Toolkit

This toolkit was created with the guidance of over fifty library workers during and after a two-day forum in Kansas City in May of 2025. If you’d like to learn more about the forum, the IMLS grant that funded it, or the view the presentations, you can find that information on the about the forum page.

Definitions and Facts

If you are just beginning your work in the area of substance use, mental health, and harm reduction in the library or you want to be sure you are using the most current and sensitive terminology, start here. We’ve put together a few great resources on basic terminology for informed library laypeople:

• Mental health and addiction
  • Mental health resources for individuals, organizations and the community
• Bibliotherapy
  • Can reading help? Resources for understanding bibliotherapy and when it is most effective.
• Substances: myths and facts
  • More information about substances and a quick myth-busting guide
• Examples of person-first language and terms to avoid
  • How we talk about substance us and mental health matters. Here are some great tips and resources to help make sure you know which words to use and why.

Getting Started

Ready to begin offering more services in your library but not sure how to start the conversation? These tools are a great place to begin.

• First steps
  • A brief guide to help you consider what you might need to get started in your library.
• Breaking the stigma: Who, how, and why are we serving?
  • Ideas for helping libraries offer programming to bring broader awareness and understanding to the issue.
• Starting the conversation in your library
  • Broaching the subject with other library staff and patrons can be challenging. Let us help you get the conversation started.
• Ethical guidelines and boundaries: Working with vulnerable people.
  • Considering the ethics of working with individuals experiencing SUD in the library? This can be a complex issue.

Planning Programs and Collections

You’ve got the stakeholders on board and are ready to begin offering programs and building your collections. Here are some helpful guides for programming and collection development.

• General guidelines for programs
  • Start here
• Bibliotherapy and reading groups
• Cultivating your collection
  • Ready to use guides for building new collections
• Examples of successful programs
• Program evaluation 
  • Measuring success

Communication, policy, and legal 

There are a wide variety of stakeholders involved in library initiatives. Drafting policies, marketing materials, and garnering support can be overwhelming. We’ve broken it down into smaller pieces to help you be successful. We’d love to hear about how you have communicated policies or programs on substance use and mental health in your library. Send your examples our way, if you’d like us to include them.

• Ways to get the word out and gain traction
• Crisis policies and procedures
• Templates and Examples:
  • Policies: harm reduction methods and tools
  • Letter to legislators
  • Sample library policy on programs in the recovery space
  • Marketing

Financials

How will you fund your programs and collections?

• Sources of funding
• Stretching the dollar
• Leveraging the power of partnerships

Education:

There are tons of opportunities out there to learn more! Continuing education for library staff, boards, and beyond.

• Staff training resources
• Educating the board
• Educating the public
• Creating a community of practice
• Continuing education

Other Resources

• Organizations & recovery groups
• Recommended reading
  • All of our references and other useful resources in one place.