Bibliotherapy: Suggestions for Librarians Part 2 of 3

So in my first post I defined bibliotherapy and explained why it was important and useful. In my research I have found a surprising lack of librarians publishing and participating in bibliotherapy in the United States. I wish to offer suggestions about why and how librarians should reintegrate themselves into bibliotherapy practice.

The impact of librarians on clinical bibliotherapy is very small (only 3.1% of Professional counselors use librarians to choose sources and only 0.4% call that input valuable), whereas I feel that this is an area where collaboration between librarians and health professionals should abound. Much of the recent research in bibliotherapy has a clinical slant and has not focused on best practices or application, which have left these studies mostly inaccessible to be utilized by librarians (Brewster 116). Perhaps this absence of bibliotherapist librarians in the United States is because of the ethical issues surrounding medical information, as suggested by Rosey Clark: “Librarians who are asked questions by patrons concerning law and medicine have very strict guidelines. Definitive answers are never given, we only give patrons reliable reference sources. We refer them to physicians and lawyers for interpretation, diagnosis, and treatment” (36).

So is recommending books for bibliotherapy a form of treatment? If the recommendations are made in conjunction with a mental health professional who is guiding the librarian based on their own expertise in medicine, development, or mental health, then I believe that recommendation is completely within the bounds of librarianship. Liz Brewster agrees, stating that, “Both self help and creative bibliotherapy contribute to the wider agenda of current library practice” (173). Moreover collaborations of recommending books for bibliotherapy should thrive. Librarians are experts in books and health professionals are experts in therapy, when put together correctly that should be a winning combination for successful treatment (Brewster 174).

A few of the librarians publishing about bibliotherapy in the literature suggest a good first step towards librarians gaining a foothold in bibliotherapy is through the use of bibliographies. Jami L. Jones suggests that librarians could provide the names of books or specific passages in literature that could be useful for health professionals in therapy (26). Jones suggests this method because it allows librarians to be proactive and prove their usefulness to health professionals. Additionally, Rosey Clark, although she still has concerns about bibliotherapy complied a bibliography in response to a request for materials a teacher could use to help his students with issues of abandonment and abuse (36-37). She felt a bibliography was still considered reader’s advisory and not a bibliotherapy prescription.

Although bibliographies and perhaps other passive bibliotherapy techniques such as book displays are a good start at reintegrating librarians back into bibliotherapy, emulating a system such as England’s “Books on Prescription” or a similar collaboration between public libraries and local health departments could benefit both librarians and the communities they serve. Book prescription schemes are a collaboration of public libraries and local health departments where libraries agree to stock a certain set of books agreed upon by the librarians and mental health professionals (Brewster 118). The health department advertises the service to doctors and hospitals and gives them, literally, prescription pads on which to assign books for patients. Then when the patient is prescribed a book the patient can go to the library to “fill their prescription” rather than going to the pharmacist.

Due to the effectiveness of bibliotherapy in conjunction with other treatment methods and current economic climate, many patients seeking help for a mental or physical illness cannot easily afford to buy books, nor can health professionals afford to give them away. A bibliotherapy collaborative project between librarians and health officials could let health department officials advertise bibliotherapy resources to hospitals, treatment centers, and individual practitioners, while librarians would stock appropriate books and resources and assist individuals in finding them in a non-threatening way.

It makes perfect sense for libraries and health care to join together to promote bibliotherapy because public libraries already have locations in the heart of their communities and already provide information, literature, and support to their patrons. Librarians in the United States need to learn from the Book Prescription programs in England and begin bibliotherapy programs here, which can serve as an excellent new library service that would improve the health and well being of their communities in a collaborative and low-cost way.

Works Cited

Brewster, Liz. “Medicine for the Soul: Bibliotherapy.” Australasian Public Libraries and Information Services. 21.3 (2008): 115-119.
Brewster, Liz. “The Reading Remedy: Bibliotherapy in Practice.” Australasian Public Libraries and Information Services. 21.4 (2008): 172-177.
Clark, Rosey. “Fiction or Nonfiction?: Bibliotherapy Examined.” Library Media Connection. 24.1 (2005): 36-37.
Jones, Jami L. “A Closer Look at Bibliotherapy.” Young Adult Library Services. 5.1 (2006): 24-27.
Pehrsson, Dale-Elizabeth and Paula McMillen. A National Survey of Bibliotherapy Practice in Professional Counseling. American Counseling Association Conference. Charlotte, NC. March 2009. Presentation.