|
About This Course
Build skills to face the real-world challenges of public library work.
On-Demand Materials:
Available starting November 3, 2025
Libraries are meant to be safe, welcoming spaces, but frontline staff often face situations that challenge that goal. This self-paced course focuses on the kinds of situations library workers are dealing with every day: conflict, escalation, and the pressure to respond calmly when things get tense.
You’ll learn trauma-informed practices for engaging with safety concerns, methods for recognizing and responding to escalating behavior, and strategies for protecting your own well-being through boundaries and self-care. From handling difficult interactions with patrons to navigating emotionally charged situations, you’ll leave this course with strategies you can use right away to feel safer and more supported in your library.
click here to enroll
NOTE: This course is hosted on our new learning platform. At checkout, you'll be prompted to log in or create an account. If this is your first time using the new platform, you'll need to register a new account. For more information about Library Journal's new learning platform, check out our FAQ.
Return to Full Course Catalog
After you attend this course, you’ll be able to:
- Approach safety from a trauma-informed lens
- Resolve conflicts in a trauma-informed way
- Use techniques to de-escalate difficult situations
- Use tools to stay grounded in your values during conflict
- Understand the role of relationships regarding safety
- Establish professional and healthy boundaries
- Know when to disengage and ask for support
This course consists of 5 on-demand modules:
Module 1: Safer Libraries for Staff and Patrons: Trauma-Informed Librarianship
Trauma-informed practice is essential for creating an environment of safety and care. This session will teach you the foundations of trauma-informed principles to apply to your library especially, but not exclusively, in moments of crisis. These practices will be actionable and relevant whether you’re interacting with patrons, colleagues, or turning trauma-informed care toward yourself.
Module 2: De-escalation Training for Libraries
What are the root causes of escalation, and how can librarians address them? This session will provide you with techniques for emotional self-management, processes for de-escalating difficult situations, and strategies for reflective listening and discerning and acknowledging disgruntled people’s needs, interests, and emotions. Focused primarily on psychological and verbal conflict, this program will help you incorporate and practice de-escalation strategies to help promote a safer library.
Module 3: Centering Equity During Conflict
Between safety concerns and hostile patrons, tensions in and around libraries are at an all-time high. Research shows that implicit biases are more likely to surface and escalate during moments of tension and conflict. As a result, truly internalizing equity practices is key to centering equity during conflict. This session will discuss ways to ground yourself, recognize and deal with implicit bias, and respond rather than react in moments of conflict so that you remain aligned with your values.
Module 4: Empathy and Safety: The Role of Relationships
How can relationships impact and enhance safety? What are practical ways you can build relationships with patrons? This session will discuss how a commitment to relationships can help create a culture of safety and wellness in your library.
Module 5: Boundaries and Self-Care in a Customer Service Role
Librarians and frontline staff often have to navigate tense or unsafe situations. How do you simultaneously attempt to resolve conflict and maintain your personal boundaries and self-care all while in a customer service role? How do you take care of yourself before, during, and after incidents, and where and how can you access support? This session will give you practical tips for identifying and articulating your boundaries and identifying ways to care for yourself while at work.
Who should take this course
This course is designed for public-facing staff and librarians at public libraries.
This will be a self-paced, asynchronous online course.
Expected time commitment
This course includes 5 modules, each designed to take approximately 4 hours to complete. You can move through the content at your own pace and on your own schedule. You'll earn 20 hours of PD credit and a Library Journal certificate of completion.
On-demand access
You’ll have access to all course materials for 6 months from your enrollment date or from the official course launch date, whichever is later.
Certificate of completion
Complete the course and earn 20 professional development credit hours. We provide a certificate that is emailed to you.
Support
For support with online courses, please contact course-support@libraryjournal.com.
Course Instructors
Leticia Cotto , Chief Administrative Officer, Hartford Public Library
Catherine G. Corto-Mergins, LCSW , Director of Training, The Village for Families & Children
Priscilla Pandozzi , Community Health Coordinator, Hartford Public Library
Tyler Drogin , Owner, Tyler Drogin Mediation and Conflict Resolution; former Program Director at the Peaceful Leadership Institute
Lu Bangura , Chief of Equity and Fair Practice at Enoch Pratt Free Library
Eddie Kristan (he, him), Genealogy & Local History Librarian, Arlington Heights Memorial Library
Stephen Jackson (he, him) Founder, Global CommUnity Associates, library lover, and restorative practitioner/trainer
Tim McLeod (he, him) Mental Health Counselor, Applied Theatre Practitioner
Melissa Munn (she, her) Customer Experience Director, Public Operations at Pierce County Library System
Discounted rates are available for a limited time only. Secure your tickets now to lock in the best price.
|
Rate
|
Early Bird
|
Standard
|
|
Deadline
|
November 3, 2025
|
December 31, 2025
|
|
Ticket Price
|
$290
|
$330
|
Group Rates
We offer discounts for groups of 3 or more.
For larger groups of 15 or more, we offer the option to apply group rates across multiple courses to receive significant discounts. For more information, select “Bulk Course Credits Packages” in the form below.
Request Discounted Group Pricing
For support with group purchases, please contact groupsales@libraryjournal.com.
|