Order the first-ever book on library-social work collaboration:
Buy direct from Libraries Unlimited
Request from your local library
Already have the book? Here are the online resources.
Endorsements from leaders in the field:
“Whole Person Librarianship highlights the strengths of social work and librarianship, demonstrating how these approaches can be used in tandem to produce effective results in addressing needs of the most vulnerable library patrons. This book shows how patron services can be improved with the collaboration of the two disciplines’ distinct yet similar roles and purpose, and it shines a light on several intersectionalities within both fields, such as access to resources and the promotion of social justice. In short, this book is recommended as a well-researched guide for libraries considering implementation of social services into their systems.”
“After endorsing Zettervall and Nienow’s work for years, I’m thrilled at the publication of this definitive, authoritative manuscript on the collaboration between public libraries and social work. As leading experts in such partnerships, their work is timely and much needed. I will continue to refer to their wisdom in my own work, as well as recommending Whole Person Librarianship to the pioneering social workers, interns, and librarians among us.”
“This book is the first of its kind to document and explore the vast possibilities of library-social work collaborations. Zettervall and Nienow have written an invaluable guide to bringing library staff and social workers together for the good of communities.”
“Regardless of where libraries aim to settle in the continuum of social work collaborations, this important book responds to the plea from library staff for practical and applicable methods which enable whole person service with minimal burnout. These social work concepts inform sustainable solutions relevant to every library type and community size.”
“Sara K. Zettervall and Dr. Mary C. Nienow, MSW, provide us with the tools we need to develop empathic practices, form partnerships, and bring social workers and social work expertise into libraries of all types. Whole Person Librarianship contains the practical information we need to make our libraries even more supportive community hubs. The book will impact front-line library staff, library administrators, library educators, and social work students and social workers. Throughout the book, stories of actual librarians and social workers powerfully illustrate the concepts discussed. The book concludes with inspiring chapters on how to sustain and advocate for whole person librarianship and, therefore, how to advocate for our patrons and communities. Zettervall and Nienow have distilled their expertise on this topic into a book accessible and useful for library staff, library educators, and social workers.”
“Whole Person Librarianship is a critical, vital text for anyone who is concerned about library practice in the 21st century. This book provides us great information that centers our service work within our communities and teaches us how we can reinvigorate and strengthen the role of librarians and libraries in the lives and social networks of our patrons. Librarianship and social work as professions have a lot to learn from each other.”
“While aiming to educate librarians about social work as a complement to public service in and through libraries, Whole Person Librarianship: A Social Work Approach to Patron Services is certainly important to social workers who are seeking new community partners and career pathways, as well as to social work educators who are seeking exciting internships and learning opportunities for their students. Libraries are emerging as the new community centers and settlement houses of today—centers for lifelong learning and civic engagement. Social workers who read this book will want to spend more time at their public library—and for good reasons.”
Whole Person Librarianship 