Working in the “Gray Area:” Determining Healthy Boundaries When The Best Choice Isn’t Clear

This highly interactive 90-minute session on boundaries follows up on last January’s Boundaries for Library Staff, after which participants requested more opportunity for discussion, application of new concepts to real-world scenarios, and safe places for problem-solving with some of the difficult and stressful situations we face in our library work.

In this live, unrecorded session, Dr. Wahler will focus on the framework for decision-making in times that there’s no clear right/wrong choice. The majority of time will be spent in conversation around participants’ pre-submitted boundary dilemmas with guided practice applying the framework directly to the scenarios.

Registrants should plan to participate actively in this session and have a working microphone and camera if at all possible. This a standalone session, but all registrants should have either attended Boundaries for Library Staff, or viewed the CALL Academy recording (you will need to create a free account).

PLEASE NOTE:

Registrants have the option to submit boundary-related scenarios or examples in the registration form below (deadline for scenarios is April 29th). Dr. Wahler will attempt to include examples that reflect a need for library-wide boundaries (i.e. policies or standardized procedures) and those that are related to personal boundaries. Submission of a scenario does not guarantee it will be included.

Presenter Bio- Beth Wahler, PhD, MSW is founder and principal consultant at Beth Wahler Consulting, LLC and affiliated research faculty at UNC Charlotte. Dr. Wahler is a social work consultant, researcher,
and experienced administrator whose primary focus is trauma-informed librarianship. She has 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.

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