Social Workers

Hi, Elisabeth, what a great idea! If we found the right person, that could be a great solution. They would need some experience already, though, because that would be a tough internship otherwise.

Hi, Anne. I agree that the person should be a professional. If you got an intern, you would still need someone with experience--this position would be new not just to the social worker but to the library system, so we would need someone who's done the job successfully and can help the Library understand what to expect and what not to expect. I actually thought, though, that perhaps having a couple of part-timers would work and create a broader experience pool. We do tend to think of urban areas when we think of these issues, but rural poverty/food insecurity/housing insecurity are real problems, as well. That's why I think having an approach in which social workers both work with patrons and help staff design services and programming would be best. That way the impact could be broader than what the social worker(s) could accomplish alone.

Possibly we do. Internal staff could always apply for the posting, although someone in a permanent position might not want to give it up to do a temporary-term position that might not be extended. I do not think a job of this scope could be put on the plate of someone who already has a full set of responsibilities here.