University of Washington

The University of Washington's Information School will research whether public library staff experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder due to incidents in the workplace. Through case studies and a national survey with library staff, the results will yield baseline data about post-traumatic stress disorder and library staff, recommendations for a trauma-informed care approach for helping library staff, and curricula for information schools and professional development. One of the main objectives of the study will be to understand the prevalence of traumatic incidents in rural and tribal libraries - areas in which little research and documentation has been done. This project will systematically study librarians' safety risks as they serve a population that may exhibit high-risk behaviors, and provide recommendations for how to better support library staff in the workplace.