People, Not Problems: Adapting the Person-Centered, Trauma-Informed Lens to the Library

November 12, 2026

2:00 PM

Library Staff encounter challenging situations regularly. Sometimes these situations are exacerbated by people’s trauma history. We don’t usually know their stories, but we can approach our patrons and our colleagues with a person-centered, trauma-informed (PCTI) lens. In this session, attendees will learn about the basics of PCTI and how they adapt to library services and programs.

Presenter

Amanda Goldson (she/her) is an adult services librarian at the Pineville branch of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. Over the past 18 years, Amanda has grounded her career in developing and supporting staff, creating innovative programs, and modeling exceptional library services. One of her passion projects is teaching library staff to be person-centered and trauma-informed.  

Her most recent large-scale project is as project manager for a grant to deliver a 9-part Healing Arts series with a community partner serving women who are refugees and asylees. This series’ goal is to improve the stress resilience, mental health, and arts-based coping strategies of the participants. 

Amanda received a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from the University of South Carolina’s Honors College, Phi Beta Kappa, and a Master in Library and Information Science degree from the University of Washington.