Grant Full proposal: IMLS Grant RE-256563-OLS-24
Libraries Advancing Community Learning to Reduce Substance Use (LACL) is a two-year, $149,993 National Forum project that aligns with LB21 Program Goal 1: Champion Lifelong Learning, Objective 1.2 (Support the training and professional development of the museum and library workforce). The University of Missouri (MU), in partnership with Emporia State University (ESU), University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), and Kansas City Public Library (KCPL), will host a two-day National Forum that will bring together subject experts and library staff participants to focus on understanding, augmenting, and expanding libraries’ roles in alcohol use disorder (AUD) and substance use disorder (SUD) recovery and prevention through reading, bibliotherapy, and peer-to-peer learning circles. Given that this topic is somewhat novel in American public librarianship, the forum will include invited talks by professionals such as psychologists/therapists, addiction counselors, social workers, and bibliotherapists, as well as experts in the library field.
The forum will be organized around sharing knowledge and developing resources related to five topical areas: (1) facilitating social connections in public libraries; (2) public library roles in AUD and/or SUD recovery through partnerships with social workers and other experts in the field; (3) therapeutic uses of literature, including reading groups and collection development to support bibliotherapy; (4) support for library staff suffering from AUD and/or SUD and secondary trauma; and (5) marketing and outreach to reach people who will benefit from these efforts.
The outcome of the forum will be an online resource containing a white paper and toolkit to guide programming in public libraries that addresses AUD and SUD and recovery through social support and reading groups. The target audience for the project is public library staff. We will invite 50 participants for the in-person forum. The forum will also be available online for any library workers who register for it, and the toolkit will be openly available within a year of the forum. There are two groups of beneficiaries: (1) people who are experiencing AUD or SUD and the library staff who serve them, and (2) library staff who use the toolkit and those experiencing AUD and/or SUD themselves, as one topic that will be addressed in the forum is caring for staff and promoting staff wellness.