Search results

Society is experiencing the psychological impact of collective trauma. The COVID-19 pandemic, social injustice, and political unrest due to racial, sexual, gender identity, economic, climate, and environmental injustices have contributed to a rise in demand for mental health support and services in the United States. In addition to recent collective events, many individuals have also experienced complex trauma throughout their lives. People with traumatic experiences appear in day-to-day life as coworkers, students and patrons of systems and spaces, including libraries and universities. For library leaders, this informs the need for a consistent empathetic approach and response to interactions toward all who inhabit library spaces. It also creates an imperative for institutions to move forward with implementing a trauma-informed approach that addresses the needs of both library patrons and employees.

Library leadership should already be working toward more inclusive practices to attract greater diversity in their workforce. Introducing trauma-informed approaches builds on this work of respect for identity diversity with the other guiding principles of safety, trust, support, collaboration, and empowerment. Relevant frameworks, tools, and resources focused on implementing a trauma-informed approach to library workforce recruitment, onboarding, and retention are reviewed and summarized.