The TIL team were invited to submit an article on our research findings to Public Library Quarterly. You can expect to see our article this summer!

Professor Karen E. Fisher and Phoebe Brand completed the first ever Trauma-Informed Care Course at the UW iSchool. Course registration was at maximum capacity and we received overwhelmingly positive feedback from students.

Course syllabus and discussion prompts can be found here!

Phoebe Brand will be presenting our findings at the Diversity Poster Fair at the ALA Annual Conference in San Diego on June 29th at 3:30 PM in the Sails Pavilion.

Poster Description:

In recent years, the pressures and expectations put on libraries across the country have resulted in increasing trauma and PTSD in library staff. Library staff of diverse backgrounds are disproportionately affected by this increase in trauma. This poster shares research insights from three years of IMLS-funded research with public, school, and academic librarians across the country. Content will include common themes and sources of trauma, statistics on trauma rates for different populations, suggestions for policy and training adjustments, and resources for library staff and management. A major finding of this study was that staff from under-represented backgrounds are much more susceptible to library workplace trauma. So, how can libraries change to better support these staff? This poster will provide information to make you better equipped to understand, identify, prevent, and address trauma in your library workplace, especially for diverse staff. Solutions proposed here come directly from the mouths of survey and interview participants because library staff know best what is needed to improve conditions. Whether you are a librarian, manager, library assistant, or administrator, a rural or urban librarian, we welcome you to learn about paths forward to better support and sustain our diverse library workforce.

Phoebe Brand gave the presentation “Trauma-Informed Care: Tools, Procedures and Policies for Supporting Public Library Staff” at the annual Washington Library Association Conference.

Professor Karen E. Fisher and Phoebe Brand addressed the Washington Library Directors’ Annual Meeting. We presented updates on our research, our findings, and discussed the role of directors in combatting staff trauma.

On January 19, 2024, Professor Karen E. Fisher and Phoebe Brand presented findings from interviews, surveys, and fishbowl discussions to the Inland Northwest Council of Libraries, and led a discussion with INCOL members on staff trauma.

Professor Karen E. Fisher presented findings at the Public Library InterLINK Annual Conference in British Columbia, Canada.

Professor Karen E. Fisher and Lexa Gambrill presented preliminary findings at the IFLA Education and Training Section on July 22-29, 2022.

Professor Karen E. Fisher and Lexa Gambrill presented preliminary findings at the ALA Annual Conference on June 25, 2022.

Professor Karen E. Fisher and Lexa Gambrill presented preliminary findings at the Washington Library Association Conference on May 5, 2022.