Dr. Beth Wahler, PhD, MSW is founder and principal consultant at Beth Wahler Consulting, LLC and associate research faculty and previous director of the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina- Charlotte. Dr. Wahler is a social work consultant, researcher, educator, and experienced administrator whose primary focus is trauma-informed librarianship, addressing public library patrons’ psychosocial needs (needs related to mental health, substance abuse, poverty, etc.), supporting library staff with serving high-needs patrons and reducing work-related stress/trauma, and various kinds of collaborations, services, and programs to meet these types of patron and staff needs. She has worked with multiple public libraries- urban, suburban, and rural- as well as large library systems and state library associations to provide personalized training opportunities, conduct needs assessments, and develop individualized plans to help meet the needs of their patron populations and staff. She has also published and presented internationally on library patron and staff needs, trauma-informed librarianship, and library/social work collaborations. Her recently published book, “Creating a Person-Centered Library: Best Practices for Supporting High-Needs Patrons,” focuses on strategies for supporting patrons with psychosocial needs while simultaneously supporting library staff. |
