Yesterday, the White House recognized the efforts of libraries to save lives from overdose.
The Biden-Harris administration announced the participants of the White House Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose, a nationwide call-to-action for organizations to increase training on and access to life-saving opioid overdose reversal medications like naloxone. The American Library Association (ALA) is one of more than 250 organizations and businesses that have made voluntary commitments to the challenge. Led by the Public Library Association (PLA), an ALA division, ALA has developed resources to help libraries respond to the overdose crisis, supported by funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The opioid epidemic was declared a national public health emergency in 2017, and the situation worsened due to the 2020 COVID pandemic. Provisional data from the CDC National Health Statistics Center show that from September 2020 to September 2023, opioid overdose deaths in the US increased by 19%, from 88,879 to 105,303. As community anchor institutions, public libraries are leveraging their assets in response to this crisis.
In 2018, PLA began a collaboration with OCLC to collect and share knowledge and resources to support public libraries and their partners in addressing the opioid crisis. The project website has a wealth of materials to help educate on the crisis and support those affected and on the frontlines of prevention, including eight case studies exploring a diverse set of communities, a summary report, call to action white paper with resources and recommendations, and archived webinars, at the project website.
ALA President Cindy Hohl participated in a discussion of the issue with administration officials and national leaders. In her remarks, Hohl shared experiences from several libraries, including her home library, Kansas City (Mo.) Public Library, which offers training to library staff on how to recognize an overdose and how to administer naloxone. She pointed to the need for community partnerships to respond to the crisis, especially with training on handling an overdose, as well as support for library staff.
“I’m proud of the work that libraries are doing to respond to the overdose crisis, along with local partners,” said Hohl. “I’m grateful that the White House is recognizing this work. And I hope that library workers feel proud of themselves, too. You are making a difference.”
For more information on the Association’s opioid crisis response efforts and to find resources, visit ala.org/pla/issues/opioidcrisisresponse.
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Photo: ALA President Cindy Hohl (right) speaking at the White House Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose event on October 8.
