Over the past year, I've been honoured to be part of Implementing Trauma-Informed Practices in Academic Libraries: Empowering Staff to Foster Resilient and Inclusive Learning Environments, a project supported by UBC Library’s Strategic Equity and Anti-Racism Framework (StEAR) Enhancement Fund. Our goal has been simple yet deeply ambitious: to reimagine the academic library as a place where staff are not only equipped to understand trauma, respond with empathy, and foster spaces that feel safe, inclusive, and genuinely supportive, but also have self-care practices to support themselves when facing or experiencing retraumatization.
The grant proposal behind this initiative seeks funding to deliver a comprehensive trauma-informed training program for library staff across UBC. This includes workshops and creating resources that introduce core principles of trauma-informed care, including safety, trust, choice, collaboration, and empowerment, to demonstrate how they translate into everyday library interactions.
Research shows that historically marginalized communities often carry disproportionate burdens of trauma, and encounters with discrimination—however subtle—can intensify stress and psychological harm. In academic libraries, where diverse users seek help, study, rest, and a sense of belonging, trauma-informed approaches are not just beneficial but essential.
A recent title that informed my work in this area is Trauma-Informed Leadership in Libraries (edited by Janet Crum and David Ketchum), which features a roster of LIS practitioners well-versed in this area. The monograph excites me because it considers an individual’s holistic life experiences, particularly the negative consequences of trauma, when determining how best to support and engage with them in the workplace from a manager's viewpoint and context.
My participation in this project has been both professionally transformative and personally grounding. Working alongside colleagues who share a commitment to equity and care has deepened my understanding of how library work intersects with human vulnerability. This initiative is more than a training program; it's a step toward reshaping campus culture, one interaction at a time, to ensure that all library users feel seen, supported, and respected.
