The Downers Grove Public Library was unanimously approved by the DGPL Board of Trustees Aug. 28 to hire a full-time social worker as a permanent member of the library staff. This decision is a part of the library’s growing social services program that aims to provide free support to community members in need. The expansion of these services has brought the matter to the forefront of community discourse once again.
Since the program started in 2020, the library has been working with Aurora University to employ two students per semester as part-time social work interns. One community member, Matthew, has shared how the social work interns at the DGPL have helped him. Though Matthew had been struggling with homelessness for nearly two years, former social work interns Andi Voinovich and Dawn Davis helped him overcome these circumstances. Matthew’s last name has been omitted for privacy.
“Dawn helped me get the courage and motivation to want to better my situation and get myself back on the right path, and Andi helped me find the courage to write a family member a letter and get it sent out,” Matthew said. “I feel that both the social work interns have been an amazing part of the library.”
The DGPL Foundation, a nonprofit organization that funds various DGPL initiatives, has been funding the internships since their creation. The group will continue to do so through May 2025, after which the interns and full-time social worker will be included in the library’s operating budget.
“Having a trained social worker in the library allows for the personalization and specialization of individual casework, which often makes for better outcomes,” DGPL Foundation President Amanda ReCupido said. “When we lift up our neighbors, we lift up our entire community.”
However, the decision to hire a full-time social worker came with opposition. One Downers Grove resident, Laura Hois, spoke to the DGPL Board of Trustees at their July 24 meeting, asking that the library not pursue the employment of a social worker.
“I think that having a social worker is not within the scope of what the library’s functions are supposed to be and it is inappropriate to take that step,” Hois said.
Despite this, ReCupido claims that it is necessary for the library to provide these services.
“More and more libraries are employing social workers, as libraries more often are one of the few community spaces that are free and accessible to the public,” ReCupido said.
Some also raise concerns about how these services are impacting the safety of the library. At the Aug. 28 DGPL Board of Trustees meeting, Downers Grove resident Ed Briner claimed the safety of library attendees, especially children, is being compromised as a result of these programs.
“Children’s safety within our library is the number one responsibility for the library, the Director, and the Board of Trustees. All are failing at this responsibility to date,” Briner said.
Briner cited incidents of disruptive individuals at the library, connecting these disruptions to the library’s social services. DGPL Building Operations Director Ian Knorr shared his insight on the security of the library at this same meeting Aug. 28.
“[We] are trained to approach situations with empathy and, when required, de-escalation techniques. But sometimes, it just doesn’t work,” Knorr said.
However, Knorr argues that the expansion of these social services may actually improve the safety of the library.
“Many times, social workers are able to get to the root cause of the issue that’s causing the unwanted behavior and give help, or at the very least guidance, on steps that can be taken to assist in the crisis that they are experiencing,” Knorr said.
Along with the social work interns, the library also has a resource directory and a variety of fliers with information on local social service programs. However, some feel there is more to be done. Adult and Teen Services Manager Van McGary is the site supervisor for the social work interns. Though the job of the social work interns is to connect people to resources, McGary voices that connecting people with resources is difficult when there are so few available locally.
“We just need more resources,” McGary said. “The social work interns do the best that they can, but there are often not enough resources for all the help that people need.”
Despite the improvements some feel can be made, the impact the library’s social services have had on community members’ lives is undoubted.
“Every day is different, and every day someone in the community is experiencing what could be their worst day ever,” Knorr said. “Having social work at a place that they know [and] can access free of charge, in an environment they feel comfortable at, can be just what is needed in that moment in their life. Libraries change lives in more ways than just through books.”
