Supporting Our Troops: Library Services and Support for Veterans

Abstract

Veterans are a unique population that can be found in libraries across the United States. Libraries of all types are developing new approaches to the veterans in their patron populations in the wake of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This study identifies several common strategies that libraries, especially public and academic libraries, are employing to support their patrons who are veterans, as well as distinctions in strategy according to library type. It further explores whether libraries are relying upon library staff who are veterans when developing services and programming for patrons who are veterans.

Facilitating Library Support for Student Veterans: The Libraries and Veterans Toolkit

“…For example, research has indicated that academic libraries have increasingly begun to assign student veterans their own library liaison. 6 However, targeted library support for veterans is far from ubiquitous. Research suggests that libraries providing this type of support are likely to have a staff member who has close ties to the veteran and military communities.…”

Veteran Views of the Library: A Qualitative Study

“…LeMire's article, "Supporting Our Troops: Library Services and Support for Veterans," is unusual because she not only examines current trends in library outreach but also includes the veterans who are library employees in her discussion of how veterans themselves are included or excluded in library outreach efforts. 8 LeMire wisely used her status as a veteran as an entrée into the population.…”