Imperfect and Flexible: Using Trauma-Informed Practice to Guide Instruction

Abstract

The rapid shift to online courses at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (UMN) in spring 2020 prompted a change in the way instruction librarians worked with faculty and students. The librarians adopted a trauma-informed approach that provided students with a sense of stability, agency, and connection to the university and one another. UMN librarians increased the variety and number of online library workshops, reused content in new ways for online orientation and instruction, and created a choose-your-own-adventure e-book for first-year courses. After a chaosfilled year, the authors share their plans, progress, successes, failures, and hopes for the future.