Nearly 43,000 MSW and 17,000 BSW students are in field placement every year in the US.
Each year, these students are required to complete approximately 900 hours in the field (Shaffer).
There are over 9,000 public libraries in the US.
Approximately 68 public libraries host social work interns in North America (as of October 30, 2019).
“It’s a unique opportunity for our social work students to get real hands-on practice with people who also need the help…this partnership between social work and libraries is a natural fit” – Director of MacMurray College Social Work Program, cited in Olsen
Sources
Council on Social Work Education. (2018). 2017 statistics on social work education in the United States. (Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), Ed.) (p. 9). Retrieved from https://www.cswe.org/Research-Statistics
Institute of Museum and Library Services. (2018). Public Libraries Survey Fiscal Year 2016. Institute of Museum and Library Services (p.3). Retrieved from https://www.imls.gov/sites/default/files/fy2016_pls_data_file_documentation.pdf
Shaffer, G. (2013). Social Work Education: Field Work. In C. Franklin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Social Work. National Association of Social Workers and Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.615
Zettervall, S. (2019). Whole Person Librarianship. Retrieved April 4, 2019, from https://wholepersonlibrarianship.com/
Social Work Students & Public Libraries 