Staff Bio
Bobbi L. Newman, MLIS, MA
Community Engagement and Outreach Specialist, Region 6
She/Her pronouns
Bobbi Newman is the Community Engagement and Outreach Specialist at Region 6 of the Network of the National Library of Medicine at the University of Iowa Libraries. She is a Senior Librarian and Wellness Ambassador. She helps libraries meet the health information needs of their communities.
She is the author of Fostering Wellness in the Workplace: A Guide for Libraries (ALA Editions) and editor for the forthcoming A Manager’s Guide to Creating a Flourishing Workplace: Strategies for Fostering Wellness in Libraries (ALA Editions). She developed several NNLM classes, including the popular “Wellness in the Library Workplace.” Bobbi is a mindfulness student and a body acceptance advocate.
Bobbi holds a Master of Arts in Information Research and Library Science, a Master of Arts in Political Science, and a Graduate Certificate in Public Management. She serves on the Advisory Board for Let’s Move in Libraries. She has been involved in national library initiatives, including past service on the Steering committee for the OCLC and PLA project Public Libraries Respond to the Opioid Crisis with their Community, the National Information Standards Organization committee to develop a Consensus Framework to Support Patron Privacy in Digital Library and Information Systems and the Pew Internet & American Life Project research on Libraries in the Digital Age. She has received awards for her service and teaching.
Classes I Teach
| Event Title | Summary |
|---|---|
| Public Library Connections, Region 6, February 2024 | This meeting is for public librarians and library workers who work in public libraries in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. |
| Region 6 Public Libraries Connections June 2023 | This meeting is for librarians and library workers who work in public libraries in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. |
| Region 6 Public Libraries Connections November 2023 | This meeting is for librarians and library workers who work in public libraries in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. |
| Region 6: NNLM Day at MLA 2023 | Meet the NNLM Region 6 during NNLM Day at MLA 2023! |
| Reproductive Health and the Reference Desk: How libraries can provide information in a post-Roe country, a Region 6 Spotlight Speaker webinar | This webinar will discuss reproductive health as an information access concern, introduce the Reproductive Justice framework, and offer ideas for how libraries can provide create environments that are supportive of sexual and reproductive health information. |
| Trauma in the Library: Findings To-date about PTSD among Public Library Staff and Methods for Ensuring Trauma-Informed Care | Trauma-informed care for library patrons is a growing movement, however, what about workplace trauma experienced by library staff? We share findings to-date regarding our IMLS-funded study “Trauma in the Library: Symptoms of PTSD Among Staff and Methods for Ensuring Trauma-Informed Care.” |
| Trauma-Informed Librarianship: Building Communities of Care | Trauma-informed librarianship (TIL) is a vital practice that invites us to be intentional and deliberate about creating cultural shifts in how we approach our work to move towards healing, for our patrons, for each other, and for ourselves. |
| Trauma-Sensitive Programming: Using Mindfulness to Create Safe Space | Join Jenn Carson, public library director, yoga teacher, and physical literacy researcher as she shares some mindfulness-based approaches to offering trauma-sensitive programming in academic and public libraries |
| Wellness in the Library Workplace | This 2-week, 4 credit-hour online class offers ways to improve your own personal well-being and create a healthy library workplace. |
| Wellness in the Library Workplace | You’re a library worker. You’re already helping those in your community find health information. As a library worker, what are you doing to manage your own well-being? Join us for this 2-week, 4 credit-hour online class to discover ways to improve your own personal well-being and create a healthy workplace. If you are a supervisor, how are you helping to ensure your staff stays healthy (physically, emotionally, etc.)? We will also discuss ways to increase overall wellness for all staff in libraries so that we have happy, healthy, and safe work environments. |
