PRESENTATION
Presentation Title:
Surviving the Stacks: A Conversation with Associate Professor Jane Garner and Dr Beth Wahler
Presenters:
Associate Professor Jane Garner, Dr Beth Wahler
Date:
Tuesday 12 May 2026 | 2:30pm – 3:00pm
Presentation Description:
Libraries are increasingly on the frontline of complex social challenges—from mental health and homelessness to difficult workplace dynamics and community pressures. In this conversation, Dr Beth Wahler and Dr Jane Garner, hosts of the Surviving the Stacks podcast, reflect on what their research and global conversations with library workers reveal about the realities of contemporary library work, and the role their podcast plays in creating space for honest discussion and shared learning across the profession. Together we explore trauma-informed approaches, practical strategies for supporting staff wellbeing, and how libraries can respond compassionately and sustainably to the challenges facing their communities.
Associate Professor Jane Garner
Researcher & Educator, Charles Sturt University
Presenter Bio
Associate Professor Jane Garner is a researcher and educator at Charles Sturt University whose work focuses on the human experience of library work, staff wellbeing, and the social role of libraries. She has conducted extensive research into both public and prison libraries, examining their impact on their communities and staff. Jane has published widely and presented at national and international conferences including IFLA, ALIA, and VALA. Her current projects include Understanding workplace violence in the Australian library sector and a second study: Identifying Australian models of library social work: Informing future practice investigating models of social work delivery in Australian public libraries—what works, the challenges, and how these models can best support staff and vulnerable users.
Dr Beth Wahler
Founder and Principal Consultant at Beth Wahler Consulting, LLC
Presenter Bio
Beth Wahler, PhD, MSW is founder and principal consultant at Beth Wahler Consulting, LLC. She is an internationally-recognized consultant, trainer, and researcher whose primary focus is trauma-informed librarianship, library strategies for addressing visitors’ social service-related needs, supporting library staff with serving high-needs visitors and reducing work-related stress/trauma, and various kinds of collaborations, services, and programs to meet visitor, staff, or community needs. She has worked with a wide variety of libraries internationally- urban, suburban, and rural- as well as large library systems and state library associations to provide personalised training opportunities, conduct needs assessments, evaluate library programs/services, and/or develop individualised plans to help meet the needs of their visitor populations and staff. She has also published and presented internationally on library visitor and staff needs, trauma-informed librarianship, and library/social work collaborations. Her book, “Creating a Person-Centered Library: Best Practices for Supporting High-Needs Patrons,” focuses on strategies for supporting visitors with complex needs while simultaneously supporting library staff. She also co-hosts the podcast, Surviving the Stacks, aimed at providing support to library staff across the globe.