Public libraries are respected local institutions that connect community members to credible information and services. As community anchor institutions, libraries are leveraging their assets in response to the opioid crisis that has gripped the country. After 16 months of research, OCLC, and the Public Library Association have released a call to action on how libraries can address the opioid crisis in their communities. The call to action was created in response to library staff requests and has been informed by case study research and cross-sector discussions with library staff, as well as those with national and local community partner organizations. Two themes from the research and discussions stand out: there are many options for addressing this crisis and it is vital to do something. Panelists will share resources, including ideas for organizations to partner with, additional perspectives to consider, and strategies for getting started.

Presented by: 

• Kevin King, Head, Community Engagement, Kalamazoo Public Library
• Patty McCarthy, Chief Executive Officer, Faces and Voices of Recovery
• Larra Clark, Deputy Director, Public Library Association; and
• Kendra Morgan, Senior Program Manager, WebJunction

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Related Resources and Links

• Public Libraries Respond to the Opioid Crisis with Their Communities, project page on WebJunction
  
• Project Publications
• Call to Action: Public Libraries and the Opioid Crisis
• Kalamazoo Public Library Case Study (pdf)
  
• Facebook group, Libraries and the Opioid Crisis
• Morgan, Anna, et al., Beyond Books: Public Libraries As Partners For Population Health. Health Affairs 25, No. 11 (2016) 
• County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, State Reports
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Data on Drug Overdose Deaths
• Community-Led Libraries Toolkit (pdf)
  
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2020. “America’s Drug Overdose Epidemic: Data to Action.”
• Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. 2017. Results from the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables. Rockville, MD: SAMHSA.
• National Institute on Drug Abuse. 2018. “Understanding Drug Use and Addiction.”
  
• Deterra bags for medication disposal
• McClellan, C., et al., Opioid-overdose laws association with opioid use and overdose mortality. Addictive Behaviors, 2018. 86: p. 90-95. 
  
• Information on Narcan Community Programs
• Association of Recovery Community Organizations (ARCO) Members on the map
• Dover Public Library is a Recovery-Friendly Workplace
• Faces & Voices of Recovery
• Additional links shared in chat during webinar:
  • OCLC Community Engagement Award
  • Community Health Challenges: Training, Language and Programming for Libraries, webinar
  • Free webinar, National Network of Libraries of Medicine: Strategies and Resources to Maintain Sobriety During COVID-19, Thursday, April 9, 2020, 2:00-3:15PM (EST)
    
  • Salt Lake County Public Library case study (pdf)
    
  • Barrington Public Library case study (pdf)
    
  • Twinsburg Public Library case study (pdf)
    
  • Resources for library to facilitate a public program on National Drug Take Back Day. Please scroll down to the month of April.
  • Information about naloxone laws
  • Comprehensive Mental Health and Substance Abuse - Focus on Opioids Strategy Findings from Consultation - January 2019 (Toronto/Ottawa/Calgary)
    
  • This is the organization that Kevin has been partnering with in Kalamazoo: https://www.recoverymi.org/
  • Peer Support Canada
  • Peer Counseling Training Manual
  • Resource for school-based recovery is recoveryschools.org and at college level, collegiaterecovery.org