Libraries contribute to mental and social well-being primarily by increasing access: to trustworthy information, supportive relationships, and pathways to care. National surveys by the Pew Research Center find that 94 percent of Americans say public libraries improve the quality of life in a community, and 81 percent say libraries provide services people would have a hard time finding elsewhere. This trust and reach make libraries powerful partners in community well-being, even though they do not, and should not replace healthcare or social service systems.
Several practice areas illustrate how this works in non-clinical, public library–appropriate ways:
- Trauma-informed approaches: The Public Library Association’s Social Work Task Force describes trauma-informed care as a foundation for library social work, emphasizing safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, and empowerment. Trauma-informed librarianship focuses on recognizing that many patrons have experienced trauma and designing services, policies, and spaces that avoid retraumatization, reduce barriers, and treat behavioral challenges as system issues rather than personal failings. Libraries using this lens aim to create calm, welcoming environments, review policies for unintended harm, and train staff to respond compassionately to signs of distress while staying within their professional scope.
- Mental Health First Aid and similar training: Many library systems now train staff in Mental Health First Aid, an evidence-informed program that teaches non-clinical professionals how to recognize signs of mental health or substance use challenges, offer initial support, and connect people to appropriate services. For example, state and regional agencies have funded Mental Health First Aid sessions specifically for librarians, citing rising stress in communities and the frontline position of library staff. This training does not turn librarians into clinicians, it equips them as informed bystanders who can respond more confidently and safely when concerns arise.
- Partnerships with social services and health organizations: Many libraries collaborate with local social service providers, public health departments, and nonprofit organizations. Some systems host embedded social work interns or staff who can conduct needs assessments, connect patrons to housing or benefits resources, and provide crisis de-escalation support while librarians focus on their core roles. Others co-sponsor workshops on stress, isolation, and coping, or act as trusted venues for health outreach, from vaccine information sessions to benefits enrollment assistance.
- Library social workers: The emerging field of library-based social work is a concrete example of cross-sector collaboration. PLA highlights how library social workers use their training to model trauma-informed interactions, provide staff training, and help reframe patron challenges—such as homelessness or substance use as system-level issues rather than individual moral failings. Case studies from public libraries show that co-locating social workers can reduce barriers to accessing services, de-escalate crises, and support staff in responding more effectively to patrons in distress.
Across these efforts, libraries are not delivering therapy or diagnosing conditions, they are expanding access to information, relationships, and referrals that are associated with healthier, more connected communities.
Evidence that libraries strengthen community connection and resilience
While libraries do not claim direct medical outcomes, a growing body of research links their presence and use to factors known to support community well-being, including reduced social isolation, stronger social networks, and improved access to information and services. Studies of social infrastructure emphasize that institutions like libraries create the settings where social participation occurs and where people build ties that help them weather crises, find employment, and navigate essential resources.
Sociologist Eric Klinenberg has argued that investing in shared civic spaces such as libraries is a form of “social infrastructure” policy that can mitigate risks associated with isolation, inequality, and public health or climate-related emergencies. Public opinion data reinforce this role: Pew Research Center surveys consistently show that large majorities of Americans view public libraries as trusted institutions that improve quality of life and expand opportunity.
This trust is especially significant for people who are unemployed, retired, living with disabilities, or lacking reliable home internet access. Groups that may face greater risk of isolation or barriers to information and support.
In practice, this can look like a patron using a library computer lab to apply for benefits, attending a stress-management workshop hosted in partnership with a local agency, or finding out about a confidential mental health hotline through library promotion. None of these activities constitute treatment, but all expand the “front door” to help and reduce the isolation that public health agencies identify as a major risk factor.
The impact on library staff and why support is crucial
This expanded role comes with real costs for library workers. Even before the pandemic, scholars and practitioners were calling attention to the emotional labor of librarianship and the risk of “vocational awe”, the expectation that library workers will sacrifice personal well-being for the mission of serving the public. During the latest pandemic, library professionals reported heightened stress, emotional dissonance, and exhaustion as they juggled safety protocols, shifting job duties, and increasingly complex patron needs. Research during the pandemic found above-average levels of emotional exhaustion among library staff and linked emotional dissonance, the gap between felt and displayed emotions to burnout risk.
More recent analyses of public sector work suggest that politicization, resource constraints, and contentious public debates can exacerbate burnout and health issues, prompting some library workers to consider leaving the profession.
Trauma-informed librarianship and social work partnerships explicitly recognize that staff also need environments that are safe, supportive, and sustainable, not just patrons. Professional development in trauma-informed practice, access to mental health resources for staff, clear policies, and realistic workload expectations are emerging as essential components of responsible library leadership.