This document lists numerous resources for mental health information, trainings, books, and self-care strategies that were discussed in an online chat space by panelists. It provides links and descriptions for resources including Mental Health First Aid training, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the National Institute of Mental Health, books on various mental health topics, ideas for creating safe spaces and accommodations in the workplace, and suggestions for employee and personal self-care activities.

1. Resources Discussed in the Chat Space & Mentioned by Panelists
 The NY TimesArticle thatDylandiscussed: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/12/upshot/do-
antidepressants-work.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur
 Mental HealthFirstAid https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/
 Mentalhealth.gov
 Substance Abuse andMental HealthServicesAdministration https://www.samhsa.gov/
 National Alliance onMental Illness https://www.nami.org/
 National Institute of Mental Health –NIHhttps://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml
 Black Belt Librarian by WarrenGraham
 Employee Assistance Program
 Counselingcenters,clinics,andwellnesscentersonuniversitycampuses
Trainings
 Mental HealthFirstAidisan 8-hourcourse that givespeople the skillstohelpsomeone whois
developingamental healthproblemorexperiencingamental healthcrisis.More infoat:
https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/
o the Mental HealthFirstaid talksaboutlisteningnon-judgmentally,thatincludesbeing
sure that our bodylanguage iswelcoming.
 I had NAMIcome to a libraryI programmedforandit was opentothe public.
https://www.nami.org/
o I like the ideaof a NAMIclass opento the public.We have hadstaff traininghostedby
NAMI,but a publicacknowledgementof the importance of mental healthissomething
else altogether.Andpositive,Ithink.
o NAMI (National Alliance onMental Illness) doesaprogram called"InOurOwn Voice"
where people withlivedexperience share theirstories:https://www.nami.org/find-
support/nami-programs/nami-in-our-own-voice
o We can educate ourselvesaboutstigmasthatare commonin specificcommunities,like,
for example,immigrant/refugeecommunitiesinourarea,or mental illnessesthatare
more prevalentin,forexample,AfricanAmericancommunities:
https://www.nami.org/Find-Support/Diverse-Communities/African-American-Mental-
Health
 We have trainingonIntellectual Freedomandhow itappliestoeveryone,includingstaff
members.So,if yousee anemployee checkingoutbooksoncancer,or if theyshare that with
youin confidence,youshouldn'tuse thatinformationto"help"them, etc.Ithinkthisis
importantwithwhatDylan (panelist) said.We needtobe respectful of everyonewe serve,even
those onour staff.
 Here'sa seriesof shortandpractical videos(withreal-life scenarios)totrainstaff on how to deal
withrelatedchallengingscenarios:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnSA9yKFJNxKLTzG49aiSVw/videos
 Here'sa free 2-partwebinarseriesworthcheckingout(includesahandycheatsheetforsetting
limits):https://infopeople.org/civicrm/event/info%3Fid%3D42%26reset%3D1

2. Books
 I juststartedreading 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head,Reduced StressWithout
Losing My Edge,and Found Self-Help ThatActually Works--A TrueStory by Dan Harris,and I am
goingto followupwith Meditation forFidgety Skeptics,bothbyDan Harris. He has a FREE
guidedmeditationapp,I've onlydone itfora week,butcan alreadytell I'mgoingtocontinue
 Readthe graphicnovel: Marbles. It'sgreatand givesa reallygoodview intobipolarandalso
takingcare of yourself ingeneral assomeone withamental healthissue
 Black Belt Librarian by WarrenGraham
 VerbalJudo byGeorge J. Thompsonisgoodfor structuringconversationsaboutboundaries.
 Crucial Conversations:ToolsforTalking When StakesAreHigh, Second Edition by KerryPatterson
isgood too formakingconversationssafe
 Doug E. Noll's De-Escalate
Other Resourcesand Ideas
 If people are interestedincontinuingconversation/sharing resourcesonTwitter,checkoutthe
hashtag#LISmentalhealth
 Thisis a favorite source of tipsandinfoon empathy:
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/empathy
 Properlyrecognizingandidentifyingmemorylosscustomershasbeenanimportantissue inour
publiclibrary.Sometimeswhendealingwithsomeoneatthe service deskwithalibraryissue
can be especiallydifficultandcontentiousif theyare sufferinganddisplayingthe associated
behaviors.Ifounditreallydifficulttofindresources.Here isone.
http://www.actonalz.org/sites/default/files/documents/Customer-facing-staff-guide-
dementia.pdf
 http://www.ilads.org/lyme/2017-ILADS-Psych-Brochure_FINAL.pdf
 wellnessincentivesthatcanencourage the creationof wellnessinthe workplace
 EPA isa great resource
 Disabilitylibguides,whichincludesmental healthof variouskinds.Here isthe table of contents
guide:http://guides.library.illinois.edu/alacwgdisabilitytoc
 We have a displayof free resource material aboutmentalhealthawayfromthe deskandright
nextto otherhealth-relateditemsandfinancial healthresources,sopeoplecantake themand
it's notclear to otherswhichsubjecttheyare lookingat. Italsoputs theminthe contextof
overall health,whichIthinkhelpswiththe stigmaissue.
 The #LISmentalhealthzineisavailable toorderattinyurl.com/reserveandrenew
 We createdBibliotherapykitsforourpatronsrangingfromaddictiontogrief to divorce.These
kitshave bookfictionandnon-fictionthattouchonthese subjectsandthenhandouts
connectingtocommunityresources.
 I've starteda "GraphicMedicine"collectionwhichisgraphnovelsaboutmental healthtopics.
I've beengoingthroughandtaggingthe collectionandlike 1/3to 1/2 of the booksare checked
out rightnow,whichisawesome!
o I justlistenedtoapodcast epaboutGraphic Medicine anditwas superinteresting!
o https://www.graphicmedicine.org/category/graphic-medicine-podcast/
o Matt Noe isamazingfor GraphicMedicine: https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/ner/45/

