Florida State University (Florida State University, College of Communication and Information)

Florida State University’s School of Information will research the hiring practices and evaluative measures of social workers hired in public libraries. In the past decade, public libraries around the country have increasingly hired social workers to provide specialized services to their patrons and communities; however, there have been no national studies on this topic. The project will investigate the primary skills sought in hiring social workers for libraries, and how these are skills then evaluated in practice; the social needs being addressed by social workers in libraries; and the perceptions of library staff about the efficacy of social workers in public libraries. This research will inform hiring and evaluation processes; create a framework of needs and practices for library staff and library social workers; expose what social needs of library users are not met by traditional library services; and provide an overview of the non-traditional skills that are needed in libraries.