More social workers are working in libraries in recent years.
As a social worker at the Cambridge Public Library, Marie Mathieu received many calls from members of the community — but only one from a 4-year-old child.
“Thank you so much Miss Marie!” the child exclaimed through the phone.
Mathieu, a former social worker at the library, had helped put the child into child care by helping their guardian fill out the required documents and vouchers.
“Getting that kind of a call from a 4-year-old who was just trying to go to school and learn was really, really heartwarming,” Mathieu recently told Boston.com.
Library social work on the rise
In March 2021, the Cambridge Public Library hired Mathieu, making it the first public library in Massachusetts to hire a social worker.
“We were concerned about a lack of equitable access to social work services among patrons, and at the same time, we were noticing that we needed to have more attention and care for people who need that high level of assistance,” Cambridge Public Library Director Maria McCauley told Boston.com.