What stood out from this week’s readings is Hasan’s article on how a local library is a sanctuary of health and wellness. The article focuses on Public Libraries Victoria (PLV) in Australia but has multiple points of resonance. Earlier this month, I saw an article that reported that San Mateo County declared loneliness as a public health emergency. It is the first county within the country to do so. According to the resolution that was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors, “at least 45% of residents reported difficulty with isolation and loneliness.” As a library staff within the San Mateo County Libraries (SMCL) system, these are community members that I serve. I remember thinking when I initially read the article, what role can the libraries take on in combating this issue?
According to the CEO of PLV, Angela Savage, “Libraries are free, non-judgemental, trusted, and accessible to everyone. There’s no stigma involved in coming into a library and we feel that we can offer safe and welcoming spaces for people who might otherwise experience discrimination (Hasan, 2023).” This means that the library provides a great environment to support programs like PLV’s ‘Libraries for Health and Wellbeing’ which bolsters social connection to combat the loneliness epidemic in Australia. Among the activities that the library offers to support social connections are book clubs, craft groups, after-hours activities such as board games and movie nights. These are some of the activities that SMCL regularly provides to our communities. Additionally, SMCL has been providing a series of ‘Mental Health First Aid Training’ that empowers people to identify and help others that are in distress. While there may be more that can be done, the Hasan article provides assurance that libraries have more of an impact on their communities than they may realize.
References
Hasan, T. N. (2023, June 27). ‘Free, non-judgemental, accessible’: How your local library is a sanctuary of health and wellness. SBS. https://www.sbs.com.au/language/bangla/en/article/free-nonjudgmental-and-accessible-how-your-local-library-is-a-sanctuary-of-health-and-wellness/t15blzsi9
Macasero, R. (2024, February 10). Loneliness declared health emergency in San Mateo County. The Mercury News. https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/06/loneliness-declared-health-emergency-in-san-mateo-county/
@ysalina I am so appreciative of what our Australian colleagues in the library field bring to their services. I am also reminded of the libraries in the US that have added social workers to their staff to support folks that need help. Thanks for highlighting this.
Hi Alina,
I live in the Bay Area and missed the news about San Mateo County declaring loneliness as a public health emergency. So sad to think of there being so many lonely people that it has come to this level. The Mental Health First Aid Training sounds like a great program to help your patrons at SMCL. It reminded me of some library programs I researched a bit when I took INFO 200 which @michael references too. You can book an appointment with a Community Crisis Worker in some Winnipeg Public Libraries (https://wpl.winnipeg.ca/library/communityconnections/communitycrisisworkers.stm). And the Indianapolis Public Libraries have regular office hours with Social Worker to help patrons get connected to various types of help they might need. (https://www.indypl.org/services/social-work-services). Thanks for raising this up!
It is so sad to hear that so many people suffer from isolation and loneliness. It was especially hard for people quarantining during the pandemic. When libraries started to open up again, the libraries in my county opened more social programs for patrons to participate in. They implemented a Manga and Café for Teens so they can talk to each other over popular graphic novels and shows. They also started a puzzle off event, where anyone of any age could come together and create beautiful puzzles together. It is amazing how much libraries can do for their communities today.