Social Work Concepts for Libraries: Webinar (08/03/17) 

Whole Person Librarianship - Part 2

Whole Person Librarianship: Social work concepts for librarians

Partnerships between librarians and social workers began as a practical approach to the needs of our patrons, but social workers can also help us be better librarians. Social workers are trained to approach their clients with empathy while maintaining professional boundaries, using skills many public service librarians need every day. In this session, we will explore social work concepts such as cultural humility and person-in-environment, giving practical examples of how they are reflected in librarianship. You will learn some basic ideas from social work which you can apply right away to your library practice, as well as where to find more in-depth information and support.

Workshop participants will be able to:

• Recall core social work concepts relevant to library practice
• Begin to apply social work concepts within their own library setting

Virtual Trainers: Sara Zettervall and Mary Nienow

Sara Zettervall is the founder of Whole Person Librarianship, a model for serving patrons based on the social systems surrounding them. She currently works at Hennepin County Library as the librarian for a new outreach project to the Somali refugee community in Minneapolis. She was a 2014 American Library Association Emerging Leader and member of the 2013 Minnesota Library Association Institute for Leadership Excellence. Her work has been recognized through an invitational piece in Public Libraries Magazine and presentations at the state and national level. She has published on outreach services in VOYA, American Libraries, and Library Youth Outreach. Her experience includes leading innovative projects in public, academic, and school libraries and archives. She holds an MLIS from St. Catherine University (St. Paul, MN) and a MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan. 

Mary Nienow is currently completing her dissertational work, The Professional Socialization of Macro Practice Social Workers, at the University of Minnesota.  She will be joining the social work department at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire as an Assistant Professor in August, 2017.  Mary has a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Minnesota and over a decade of experience in research, teaching, advocacy, program coordination, policy development and analysis and community organizing. Mary was the co-founder of Grasstops, a nonprofit advocacy organization that assisted nonprofits and small community groups with their policy and advocacy goals. Her extensive practice experience also includes Policy Consultant for Hennepin County Medical Center, Field Director at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Executive Director at Child Care WORKS, and lead researcher on Health and Human Services for the Minnesota Senate DFL Caucus. Mary’s research interests include professional socialization, policy and program development, and decolonized social work. 

This is an online class. Access information will be emailed one week ahead.

Cost: NEFLIN classes are free of charge for Florida library staff. Registration is required for all classes and NEFLIN members get priority.