Real life library

     J O H N   D O W

During social work qualifying education, and afterwards when the students become the ‘practitioners of tomorrow’, we are all looking for (longing for?) social workers who can deliver the type of personalised services that me, and others like me, need.

What do social workers need in order to guide and influence them as students, and practitioners?

Well, for me, they need to be able to rely on all the knowledge and information at their disposal. This is often within the fantastic libraries within the universities, or other libraries they can access, to ‘keep informed of changes in regulations’ and to be able to know what service users and carers like me need. So how do me and others like me fit in to this continual search for knowledge?

Well, I chose Real life library because …

I believe that me and others like me who ‘require to use services’, we are the real life reference library.

We need to be ‘accessed’ alongside all of the books, publications, policy documents and regulations. We can be this real life library (who won’t charge you or fine you for late returns), who will be a library of real life information. We can all begin to see ‘real partnership’ and, from this, real and sustainable influence from our involvement. We can together continue on our ‘journey as key, valued partners’ and begin to see, as we all want to see, real, personalised services where we appreciate each other’s passion, knowledge and commitment to delivering the services that are needed.