Berkshire Athenaeum Looks to Hire Social Worker
PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The Berkshire Athenaeum plans to hire a social worker and has implemented a phone booth.
Library staff have reportedly been tasked with mitigating situations outside of their training and job responsibilities, Director Alex Reczkowski explained during the Library Trustees meeting on Tuesday.
The library had initially intended to hire a senior technician for the Adult Services department. However, Mayor Peter Marchetti recommended a social worker position for the library.
A description for the 35-hour-a-week job will need to be approved by the city's Human Resources department before being posted.
One of the social worker's main responsibilities would be partnering with staff for compassionate enforcement of the library's policies with patrons, Reczkowski said.
They would also offer patrons resources and some case management.
"Some of the folks who work with other organizations and weren't library employees felt that it was inappropriate for us to ask them to help enforce library policies," he reported.
Recent ordinance proposals made by the city have put a spotlight on Pittsfield’s unhoused population. People commonly seek refuge from the elements inside or outside of the library, located centrally downtown.
Recent ordinance proposals made by the city have put a spotlight on Pittsfield’s unhoused population. People commonly seek refuge from the elements inside or outside of the library, located centrally downtown.
"The library has a vision of welcoming everyone. The library has a mission of connecting people and resources, and ideas to enrich lives and inspire lifelong learning, and strengthen our community. That's for everybody. That's what I hope we would want for everybody to do," Reczkowski said during a City Council subcommittee meeting in June.
During the June meeting, he explained that when there is bad behavior at the library, those people are not allowed back.
"… When I've seen fighting or violence, it's just like families. Folks who have unstable housing, they're living together, they don't always get along, just like we don't always get along, but that has not been taken out on library staff. It hasn't been taken out on people they didn't know."
The Berkshire Athenaeum has also added a phone booth to its facility, recognizing the need.
Reczkowski explained that the policy has been that patrons aren’t supposed to use the staff phones, but folks have been permitted to use the cordless phone at the staff desk for extenuating circumstances.
The library had an existing phone booth near the adult department and added a public phone to it. It will allow up to 15-minute outgoing calls within the United States for free.
Tags: berkshire athenaeum, library, library trustees, social work,
