Vol. 19 (2023): Jubileu de ouro
Artigos

Service to public library patrons in situations of social vulnerability: possibilities, challenges, and cooperation between librarians and social workers

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  • Willian Eduardo Righini de Souza
Willian Eduardo Righini de Souza
Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de São Paulo
Bio

Published 2023-09-07

Keywords

  • User service,
  • Public Library,
  • Social assistance,
  • Librarian

How to Cite

Souza, W. E. R. de. (2023). Service to public library patrons in situations of social vulnerability: possibilities, challenges, and cooperation between librarians and social workers. Revista Brasileira De Biblioteconomia E Documentação, 19. Retrieved from https://rbbd.febab.org.br/rbbd/article/view/1942

Copyright (c) 2023 Revista Brasileira de Biblioteconomia e Documentação

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The public library plays an inclusive role by receiving people in situations of social vulnerability, such as those who are homeless, under the influence of drugs, and with mental illnesses. In this context, some public libraries, especially in the United States, have engaged social workers to offer assistance to these groups. To better serve them, it is necessary to know their needs, how they see the library, and the service they receive. It is also essential to understand how librarians and social workers can work in harmony, sharing knowledge and dividing responsibilities when patrons present their demands. Thus, it is proposed to discuss this professional relationship based on documents available in the Web of Science database on the service provided to specific groups of patrons in the public library, such as homeless people, unemployed people, and immigrants. The analysis indicates that the working relationship between librarians and social workers is still not well defined, that many librarians consider that they were not prepared in their training to receive the most diverse types of patrons, and that cooperation between these professionals tends to be limited to the care of patrons in emergency circumstances without further discussion about the intersections between their respective areas of knowledge.

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