3.  Be respectful andalwaysmake individualsfeel welcome.Sometimesit’shardtotell butbybeing
friendlywitheveryone youare makingsure youdon'tignore anyone.
 Helpto marketmore chat reference andonline resources,ebookssothose whodon'tfeel
comfortable visitingthe librarycanstill use it
 have a good and supportive HRpolicythatendorsesandsupportsaccommodationsfor
employees
 Addressbehaviorsratherthanpersonsasa whole.Andmake sure you're enforcingpolicy
uniformly.
 Boundariesare important,we are notexperts!we needtohave setpatroncodesand let
everyone knowaboutthose andreallytrainstaff toconnectwithmanagersandwiththe
resourcesinthe community.
 ideaof safe spacesin publicplaces,whetheraconference orina traditional librarysetting.
 Safe spacesshould be somethingofferedatworkplace.Where people canexpressthere
feelings,thatcombinedwitheducationandcommunityresources,we are providingthe bestfor
our employeesandpatrons.
 soundproof rooms/screamingrooms
 We have a meditationroominour Undergradlibrary. Alternativelights,white noise machine,
rockingchair,fidgettoys. It's alwaysinuse.We advertise the meditationroomasa calm room.
o We have the same sort of thingat - It's calledthe SerenityGardenandhasbeenaround
for 5+ years.Lowlight,meditationresources,lotsof plantsandcomfortableseating.It's
constantlyinuse. We also have a ZenZone for more active relaxation - aromatherapy,
puzzles,arttherapy,etc.
o I feel like hospital systemsdothisreallywell.Myhusbandhada prettyserioushealth
issue several yearsbackandI made gooduse of the meditation/prayerroom.We don't
necessarilyneedthe religiousspace,Ijustthinkhavingaquietroomfor people to
reflect,be mindful,orjustgetawaywoulddoa lotof people alotof good andwe can
take thisfrom hospitals.
 Ryan Dowd@ homelesslibrary.com
o The Librarian'sGuide to Homelessness:An Empathy-Driven Approach to Solving
Problems,Preventing Conflict,and Serving Everyone byRyanDowd
o Ryan's QuickAdvice http://www.homelesslibrary.com/start-here.html
 http://humanlibrary.org/meet-our-human-books/
 My branchservesmanycustomersfroma nearbyhomelesscamp,andsome of these customers
are dealingwithmental healthandaddictionchallenges. The libraryisone of theironlywarm,
and accessible spacestojustbe.Iwant to see more communityagenciesusingourlibrary
(meetingrooms) to connectwithpeopleinneedandprovide theirservices. We're workingto
buildmore contactswithlocal agencies.OurMainLibrary doeshave a social workerfroma
partneragencypresentduringsome hours,toworkwithcustomersexperiencinghomelessness.
While we aren'texperts,we canworkmore closelywiththose whoare.
Self-Care StrategiesandResources
 Try any Employee Assistance Programsthatyouremployeroffers.Some of the firstfew visits
may be free.Also,inquiringwithyourlocal mental healthdepartmenttohave classesor
someone tospeakat yourlibrary.

