Mind the Gap: Do Librarians Understand Service User Perspectives on Bibliotherapy?

Brewster, Liz; Sen, Barbara; Cox, Andrew M.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/46043 Copy

Description

Title

Mind the Gap: Do Librarians Understand Service User Perspectives on Bibliotherapy?

Author(s)

• Brewster, Liz
• Sen, Barbara
• Cox, Andrew M.

Issue Date

2013

Keyword(s)

Bibliotherapy

Abstract

Bibliotherapy schemes aim to improve mental health and well-being. Schemes focus on engagement with either imaginative literature or self-help texts and are now commonplace in U.K. public libraries. Impetus for bibliotherapy schemes was influenced by health policy and a drive toward partnership working. There is a recognized need for in-depth evaluation of bibliotherapy services; the lack of evaluation is problematic, as the schemes are designed without reference to service user perspectives. There is a need to identify and analyze usage to assess effectiveness of the schemes. Drawing on data from interviews and focus groups with library and health professionals and service users, this article explores the service provider and service user perspective on bibliotherapy schemes. It concludes that—for service providers—there is a lack of clarity and understanding about how bibliotherapy works, and this impacts on the experience of service users. While service providers and service users share a common goal of improving mental health and well-being, their understandings of bibliotherapy differ, meaning there is a potential gap between service provision and service user needs. The article concludes that in-depth research influenced by user-centered design principles, may help to improve services in practice.

Publisher

Johns Hopkins University Press and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

ISSN

0024-2594

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/46043

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2013 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

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