black, 38 per cent white, 18 per cent Hispanic; 48 per cent female) in kindergarten through sixth grade attending six public elementary/middle schools in New Haven, Connecticut, USA were asked open‐ended questions about the causality, treatment, and prevention of the common cold. Responses were scored for factual content. The study found that with increasing grade level, a greater percentage of students mentioned contagion and germs as causes of the cold, medicine as a means of treatment, and avoidance of casual contact as a means of prevention. Common misconceptions were identified across all grade levels. These misconceptions did not decrease as children acquired more factual information about colds. Additionally, these misconceptions did not appear to stem from developmental constraints in children’s ability to comprehend illness concepts, indicating that health education can and should begin early in school.

Trauma-informed care as a concept came out of social service and mental health practice in 2009. Since then, it has been working into librarianship and library practice, first as an approach for public libraries to apply social work principles to their outreach and support of community members. Then it was applied to a broader array of libraries such as academic institutions as they worked to improve their services and offerings for members of their community. What has not yet been addressed broadly within the field of librarianship is trauma-informed leadership as a means of supporting library staff as they grapple with burnout, low morale, and vocational awe.

Academic libraries as workplaces have multiple attributes that contribute to toxicity or low psychological safety. Organizations with a lack of transparency and trust may result in library workers experiencing burnout and a lack of engagement. Creating and supporting healthy organizational cultures with open communication, collaboration, and mutuality is the ethical responsibility of managers. In institutions where there is inherited toxicity, library leaders can practice trauma-informed leadership to support individuals and build a healthier workplace culture.

While toxicity is not unique to academic libraries, large bureaucratic and hierarchical systems can be rife with issues that undermine psychological safety and engagement. This book chapter will examine trauma-informed leadership practices as applied by two leaders in their roles at various organizations and steps for leaders to transform their environments into high functioning, productive workplaces.