Episode 16: Dr. Mary A. Provence, LCSW
Reducing public libraries' reliance on law enforcement
Dr. Mary A. Provence, an assistant professor of social work at Ball State University, brings 32 years of experience across micro and macro practice. She began her career as a street outreach worker for youth experiencing homelessness and has since focused her research on library social work, particularly its connection to homelessness. In this episode, we explore her findings on how employing social workers in public libraries helps reduce reliance on law enforcement.
Below is a snippet of our conversation:
Topics
0:00 Intro
2:12 Dr. Provence’s path to library social work (LSW)
5:38 Influence of LSW on libraries' reliance on law enforcement
8:50 LSW provided option to rely less on law enforcement
11:20 Three models of LSW with law enforcement and libraries
21:24 Measuring perception of less reliance on law enforcement
23:44 Positive collaborations among libraries, social workers, and law enforcement
28:56 Social workers need to learn more about what public libraries do
31:37 Immersive learning course for social work students on public libraries
35:38 Email mary.provence@bsu.edu
36:30 Exercise!
37:40 Outro
Links
Johnson, S. C., & Wahler, E. A. (2023). Anticipating and Overcoming Common Challenges for Library and Social Work Collaborations. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2023.2261598
Provence, M., & Paauw, M. A. (2025). Success or failure: Applying role theory to social work integration into public libraries. Journal of Library Administration, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2025.2468132
Provence, M. A., Wahler, E. A., Helling, J., & Williams, M. A. (2020). Self-reported psychosocial needs of public library patrons: Comparisons based on housing status. Public Library Quarterly, 40(3), 244–257. https://doi.org/10.1080/01616846.2020.1730738
Provence, M. A. (2018). From nuisances to neighbors. Advances in Social Work, 18(4), 1053–1067. https://doi.org/10.18060/22321
Provence, M. A. (2020). Encouraging the Humanization of Patrons Experiencing Homelessness: A Case Study of the Role of the US Public Library Social Worker. The Library Quarterly, 90(4), 431–446. https://doi.org/10.1086/710258
Provence, M. A. (2023). Changing How Libraries Respond to Patrons Experiencing Homelessness in Crisis: How Library Social Workers are Perceived to Reduce Reliance on Law Enforcement. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 72(4), 376–399. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2023.2270807
Provence, M. A. (2023). Three Models of Practice: Impacts on the De-escalation Role of Library Social Workers During Crises with Patrons Experiencing Homelessness. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 72(4), 400–419. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2023.2262074
Wahler, E. A., Provence, M. A., Johnson, S. C., Helling, J., & Williams, M. (2021). Library patrons’ psychosocial needs: Perceptions of need and reasons for accessing social work services. Social Work, 66(4), 297–305. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swab032
For a list of additional resources, check out the Bibliography page