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, where she manages projects, designs instruction, oversees grants, and other outreach and engagement to help libraries meet the health information needs of their communities. She is a Senior Librarian and Wellness Ambassador.
She is the project manager for outreach and engagement projects, including national symposia and collaborations with national organizations. She managed the 2023 Virtual Health Misinformation Symposium and the 2021 Symposium on library staff health and wellness, with over 3,000 attendees. She led the NNLM partnerships with ALA, PLA, and ARSL.
She designed some of NNLM’s popular instructional courses, including Wellness in the Library Workplace in-person and virtual versions and Bridging The Digital Health Divide: Empowering Library Users Moodle course as part of the Consumer Health Information Specialization (CHIS) on Demand courses. She co-designed the Exploring Complementary and Integrative Health online course, Beyond an Apple a Day 4-hour in-person course, and Stand Up for Health: Health and Wellness in Your Community, both online and in-person. She has designed and delivered countless presentations.
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 has received awards for her project management and instruction. Bobbi is a mindfulness student, and a body acceptance advocate.
Classes I Teach
| Event Title | Summary |
|---|---|
| NNLM National Virtual Health Misinformation Symposium | This free virtual symposium will explore both the research behind health misinformation movements and provide practical and evidence-based solutions to support librarians, health educators, and direct care providers in combating the spread of all types of health misinformation. |
| 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 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. |