4.  I usedto be a unionorganizer...whenthingsblew up,we wouldtell members,take adeep
breath,go fora walk,andwhenyou've calmeddown,write downwhathappenedsoyouhave a
goodaccount of itAND soyou can learnfromwhat happened
 communicate ourissues
 Get enoughsleep.Itisself care.
 diagnosis,actuallycommunicatingwithyourdoctor
 Mindfulnessmeditationhelpsme alot.
 Beingpatientandkindtoourselvesandtoeach other. Beingflexible. Sometimesyouneedan
extrabreakor a minute awayfromeveryone else
 I'm workingtoincorporate mindful meditationintomyday.
 You can't helpothersif youare not preparedtohelpyourself...youwill runoutof steam
 Yoga breathing,walking,nature videosprovidearefuge andrecharge me
 Our Library offersEAPservice tothe Employees totalkwithsomeone aboutourownproblems.
 Honestly,epsomsaltbathsanda goodaudiobookare my jam.
 I readonce (Ican't rememberwhere) thatif youdon'tspendat least1 hour perday alone,itcan
raise yourstresslevels.Itryto findone hourper daywhere I am alone.Ithelps.
 Recognizingthatyourownmental healthisworthaddressingandsupporting.Findingpeople
youcan share challenges &joyswith.Adoptingapetif you can!
 Wishwe had a librarykittenforjustthisreason
 and if we can't have pets,plants
 goingfor walksthroughoutthe dayisgreat forhelpingme tomaintaininnerbalance
 freshairbreaksand walkshelpaswell.
 Good mental healthisaboutknowingyourself - I'mnota walker...butIlove coloringanddoing
my needlepointforthe same purpose
 Qualitytime withmydogsisso crucial
 I thinkthat we have to rememberwe are notsuperheroes!Butwe can create an environment
where oursupportour teams(co-workers,friendsfamily) thatwill keepusincheck
 re medication: if ourdoctortoldus we neededitforour heart,we'dtake it. It'sthe same for
mental health.
 Lettinggo of the ideathat we can control outcomes;if compassion,respect,andself-care are
the right inputs,that'sall we can do.
 Findingthe kindof motionthatisjoyfor youis veryimportant.Ihate walkingunlessIamgoing
somewhere,butIrecentlygotinvolvedinadance companyforpeople w/various (dis)abilities
and I am suddenlyrediscoveringmybodyasa thingthat can move inways.I anticipate itbeing
great formy mental healthaswell.
 Agree aboutplantstoo.I have 2 orchidsat workthat I care for that I getsatisfactionfromseeing
grow andbloom.
 Rollerderbyhelpsme workoutmyworkfrustrations.
 YES. Take yourPTO.
 Biking
 re vacationdays:I schedule themoff everymonthatthe beginningof everysemesterandkeep
those daysclearof obligations.Period.

5.  also,doingsomethingrandomly nice forsomeoneelse alwaysmakesme feel betterif I'mina
bad headspace.
 Yes talkto HR and ask aboutFMLA
 FMLA protectspeople whoneedsome sortof ongoingcare--talktoyourHR.Intermittent
ongoingcare is alsocovered.
 You have to lookfora service providerthattakesyourinsurance.
 It's hard to ask foraccommodations - youhave to reveal yourissuesandgothrough a lotof
paperworkandsometimesHRisNOTfriendly. Itdependssomuchonthe library
 Our libraryismunicipal andourmunicipalityoffersanEmployee Assistance Program
 I have finallystartedusingmyannual leave daysasaphysical/mentalhealthprevention
strategy.It makessucha huge difference
 Havinga disability/mental healthissueisaboutadvocatingforyourself togetwhatyou
need....whichisoverwhelmingbecause youare alreadystruggling
 re: Employee AssistanceProgram:if youdon'thave it available fromyourjob,if youare on a
familymember'shealthinsurance policy(spouse,etc.) see if theirshasanEAP that covers you.
 Employee Assistance.Encouragingtakingwalkingbreakswithworkers.Open-Doorpolicy.
Colleaguescanhelpbysteppinginwhensomeone simplyneedstotake a few minutesaway
fromthe deskor fromthe public.
 medicationsdohelpbutIthinkthat isnot the onlyresource butalongwiththat knowinghowto
calm ourselvesusingvariousexercises,dance, Pilates, musicwatchingmovieswill helptoo
 WhenI am the most unbalanced,it'ssometimesdue toanimbalance inmyspiritual life. Prayer
usuallygets me backon track.
 Cooking,cleaningforourselvesandfamily