![]() “It was an instant success,” Tetzloff said. He connected with Ohio State’s Department of Social Work, which places social work interns across the city, and a partnership was born. “It was distressing because we were in the habit of referring everyone to the benefit bank, and they were great,” Tetzloff said. Previously, Hilltop staff recommended that people reach out to the Ohio Benefit Bank, a service that helped connect people with state programs, among other services. It put an immediate strain on library staff when it shut down in July 2019. That started in 2019 through Ohio State's graduate program, according to branch manager John Tetzloff. The Hilltop branch was the first in the 23-branch system to have a social worker on the library staff. We believe it’s a place where (people) can come and come connect to resources and information they need for their day-to-day life.” Getting things started on the Hilltop “Really, they are the backbone of who we are and what we do for the community because we believe the library is not only a place to come in and reserve books or meeting rooms or have access to WiFi. “I could not even think of the library without social workers,” she said. This move to providing social services shows the range of needs being met at libraries today, said Bisha Rumicho, the library system's Life Skills Program coordinator. Other Columbus library branches could add more social workers in the future, he said. Those social workers started working out of the library around the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Zenitsky. More Mobile Newsroom Stories: Columbus City Schools bilingual family ambassadors help bridge language barrierĬolumbus Public Health also has social workers working regularly out of those branches, in addition to Barnett, Driving Park and Karl Road. The library spends roughly $70,000 a year total on the interns, library spokesman Ben Zenitsky said in an email. The library system currently has five social work interns through Ohio State, each working 16 hours per week. Since 2019, six Columbus Metropolitan Library branches have started having social workers on site.Īt three locations - Hilltop, South High and Northern Lights - Ohio State graduate students from the College of Social Work, such as Guminski, provide services as part-time library employees. “I’m trying to make a difference, and I’m trying to be someone that’s a positive support in their lives because I don’t know when they will see that again," the University District resident said. Tyler Guminski, a 22-year-old Ohio State University social worker graduate student, regularly helps people at Columbus Metropolitan Library's Hilltop branch with a variety of services that include housing, mental health services, utility assistance, unemployment, food stamps and health care. Libraries are synonymous with books, free WiFi, and now, in some branches, social workers.
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