The School of Social Work, in collaboration with the Allegheny County Library Association and others, is supporting a Library Social Work Fellowship. This fellowship is for fall and spring semesters and will place social work students in public libraries to assist with community outreach and assessment, information & referrals on human service resources, provide basic case support as needed, and support programs/activities to respond to community needs, particularly in areas of social services, mental health, health/social determinants of health, and other specific to the library service area and populations.
Program Benefits
Training Award
- $3500 Generalist Students
- $6000 Specialized Practice/ Advanced Standing
Eligibility Requirements
- BASW entering final year of program
- Part-time or full-time in-person or online University of Pittsburgh MSW student (most library sites are generalist placements)
- Direct Practice or COSA
There are a limited number of Specialized Practice sites. Any interested student is encouraged to apply. This fellowship does not fulfill the requirements for any of the specialized practice DP certificates.
Fellowship Commitments
- Attend a monthly seminar with peers (mandatory; counts toward practicum hours)
- Participate in weekly supervision sessions
- Engage in additional educational events and opportunities as available
- Complete an end-of-year presentation to faculty and community partners
Fellowship Practicum Options
About ACLA
The Allegheny County Library Association (ACLA) is a federated library system of 46 public libraries delivering service in more than 70 locations. Member Libraries include the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, which has 19 locations, and 45 other libraries and their branches located outside the City of Pittsburgh throughout Allegheny County. Each library is independent and has its own board of directors; as a consortium, they share a countywide catalog, jointly offer downloadable books, audios, and videos as well as online databases, and provide a diverse calendar of programming events. The eiNetwork supports the automated library operations, Internet access, and free Wi-Fi services available at all county libraries. Through its coordination, ACLA expands the resources of local libraries beyond what they could accomplish individually.
Students will complete their practicum placement at an affiliated library within Allegheny County, where they can perform these and other roles:
- Provide basic information and referral on social/human service resources, mental health supports, health and social determinants of health, crisis supports, and other resources specific to the library community service area and populations and their needs;
- Provide basic case assessment support to library patrons around information and referral per above to allow for community-level follow-up as needed - however, this will be only short-term case support.
- Assist Library staff in community outreach and assessment, as well as analysis of those assessments relative to library programs and activities;
- Assist in developing and conducting programs and activities in response to community needs, especially in areas of mental health, health/social determinants of health, human/social service issues, children and youth, employment & education/training, among other areas as identified.
- Perform other duties in support of library community programming, outreach, special events, fundraising, and related activities that help students understand the community, organization, and patron context of the library.
Instructions for How to Apply
Applications for the 2026/2027 academic year will be accepted from December 1, 2025, to March 7, 2026
- Within the application, provide a cover letter addressed to Ms. Katrina Mink. Within your statement, please include the following:
- Why are you specifically interested in library social work?
- What should the role of a library be in today's society?
- How do social workers help in this role?
- What does it mean to truly "meet people where they are"?
- The initial application deadline is March 7, after which applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until positions are filled
Contact Information
Dr. Alicia Melnick, Practicum Assistant Professor, ADA65@pitt.edu