Sundays, January 5, 12, 19, 26, 2014 12:00-4:00pm CDC 20 St. Catherine University Mary Nienow, MSW, Clinical Instructor and Director of Internship, Department of Social Work, UW-Eau Claire Sara Zettervall, MLIS, MFA, Associate to the University Librarian, University of Minnesota “I may not be a social worker, but I know how to find one for… Continue reading LIS 7961: Whole Person Librarianship
Author: Sara Z
Librarian. Poet. Quiet rioter. Opinions expressed are my own.
A change to the site and a call for participation
This site started with the intention of promoting a discussion of how librarianship and social work come together. We've had some amazing content to share over the seven or so months of weekly posts - but we're also finding it challenging to bring in new voices beyond our core participants. Meanwhile, our work on Whole… Continue reading A change to the site and a call for participation
“I’m not a social worker, but I know how to find you one.”
Coming out of a very successful session at this year’s Minnesota Library Association conference, that’s the statement we’d like every librarian to feel confident to make to patrons. But how do we reach that end? Our full session room – 40 people – held an intense discussion on the intersection of librarianship and social work… Continue reading “I’m not a social worker, but I know how to find you one.”
Blurred Lines, the Digital Divide, and the Question of Control
This post has nothing to do with Robin Thicke. With that out of the way, I just finished "Librarian or Social Worker: Time to Look at the Blurring Line?" by Rachael Cathcart.* Published in 2008, it anticipates the current call for public librarians to facilitate health care sign-ups. Cathcart focuses on e-government, stating, Services for which… Continue reading Blurred Lines, the Digital Divide, and the Question of Control
A Report from the Trenches
The university library where I currently work is embedded in a neighborhood with a significant Somali immigrant population--the same neighborhood, in fact, where Mary and I held the book club last year. This neighborhood, Cedar-Riverside, is fairly close to two public libraries, but there isn't one within safe walking distance, so there has been a… Continue reading A Report from the Trenches
Macro and Micro Librarianship
In discussing possibilities for the conference session this fall, one of our panelists suggested looking at librarianship through social work's "macro" and "micro" views. This blog post* provides a critique of the macro/micro divide, but in doing so, it also provides a good, brief introduction: Macro and Micro social work are interdependent concepts. One cannot… Continue reading Macro and Micro Librarianship
“…And Social Justice for All: How Can Librarians and Social Workers Collaborate?”
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we have a session coming up at the Minnesota Library Association Annual Conference this fall in St. Cloud. ...And Social Justice for All: How Can Librarians and Social Workers Collaborate? will take place on Thursday morning, October 10, 2013, from 10-11am. Here are the details. But more than… Continue reading “…And Social Justice for All: How Can Librarians and Social Workers Collaborate?”
Whole Person Librarianship: The Class
Just kidding, sort of... I don't think I'm going to call it that, but we (I + Paul Lai + Professor Emeritus Mary Wagner) are beginning work on a 1-credit class on the intersection of social work and librarianship for the St. Kate's MLIS program's J Term. In preparation, I've started adding some things to… Continue reading Whole Person Librarianship: The Class
Public Librarians and Health Care: A Social Work Perspective
by Mary Nienow, MSW, Clinical Director and Instructor of Internship, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire As I was procrastinating in the writing of this blog entry on what social workers can teach librarians, I received call from a public library asking for my help. With the advent of the Affordable Care Act (i.e. Obamacare),… Continue reading Public Librarians and Health Care: A Social Work Perspective
“I’m not a doctor, so I can’t advise you on that”
If there's one thing I remember learning in reference class - besides that print reference is complex, and our librarian forebears were amazing to work it - it's never to give medical advice to patrons. We were all taught to draw a clear line between sharing medical information resources and making recommendations about taking medical… Continue reading “I’m not a doctor, so I can’t advise you on that”
Whole Person Librarianship 