Public Library Patrons in Crisis: Interprofessional Perceptions and Responses

Abstract

Public libraries are increasingly encountering patrons in crisis. “Crisis” is often undefined and reliant on individual perceptions. This research study identifies how different library staff and interprofessional partners perceive when a patron is in crisis and how these perceptions vary between people in different roles. Drawn from the findings of a multiple embedded case study of three U.S. public central libraries, this study includes 98 participants across five broad roles: front-facing library staff, security, CEOs, location managers, and social work teams. The perceptions of crisis ranged from non-dangerous situations to those that posed imminent physical danger, with preliminary differences noted between front-facing library staff and partners such as social workers. Implications for library-based interprofessional partnerships are discussed.