Trauma-Informed Supervision for Library Leaders Part 1: Understanding Trauma-Informed Supervision
It is not uncommon for library workers to be exposed to primary or vicarious trauma over the course of their career. According to the recent Urban Library Trauma Study, nearly 70% of respondents shared that they had experienced violent or aggressive behavior from patrons, while 22% indicated that they experienced similar behavior from their own coworkers.
Through an understanding of trauma-informed practices, library administrators and managers can better support staff in their service to the public while fostering an organizational culture of safety, trust, and inclusion. In this two-part webinar series, participants will learn various trauma-informed approaches and explore how to apply these concepts within their own library.
In Part 1 of this webinar series, participants will be able to define trauma and its causes, and identify principles of trauma-informed care.
This webinar was recorded live on June 7th, 2023.
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
- define trauma.
- identify the systemic roots of trauma.
- familiarize themselves with the Adverse Childhood Experience Study.
- identify risk factors for trauma in the library.
- identify principles of trauma-informed care
- learn strategies to support self-care for you and your staff.
ALSC Core Competencies
- Demonstrates respect for diversity and inclusion of cultural values, and continually develops cultural awareness and works to address implicit bias in order to provide inclusive and equitable service to diverse populations (1.1)
- Cultivates an environment for enjoyable and convenient use of library resources, specifically removing barriers to access presented by socioeconomic circumstances, race, culture, privilege, language, gender, ability, religion, immigration status, and commercialism, and other diversities (1.7)
- Demonstrates cultural awareness, critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, mediating, and cultural competency skills (6.7)
- Develops and support organizational values dedicated to fostering culturally aware services (6.10)
- Practices self-evaluation and pursues professional development and continuing education opportunities on an ongoing basis (7.3)
- Develops an understanding of personal and cultural values, beliefs, and sociocultural identities, including racial, class and gender identities, in appreciate the importance of culturally diverse identities in the workplace and wider community (7.4)
- Mentors library school students, paraprofessionals, and new librarians (7.8)
Instructors
April Roy is the director of employee success at Kansas City Public Library. During her career of over 20 years, she has served as a children's librarian, branch manager, and programming director. After transforming service using trauma-informed practices at the L.H. Bluford Library, she was awarded the prestigious "I Love My Librarian Award". Her work included a partnership with The University Health System for training, resources and programming. She is certified by University Health as a Trauma Informed Care Ambassador and Trauma Informed Culture Trainer, and she is also certified in Mental Health First Aid for adults and teens.
Brandy Sanchez is a librarian, certified leadership coach, and founder of the SoulFire Collective, an online learning community dedicated to supporting librarians' well-being in the workplace. She has devoted her 20-year career to training development for both patrons and staff. In collaboration with the Center for Trauma Informed Innovation, Brandy has designed library-specific training on trauma informed supervision.