Drawing the Line between Social Work and Librarianship: Public Library Administrators Talk

As part of a larger, IMLS-funded project, focus groups were undertaken with public library administrators to discuss the professional scope of librarianship in the face of a growing practice of placing social workers in public libraries to help respond to communities’ social services-related needs. Findings from these focus groups and focus groups held with adult services and youth services librarians are being used to inform the development of a national survey of public librarians on this topic. The survey will be distributed fall 2024. Preliminary findings from focus groups with public library administrators indicate that librarians want to help, but are stretched beyond their training, and that the placement of social workers in libraries to help serve social services-related needs is a more complex solution than it may sound.