Connecting Individuals With Social Services: The Library’s Role
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SCHMEHL HINES, Samantha (2015) Connecting Individuals With Social Services: The Library’s Role. Paper presented at: IFLA WLIC 2015 - Cape Town, South Africa in Session S12 - Satellite Meeting: Reference and Information Services. In: Reference as service and place, 11-13 August, Gaborone, Botswana.
Bookmark or cite this item: https://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/1971
Language:
English (Original)
Available under licence Creative Commons Attribution.
Bookmark or cite this item: https://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/1971/1/S12-2015-hines-en.pdf
Abstract
Connecting Individuals With Social Services: The Library’s Role
As a democratic and democratizing institution, libraries have a mission to connect the public with necessary information, as well as providing free and open access to the library for all citizens. As disadvantaged people become a core user base for libraries, some libraries have begun programs to connect these people with needed social services, which ties in with librarianship’s value of promoting social justice. In the United States and Canada this has mostly been through the hiring of social workers or public health workers within public libraries, or through outreach and engagement programs focused on improving employment prospects for communities. While libraries work to become true community centers, can we expect to see more libraries connecting users with social services? And if so, how can they best accomplish this task? This paper will discuss the history of the trend and existing analysis from the perspective of librarianship and social service professionals. It will then explore current activities around the globe, discovered through surveys and interviews conducted by the author. Based on the history, existing analysis and current activities, the author will propose best practices for connecting disadvantaged library users with social services through the library.Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Paper) | ||||||
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Conference details: | IFLA WLIC 2015 - Cape Town, South AfricaSession S12 - Reference as service and place - Satellite Meeting: Reference and Information Services |
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Divisions: | Division 3 Library Services > Reference and Information Services Section | ||||||
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Uncontrolled Keywords: | Libraries, Social Work, Social Services, Social Justice | ||||||
Date Deposited: | 19 Oct 2017 10:54 | ||||||
Last Modified: | 19 Oct 2017 10:54 | ||||||
URI: | https://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/1971 |
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