PRESENTATION

This presentation explores the transformative journeys of embedding a social worker within a public library setting at both the City of Adelaide and Salisbury’s library services in 2025, highlighting the innovative intersection of social services and community access.

Public libraries are redefining what it means to serve a community by going beyond information access to support wellbeing, connection, and inclusion, especially for vulnerable populations.

This session will showcase how two distinct library services in terms of geography and demographics in South Australia reimagined their role within their communities by integrating a qualified social worker in 2025 to support patrons experiencing homelessness, mental health challenges, family violence, and social isolation.

The session will be an honest reflection of our programs to date where delegates will learn how the projects were initiated, the challenges faced in gaining organisational and community buy-in, and the strategies used to build trust and deliver trauma-informed support.

Through real-life stories, data insights, and reflections, the presentation will illustrate the impact of these roles — not only on individuals but on the culture and capacity of the library itself. The session will also incorporate data and insights from the service evaluation undertaken in late 2025 by Centre for Social Impact Flinders University.

Participants will also discover how partnerships were formed with the not for profit sector to create unique wraparound support models based on the community and library’s needs, and how these have impacted the ability for both library services to respond to emerging community’s needs.