Learn trauma-informed practices to create psychologically and emotionally safer and more inclusive spaces for patrons, students, and staff.

Course Overview

Learning Outcomes

After you attend this course, you’ll be able to:

• Understand trauma-informed care in the context of libraries

• Recognize trauma responses in yourself and others

• Incorporate trauma-informed principles into your daily work

• Understand ways to handle burnout 

• Create and maintain organizational and personal wellness 

Who should take this course

This course is geared toward public-facing librarians and staff; however, all levels of librarians, including managers and directors, will benefit from learning how to create trauma-informed library cultures. 

Course Features 

This will be a 3-week online course and will include:

• Live sessions: Guest speaker presentations by leaders in their field. (All sessions are recorded for on-demand access for six months after the course ends.) 

• Facilitated discussions: Audience participation in Q&A and discussion with guest speakers.

• Asynchronous workshop: Project-based weekly assignments to connect what you’re learning to your professional life. Includes written feedback from an expert in the field who functions as the workshop facilitator, as well as peer conversation via discussion forums. Workshop available for all multi-week courses plus half-day courses where indicated. 

• Early access on-demand resources: Access to a series of past live session archives from Library Journal and School Library Journal courses to explore at your own pace. 

• Online Classroom: The virtual learning platform that holds all course content and is accessible for six months after the course ends. 

Expected time commitment

If you watch the recordings of all sessions and participate in the asynchronous workshop, you'll spend approximately 2-4 hours per week on this course. You'll earn 15 hours of PD credit and a Library Journal certificate of completion. 

On-demand access

All guest speaker session recordings are available on demand for six months as a part of your purchase.

Certificate of completion 

Complete the course and earn 15 professional development credit hours. We provide a certificate that is emailed to you. 

Accessibility

All guest speaker sessions feature live captioning and are made available on demand after the initial broadcast. Please email libraryjournal@edmaker.co upon registration if you require any special accommodations and we will make our best efforts to facilitate them.

Support

For support with online courses, please contact libraryjournal@edmaker.co.

Group Rates

Have a team attend and increase your impact!

Discounted registration fees are available for groups of 3 or more. When you register your team for our online courses, they will be placed in the same small workshop group, where discussions and project-based assignments receive feedback from an experienced librarian.

Send us a request for a quote.

If your group prefers to work separately, just let us know.

By registering for this event you confirm that you have read and agree to our Code of Conduct.

For support with online courses, please contact libraryjournal@edmaker.co.

Week 1: Wednesday, Apr. 16, 2025

Course & Workshop Introduction | 2:00-2:20 pm ET
An introduction to the weekly assignments, an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course, and a chance to complete the course pre-assessment.

Session 1 | 2:20-3:35 pm ET
Trauma Informed Librarianship: Establishing Foundations 
What does trauma informed service mean in the context of libraries? What are trauma responses and how can you recognize them and provide appropriate support to patrons or colleagues? This opening session will cover the foundations of trauma, trauma informed care, and why it matters to libraries. You will learn the six principles of trauma informed care and leave with practical ideas for how to apply these principles to your work. 

Session 1 Facilitated Discussion and Q&A | 3:35-3:50 pm ET
This dedicated Q&A session and facilitated discussion will give you the opportunity to ask questions you didn’t get to ask in the session. If there are topics discussed earlier that you still don’t fully understand, this is a chance for speakers to unpack or clarify anything.

Week 2: Wednesday, Apr. 23, 2025 

Workshop Explanation | 2:00-2:15 pm ET
An introduction to this week’s assignment and an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course.

Session 2 | 2:15-3:30 pm ET
Trauma Informed Librarianship: People, Service, Safety 
How can you incorporate trauma informed principles into library policies, procedures, and practices? What are practical ways you can center and prioritize people, service, and safety? This session will discuss individual and organizational ways to lead with trauma informed service, and you will leave with ideas for small changes you can implement right away.  

Session 2 Facilitated Discussion and Q&A | 3:30-3:45 pm ET
This dedicated Q&A session and facilitated discussion will give you the opportunity to ask questions you didn’t get to ask in the session. If there are topics discussed earlier that you still don’t fully understand, this is a chance for speakers to unpack or clarify anything.

Week 3: Wednesday, Apr. 30, 2025

Workshop Explanation | 2:00-2:15 pm ET
An introduction to this week’s assignment and an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course.

Session 3 | 2:15-3:30 pm ET
Trauma Informed Librarianship: Expanding Wellness
How can you include yourself in the care you give others when you are burnt out or struggling? How can you identify what’s causing burnout and advocate for the resources you or your team needs to center their humanity and conserve energy? And what are ways you can apply positive change within your sphere of influence? This session will focus on how to create and grow personal community-centered and organizational wellness in order to create a culture of people-centered leadership and trauma informed care. 

Session 3 Facilitated Discussion and Q&A | 3:30-3:45 pm ET
This dedicated Q&A session and facilitated discussion will give you the opportunity to ask questions you didn’t get to ask in the session. If there are topics discussed earlier that you still don’t fully understand, this is a chance for speakers to unpack or clarify anything.
 

Online Course Preview

A preview of how we build your library skills and bring inspiration to your projects with our online learning experience.

Course Format

One-Week Timeline (Course Runs 3+ Weeks)

DAYS 1-2 On Demand	DAY 3 2.5 hours	DAYS 4-7 1-2 hours (optional)
PRE-LIVE SESSION - Resources - Discussions - Bonus Content	LIVE SESSIONS - Guest speakers via webcast - Q&A via chat - Recordings available on demand	ASYNCHRONOUS WORKSHOP - Project-based homework, applied to your job - Personalized feedback from a facilitator - Group discussion in an asynchronous workshop setting via discussion forum

Inspiring Live Guest Speakers + Facilitated Group Workshop for Project-Based Learning

Live session with Andrea Blackman and Tasneem Ansariyah Grace	Live Guest Speakers Each Week Expert speaker presentations with audience Q&A (session recordings available on demand for six months if you can’t join live) Project-based, asynchronous workshop assignments to practice and apply new skills for 3 weeks after the live sessions Expert, individualized feedback on asynchronous work for 3 weeks

Online Course Features

Recordings of guest speakers

Recordings Available After The Live Session Real-time guest speakers and conversation via live video stream (with recordings available afterward) Instructor-led online course features personalized interaction over 3+ weeks

Facilitator-led workshop

Online Classroom Organizes All Materials Workshop assignments to help you make progress on your goals Individualized attention from course facilitators who work with you in a coaching environment in the workshop to help sort out challenges Ongoing group conversation via discussion forums

Early Access On Demand Resources

Early Access and Ongoing Resources To Support Learning Supporting resources (articles, videos, worksheets) in the online classroom to provide a foundation for your work Access all course content for six months after the course ends Bonus: Register early and get immediate access to archival video recordings from related courses and other bonus content