Eight months ago, employees and staff at three Richland County Public Library locations were about to embark on a unique, three-month experience. Thelisha Eaddy talks with Executive Director Melanie Huggins, Community Relations Coordinator Tamara King, and Social Work Outreach Program Coordinator Lee Patterson about how the library’s role during the initial recovery phase from October’s flood influenced long term library services.
Richland County Public Library Executive Director Melanie Huggins said libraries across the country have always responded to crisis and disaster.
“We saw during Hurricane Katrina how the libraries in Jefferson Parish and in New Orleans were places where people were coming to just to get electricity and WIFI and toilet paper.”
Huggins also referenced tornadoes that hit Oklahoma. She said she saw how her colleagues across the country rallied together to help the community get back on its feet. When historic rains and floods inundated South Carolina, Huggins said, the reaction of those at Richland library was a natural one.
“It just clicked. We have 11 locations. We’re in good shape. We still had remarkable power, electricity and water.” Huggins said she believes everyone’s first inclination was the same as so many others in the community- “how can they help?”
In 2013, Social Work Outreach Program Coordinator Lee Patterson joined the Richland County Public Library to help people sign-up for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The service was funded through a grant from the Knight Foundation. Patterson said, in September of 2015, the Library was in transition from strictly providing ACA work to providing any type of social work- related service.
During this transitional period, the library’s outreach department was helping its customers with housing issues; applying for Medicare and Medicaid; and also making referrals to different community agencies. Patterson said in October of 2015, the library was discussing what its social work services arm would look like long term.
“The flood really helped us catapult those services. We had customers coming in all the time, after they got help from FEMA.”
Patterson said a lot of those services included conversations about where flood victims could find housing and what agencies could assist with mold remediation. Almost nine months after the flood, the library’s Outreach department continues to see a healthy number of customers.
“We probably see or talk to about 10 customers a day, which is pretty significant for us.”
There are three people who provide these types of services for the library. Along with Patterson are Community Health Specialist Sharita Moultrie and Jessica Blizard who provides emotional literacy to individuals at Alvin S. Glen Detention Center.
The library currently funds the staff social worker and Community Health Specialist positions out of its operations budget.
By the Numbers
According to Richland Library, by early December 37,132 applications for flood-relief services were filed with FEMA, statewide. 5,228 of those applications were filed at a Richland County Public Library branch. The majority of filings took place at the library’s southeast location at 7421 Garners Ferry Road, Columbia.
An Added Benefit
To take advantage of social work services at the library, Patterson said people only need to walk into a branch and tell a library worker what they are looking for.
“If I were to go into another agency, I might need to have some eligibility criteria; like be at a certain income level or have a certain card. Here, you can come see a social worker for any reason. We don’t ask for any identification. We don’t ask for any insurance cards," She added.
Community Relations Coordinator Tamara King added that seeking these services at the library may help reduce anxiety people may have about speaking with a social worker.
Everybody walks out of here feeling more educated and more knowledgeable.
"If you are uncomfortable with going to a social worker's office, or if you are totally unfamiliar with that process, but you know the library is a place where you can learn and get education, you can come here and there is no intimidation. Everybody walks out of here feeling more educated and more knowledgeable.”
Patterson added the library also allows people to 'shake off' any stigma they fear may be associated with seeking social work services.
"You can walk in here for any number of things. You can walk in here for a DVD or you can come in here to see a social worker. No one on the outside ever knows why you walked through the doors,” Patterson added.
A Growing Trend
Providing social work services is not a new practice for libraries. According to PBS Newshour, the nation’s first full-time library social worker, Leah Esguerra, was hired in 2009 to do outreach to patrons in need of social services in San Francisco. In South Carolina, Richland County Library is the only library system that offers this service. Other cities with similar programs include: San Diego, Denver, New York and San Jose.