Social Work-Informed Consulting Services for Libraries
Beth Wahler, MSW, PhD brings a social work lens to contemporary library challenges and offers support for libraries of all types and sizes. Although many libraries may not want or be ready to hire their own social worker, Beth aims to make social work-informed solutions accessible for every library through individual consultation, staff training and support programs, administrative coaching, needs assessments of staff, patrons/users, or communities, and individualized program design. With 25 years of professional experience in organizational leadership, trauma-informed services, program administration and development, training/education, and working with complex human challenges such as mental health problems, substance use disorders, intimate partner violence, homelessness, and poverty-related barriers/needs, Beth will work with your library to understand your needs, resources, and goals and collaboratively design solutions that will work for you.
On-demand Training Now Available On Niche Academy
Beth’s most popular training sessions have now been turned into on-demand, online tutorials available for groups of all sizes on Niche Academy! Tutorials are offered on a sliding scale based on group size.
Tutorials now available:
Working in the “Gray Area”: Boundaries for Library Staff
Caring for Ourselves and One Another: Supporting Sustainable Practice for Library Staff
Creating a Healthy Organizational Culture
Introduction to Trauma-Informed Librarianship
Defusing and Preventing Behavioral Escalation in Libraries: The Role of Three Core Human Needs
Coming by end of September:
Effective “Debriefing” in the Library Workplace
Reducing and Responding to Workplace Trauma
After a Disaster: Supporting Patrons in Crisis While Caring For Yourself
And this is just the beginning- more trainings will be uploaded soon! Whether library workers are looking to strengthen their skills, gain new tools for challenging situations, or increase strategies for supporting their teams, these sessions are designed to be engaging, practical, and directly applicable to the work happening in libraries every day.
What People Are Saying
“At a time when public services are stretched to their absolute maximum capacity and citizens of our communities are experiencing increased poverty, homelessness and behavioral health challenges, Dr. Wahler’s innovative work offers a low-cost solution to addressing the needs of a public organization critical to all communities and residents in need of services.”
“This [trauma-informed librarianship] training was up there with the best of the best trainings I have done. There were things for all levels of staff, new and old, on the floor, programming and middle management as well as the leadership team and CEO. There were things we did well, things we need to improve on, and definitely things we need to start doing. This was a timely, relevant training.”
“We are regularly presented with patron needs that we are not trained or equipped to meet, and we often respond with solutions that are ad hoc at best. Because of Beth’s work, we are able to provide a much higher quality response.”
“The training on trauma-informed librarianship was so useful and exactly what we need to help our library effect change around trauma-informed practice.”
“Beth has a strong understanding of the parallels and important differences between social work and librarianship and knows that each community is going to be different and needs to find their own solution. I highly recommend Beth and look forward to working with her again.”
“I strongly recommend Beth as a researcher, advocate, and colleague. Without her work, we would have had a much more difficult path forward to where we are today.”
Let’s Work Together
Every library has different needs. Contact Beth for staff training, needs assessments, program development, evaluation services, or general consultation about your library’s needs and the ways she might be able to help.