A Trauma-Informed Framework for Supporting Patrons: The PLA Workbook of Best Practices

This workbook from the PLA Social Worker Task Force (SWTF) provides practical guidance and support for library workers to better interact with patrons and colleagues who may be experiencing trauma and adversity. It offers prompts, exercises, and best practices to help build confidence in responding to challenging behaviors and provides tools for de-escalation and guidance on involving law-enforcement.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 112 pages
Publication date: 07 March 2022
Publisher: American Library Association

Offering practical guidance and support, this workbook will spark curiosity and reflection on how everyday library interactions intersect with trauma and adversity. Whether it's navigating a crisis or witnessing a community member struggling with tough times, coming face to face with trauma and adversity can be uncomfortable. But in striving to learn more about challenging behaviors, and how we can better interact with library patrons and our coworkers, we can come to see that people are complex and not simply problems. This workbook from the PLA Social Worker Task Force (SWTF) provides a collection of powerful tools to add to your customer service toolbox. It's filled with prompts, exercises, and best practices that shed light on how trauma can affect people, helping you build confidence in your ability to support your library's patrons. You will delve into what trauma is and how it impacts library work; be introduced to a framework for utilizing a trauma-informed lens in your interactions; practice exercises to spur personal reflection on common concerns bound up with library work and the policies relating to these issues; and gain hand-on tools and techniques, including strategies for de-escalation and guidance on the impacts of involving law-enforcement and banning patrons.

Offering practical guidance and support, this workbook will spark curiosity and reflection on how everyday library interactions intersect with trauma and adversity. Whether it's navigating a crisis or witnessing a community member struggling with tough times, coming face to face with trauma and adversity can be uncomfortable. But in striving to learn more about challenging behaviors, and how we can better interact with library patrons and our coworkers, we can come to see that people are complex and not simply problems. This workbook from the PLA Social Worker Task Force (SWTF) provides a collection of powerful tools to add to your customer service toolbox. It's filled with prompts, exercises, and best practices that shed light on how trauma can affect people, helping you build confidence in your ability to support your library's patrons. You will delve into what trauma is and how it impacts library work; be introduced to a framework for utilizing a trauma-informed lens in your interactions; practice exercises to spur personal reflection on common concerns bound up with library work and the policies relating to these issues; and gain hand-on tools and techniques, including strategies for de-escalation and guidance on the impacts of involving law-enforcement and banning patrons.

Weight: 363g
Dimension: 279 x 216 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780838949566