The Franklin Square Public Library has been expanding its social services to better address the needs of patrons seeking specialized resources. The library follows a years-long trend across the Nassau Library System.
Enlisting volunteers from nearby law firms to provide legal advice, health care workers to conduct free health screenings, and post office staff to host passport services, libraries have become central hubs for more than just books.
According to James Pagano, the library’s assistant director, the additional services are popular with patrons. They’re so well attended, he said, that appointments quickly run out.
“We’re doing what we can to fill the needs of the community,” Pagano said. “We’ve had lines out the door for some of our services.”
As a result of high attendance at these programs, Pagano said, the library is exploring expanding the range of services it provides. One option the library is considering is hiring an intern studying social work at a local college to offer part-time assistance to patrons whose needs extend beyond existing library resources.
Several libraries in the Nassau system have already partnered with Adelphi and Stony Brook universities to hire interns who visit on scheduled days and times, for up to 15 hours per week. The interns, who are graduate students, help patrons obtain unemployment benefits, behavioral health resources, food assistance and more.
Communities with libraries currently partnered with the colleges’ internship program include Bellmore, Freeport, Glen Cove and Uniondale.
According to Abby Balbi, assistant director of practicum education at Adelphi’s School of Social Work, the university has been partnering with libraries since 2022. “There was a gap in care for the type of services that social workers offer that weren’t readily available in libraries,” Balbi said. “One of our students started interning at a library, and it’s grown since then.”
This year, she said, 27 interns are enrolled in Adelphi’s program, and offer their services to libraries across Nassau County, as well as the five boroughs, New Jersey, Vermont and Georgia. She added that it has gradually become a more common practice.
Balbi, a social worker for 10 years, cited economic factors such as inflation, as well as cuts in social programs like Medicaid, as driving factors in the recent uptick in demand for services being requested in less traditional spaces like libraries.
“We’re seeing more and more patrons ask where they’re going to get the help that they need,” she said. “And so public community spaces like libraries are where it’s at.”
The services the interns provide generally focus on broader neighborhood concerns such as economic instability, poor education and health care access, lack of transportation, and unemployment and mental health concerns, including substance abuse. Interns make referrals, conduct assessments, engage in crisis intervention and supervise resource navigation. In addition to individualized support, some also conduct workshops aimed at supporting larger groups of people with mindfulness techniques and self-help strategies.
Alicia Collumbell, an outreach and partnership specialist in the Nassau Library System, said the program helps libraries support the work their staff already does for patrons on a daily basis, while filling in areas where they might be limited.
“Of course, librarians are wonderful at finding information,” Collumbell said. “But they aren’t social workers.”
While the interns aren’t full-time library employees, they regularly work with library staff, with oversight from the college, to ensure high-quality service. “They have really been a true asset,” Collumbell said. “It’s been a wonderful service, and the feedback so far has been very positive.”
Pagano said that as the Franklin Square library continues to weigh its options, its seven librarians and other staff members have stepped up and dedicated their time and energy to patrons looking for help. The welcoming atmosphere of the library, he said, encourages them to return for assistance.
That’s why, he added, it makes sense for the library to implement specialized resources to address the more complex needs of patrons of all ages who come to the library in search of unique guidance.
Securing an intern to help with these services is a matter of time and planning, Pagano explained, and the library staff is always looking to connect with volunteers willing to donate time and resources to address the growing need.
In the meantime, he said, the library will continue hosting its current roster of social service programs.
“We’re always trying to do as much as we can with the staff that we have,” Pagano said. “It just takes time to get these things off the ground.”
