OrilliaMatters welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to a letter about the human services co-ordinator at the Orillia Public Library, published Feb. 11.
In a recent letter to the editor, the author noted issues with librarians and other staff at the Orillia library being referred to as social workers despite not being social workers. As mentioned in this letter, the title ‘social worker’ is protected in Ontario. Only those who are registered with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers with either an undergraduate degree in social work, a master’s degree in social work or the college’s ‘equivalency’ standard are legally allowed to use the title ‘social worker.’
Most people do not know that the title is protected. Most people, like the audience of a news article, do not know the difference between a social worker and social service worker, and most people, when they think of others who work with vulnerable communities or with people generally, use the title ‘social worker’ as a catch-all phrase to describe that work.
It’s not supposed to happen, but it’s not a big deal when it does, unless someone is explicitly referring to themselves as a social worker but they aren’t one when they ought to have known better. In this case, that actually did not happen. Read the original article here. What happened was that the library CEO used the term once as a verb to describe the work being done by library staff, yet several times in the article it was explicitly stated that the person in question was a social service worker. No misrepresentation occurred.
The article that the author was referencing was about an award presented to the library for recognizing successful new approaches that demonstrate a positive impact in the community and are of continued value to public libraries.
As a registered social worker myself, employed at one of the library’s partner agencies, I regularly visit the library to provide support to community members. I have collaborated with the human services co-ordinator, who is a registered social service worker.
I and most people in this field can tell you that regardless of the hierarchy or educational differences between social workers and social services workers, an experienced social services worker, like the one in question, is far more competent in providing social work service than any newly minted social worker with a master’s degree.
Libraries are the last place in a neoliberalizing society where everyone is welcome, regardless of their socioeconomic status. As the cost of living increases and with subsequent social problems like homelessness, libraries are stressed to take on new roles and implement innovative strategies out of necessity to meet community needs. They aren’t just a repository of books, but a vital community resource for everyone. The community’s problems become the libraries problems, which is why helping professionals like social workers, social service workers, and others are becoming permanent staff in libraries.
Instead of arguing over semantics, let’s look at the intention of what was said and uphold the good work the Orillia Public Library is doing.
Congratulations on the award and thank you for all your work.
Taylor Doss
Barrie (formerly of Orillia)
