Vulnerability, Boundary Management, and Providing Information Services to People Experiencing Homelessness

ABSTRACT

This study examines how public librarians manage boundaries when providing information services to people experiencing homelessness. Drawing on interviews with twenty-four library staff at three public library systems in the Midwest United States and boundary work theory, this paper argues that public librarians navigate tensions in professional and personal boundaries, and that some of these tensions can be attributed to perceptions of vulnerability in both themselves and in the patrons they support. The paper concludes by making arguments to reconsider training and partnerships that enable public library staff to re-conceptualize what their professional roles entail.

KEYWORDS:

• Public libraries
• information services
• homelessness
• vulnerability
• boundary work

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rachel D. Williams

Rachel Williamsis an assistant professor at the Simmons University School of Library and Information Science. Williams’s research examines public librarianship as a profession, and her work gives attention to supporting patrons and communities in crisis, developing healthy boundaries and professional resilience, and exploring the connections between social work and librarianship. She teaches courses on technology, public libraries, and evaluation.