Search results

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the use of self‐help bibliotherapy developed from a local pilot scheme to become national policy in Wales. Analysis aims to focus on the use of evidence‐based practice (EBP) as a justification in the process of policy creation.

A mixed methodological approach was used to gather data, incorporating semi‐structured interviews, documents, and descriptive statistics. Actor‐network theory (ANT) was used as a critical lens to frame analysis.

The study finds that the translation from local pilot to national initiative was achieved using legitimising discourses including EBP. These discourses were used selectively, and in response to the needs of the focal actors in the network. The complex relationship between EBP and self‐help bibliotherapy is explored in connection with healthcare policy, concluding that the use of EBP legitimises a lack of patient‐centred evaluation.

Limitations of the research include a lack of engagement with patients using the scheme, and future research should aim to present a more patient‐centred account to complement this policy‐focused work.

Little in‐depth work has been conducted on the strategy behind the introduction of bibliotherapy schemes in the UK or elsewhere, and this paper presents an in‐depth theoretical analysis of the first nationwide bibliotherapy scheme in the world.

In times past, the public library has aptly been called “the university of the people,” an educational institution dedicated to furthering the democratic way of life. An educational institution is charged with the tasks of transmitting societal values and acquiring knowledge necessary for daily living. Certainly, the public library affirms that all people of the United States have a right to the pursuit of knowledge along with or as part of the pursuit of happiness. Whether or not the library also has some responsibility in assisting patrons in the clarification of societal values and in assisting patrons with life enrichment is not as clear from a historical perspective. That libraries can and should bring literature and books together in reader's discussion groups for enrichment and clarification is the subject of this paper.

The purpose of this paper is to indicate that when webotherapy is applied, it can be of benefit to clients in giving them insight into their problems, resulting in a change of behavior.

Webotherapy, which can be conducted with individuals or groups, refers to the use of web resources or other online reading material (e.g. e‐books, e‐journals) to assist clients (especially children and young adults) in their healing process. It may be defined as the use of web resources to help others gain additional insight and to help them cope with everyday life. Most people have probably read web resources to determine how others have approached a delicate issue.

This paper suggests that webotherapy is a potentially powerful method for psychologists, librarians, schoolteachers and counselors to use on many levels. It begins with a brief review of the history of webotherapy, continues with a discussion of some approaches to webotherapy (developmental, clinical, and interactive), then addresses the four basic stages of webotherapy (identification, selection, presentation, and follow‐up), and finally discusses the benefits and limitations of webotherapy.

The paper discusses webotherapy and offers a review of literature on related fields.

What are the responsibilities of libraries, if there is any, in the personal process of constructing cultural identity? The purpose of this paper is to find answers to this question and pose several others such as: Can the author define a standard for creating group identity, for instance, by involving or integrating tools and experiences from the area of bibliotherapy? How can libraries support their patrons to work with their tradition, on their tradition, i.e. to create their own cultural identity?

The author provides with proposals to develop library services to meet new expectations that are raised by the increasing importance of bridging communities of different cultural backgrounds.

By expanding the scope of bibliotherapy, the author might assist in solving social problems and international tensions. The author should consider the possibility of running projects involving historians, culture experts and bibliotherapists to build a shared digital corpus and design specific tools for research and constructing common narratives. To find common cultural references in a multicultural environment is a challenge that requires openness in many fields. Public libraries are mainly at the frontline. There are some old responsibilities that need to be refined under the changing circumstances; new tasks and principals might emerge.

Despite the role of libraries in creating cultural identity is emphasized by a couple of relevant IFLA and UNESCO documents, there are no specific guides on methods to implement. A few ideas have been outlined in this paper about how libraries could contribute to bringing cultures together and challenge prejudices and stereotypes.

In the context of increasing interdisciplinarity in academia and professional practice, the purpose of this paper is to focus on the contribution of information science (IS) to education and practice in social work (SW), specifically in the area of disabilities at the workplace. As a case in point, a work environment of academia and faculty members with disabilities and their managers are chosen. The paper also stands to improve interdisciplinary understanding between IS and SW.

Combining SW and IS perspectives and building off selective exposure, cognitive dissonance and uncertainty management theories, the paper looks at one of the root-causes of continuous workplace discrimination against and bullying of people with disabilities – information avoidance (IA).

The paper conceptualises discrimination and bullying as an inherently information problem, for which an SW solution could be proposed. Two types of information are noted to be avoided: information about disabilities and information about the effect of discrimination and bullying on employees with disabilities. The paper distinguishes between defensive and deliberate IA, each of which poses different challenges for social workers who are likely to intervene in the cases of bullying and discrimination in their capacity as workplace counsellors and advisors.

It is the first known paper that explores the intellectual and practice-based synergy between SW and IS in application to change-related interventions and preventative plans that counteract discrimination against people with disabilities at the workplace. It proposes creative solutions for intervention, including bibliotherapy. It also opens up a broader conversation on how critical the knowledge of IS is for social workers.

How can philosophers contribute to the resolution of the current prison crisis in the United States, and what sorts of philosophical work should activists make use of in their efforts to address that crisis? This paper examines two periods of prison reform in the 20th century, to indicate the problematic role that traditional theories of the moral justification of punishment have had in the history of reform effects have played. I argue that moral theories of punishment are not the best vehicle for addressing the prison crisis; the approaches suggested by critical social theory are more promising.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential benefits that books, and specifically memoirs, may offer mental health students, positing that first person testimonials may make the complex experiences of a mental health challenge, in this case eating disorders (ED), accessible to learners.

The paper presents a pedagogical approach, based on transformative learning (TL), to assist in encouraging the development of a Recovery Approach in students. TL is a pedagogy that is interested in problematic practices that keep afflicting an area such as mental health, such as the imbalanced focus on learning illness rather than wellbeing, and in pondering and revising the educational solutions.

The paper proposes that forward movement in this area will be based on considering and developing such innovative curricula, and researching its impact.

By virtue of their accessibility, memoirs could offer to a large audience the benefits of universality, empathy, hope and guidance. Teachers and learners could be making use of these books in face-to-face or online activities. This paper explores the groundwork that is needed before ED memoirs can be confidently recommended as an empowering tool.

Justification for, and implementation of, jail and prison library service is often based on philosophies that aim to ostensibly “correct” a person’s moral character and “improve” their potential as a productive member of society. These models tend to overlook people’s racial and cultural knowledges, ignore people’s existing humanity, and disregard or fail to acknowledge the racist systems of policing and institutionalization that are often responsible for someone landing in a carceral setting. Models that do not normalize policing, criminalization, and incarceration are needed in order for jail and prison library services to be meaningful to incarcerated patrons.

This chapter draws from the authors’ experience with local level jails to develop a patron-centered model of library services. Patron-centered services prioritize the humanity and interests of patrons who are incarcerated. By centering a recognition of patrons’ humanity and engaging in collection development as a shared process, patron-centered services resist white supremacy and the reiteration of carceral logics of rehabilitation or punishment. The chapter includes a description of on the ground services, a review of the overarching approaches to library services in carceral settings, the ways in which librarians dehumanize their patrons through narratives of exceptionalism, and a model for implementing and evaluating patron-centered services.