Overview

Working with harmful language and content can affect us. Over the course of seeing or handling harmful materials, we can experience "vicarious trauma," also known as "secondary trauma," a state of distress that can be just as serious as primary traumatic experiences. As UTL collections have a large amount of disturbing or sensitive material, it is important to provide guidance on how to take care of ourselves, as well as our collections.

The audience for this guide includes staff, student workers, and anyone who may be in frequent contact with harmful materials.

If you have more questions about the content or this guide, please contact Devon Murphy at devon.murphy@austin.utexas.edu

What can you do?

Works Cited

Davis, Rowyn. “Trauma-Informed Archival Practice: Overview of Trauma.” Trauma-Informed Archival Practice. Simmons College, 2021. https://simmonslis.libguides.com/trauma-informed-archival-practice/overview.

“CONSENT FLOWCHART.” Texas After Violence Project, 2023. https://texasafterviolence.org/portfolio/consent-flowchart/.

“Emotional Support Guides.” Health & Wellbeing. Archives & Records Association UK & Ireland, 2024. https://www.archives.org.uk/health-wellbeing.

“Creating a Trauma-Informed Workplace.” Trauma-Informed Libraries. Capital District Library Council, 2024. https://cdlc.org/c.php?g=1096156&p=7993889.

Wright, Kirsten, and Nicola Laurent. “Safety, Collaboration, and Empowerment: Trauma-Informed Archival Practice.” Archivaria 91 (2021): 38–73.

“Suggestions for Supervisors.” The Vicarious Trauma Toolkit. Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice, n.d. https://ovc.ojp.gov/program/vtt/what-is-vicarious-trauma.