Our history

Explore the history of the Social Work in Libraries program.

2021

Founding of the initiative

2021

Partnership

The Wagga Wagga City Library and Charles Sturt University partnered to initiate the first social work placement in September 2021.

The first placement focussed on developing community resources and undertaking a research project to understand the needs of the library staff in providing the social welfare needs of a regional community.

2022

Work placement and symposium

The second social work placement commenced and was completed in 2022. The work placement focussed on initiating the first online referral services in a regional public library of NSW in the post-COVID-19 world. A weekly Mini Resource Fair was organised and facilitated by the social work student.

The first Social Work in Libraries Symposium was held online on 1 December 2022.  It was a huge success with 990 participants registered for the day from all across the world, particularly Australia, the USA and New Zealand. Sessions from the international and Australian speakers were well attended with great engagement through the Q&A, with really positive feedback seeking to continue the conversation.

2023

Project funding

Members of the SWiL team secured funding for the project, The SWiL Online Simulation Hub: Facilitating Industry Engagement, through the Australian Government’s National Priorities and Industry Link Fund (NPILF).