Librarian or counsellor?: a pilot study of the experiences of library staff in one healthy reading scheme in Ireland

Library Patrons' Psychosocial Needs: Perceptions of Need and Reasons for Accessing Social Work Services

Public libraries in the United States have begun to partner with social work to address the psychosocial needs observed in patrons that are beyond the training and education of most library staff. This is a new area of inquiry with limited research available. Of the few published studies, the majority focus on staff perceptions of patrons' needs and surveys of patrons experiencing homelessness about their use of public libraries. The present study is the first to examine and compare staff perception of patrons' needs, patrons' self-expressed needs, and the actual use of social work services by patrons within one library system. Comparisons are explored between actual service usage alongside the perception of patrons' needs as originally reported by both staff and patron groups. Implications for library-based social work practice are discussed.

Transportations of space, time and self: the role of reading groups in managing mental distress in the community

BACKGROUND

The practice of reading and discussing literature in groups is long established, stretching back into classical antiquity. Although benefits of therapeutic reading groups have been highlighted, research into participants' perceptions of these groups has been limited.

AIMS

To explore the experiences of those attending therapeutic reading groups, considering the role of both the group, and the literature itself, in participants' ongoing experiences of distress.

METHOD

Eleven participants were recruited from two reading groups in the South-East of England. One focus group was run, and eight individuals self-selected for individual interviews. The data were analysed together using a thematic analysis drawing on dialogical theories.

RESULTS

Participants described the group as an anchor, which enabled them to use fiction to facilitate the discussion of difficult emotional topics, without referring directly to personal experience. Two aspects of this process are explored in detail: the use of narratives as transportation, helping to mitigate the intensity of distress; and using fiction to explore possibilities, alternative selves and lives.

CONCLUSIONS

For those who are interested and able, reading groups offer a relatively de-stigmatised route to exploring and mediating experiences of distress. Implications in the present UK funding environment are discussed.