Greetings Michiganders!

I’m thrilled to let you know we’ve just added some new resources to our LM Staff Skills Academy on the Niche Academy platform. On the right-side list of courses, you’ll now see Beth Wahler Consulting where you can view 8 asynchronous trainings on topics like staff stress, de-escalation, healthy organizational culture, crisis preparedness and post-crisis debriefing. Beth’s most popular trainings have been turned into on-demand, online tutorials available through Niche Academy.
We are so excited to make these available and look forward to hearing how you’ve used them in your own professional development or with your staff.

The tutorials available are:

• Working in the “Gray Area”: Boundaries for Library Staff
• Caring for Ourselves and One Another: Supporting Sustainable Practice for Library Staff
• Creating a Healthy Organizational Culture
• Introduction to Trauma-Informed Librarianship
• Defusing and Preventing Behavioral Escalation in Libraries: The Role of Three Core Human Needs
• Effective “Debriefing” in the Library Workplace
• Reducing and Responding to Workplace Trauma
• After a Disaster: Supporting Patrons in Crisis While Caring For Yourself

Dr. Elizabeth (Beth) Wahler is a social work consultant, researcher, and trainer specializing in trauma-informed librarianship, the social service needs of library patrons, and reducing library staff stress and burnout. She has worked with libraries of all sizes across the US and internationally to conduct needs assessments, provide training, evaluate programs, and develop and implement strategies for supporting high-needs patrons, improving organizational culture, and reducing staff stress. Dr. Wahler is the author of "Creating a Person-Centered Library: Best Practices for Supporting High-Needs Patrons" and co-hosts the podcast Surviving the Stacks. With 25 years of professional experience in organizational leadership, trauma-informed services, program administration and development, training/education, and working with complex human challenges such as mental health problems, substance use disorders, intimate partner violence, homelessness, and poverty-related barriers/needs, Beth works with libraries to determine their needs, resources, and goals and collaboratively design solutions that work in practice.

If you have not used Niche Academy, via the Library of Michigan, you can request an account by clicking on the link from our continuing education page: https://www.michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan/libraries/cehere These resources are available to all Michigan library staff and trustees. When you request access to Niche Academy, our staff will approve that access within 1-2 business days.

Please reach out and let me know if you have any questions!

Andrea

Andrea Vernola

Continuing Education Coordinator | Library Development

Library of Michigan, 702 W. Kalamazoo St, P.O. Box 30007, Lansing, MI 48909

vernolaA@michigan.gov | 517-335-0123

https://www.michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan

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