National Recovery Month in Youth Services: Beyond the Display

Read More

Planning a September teen display for National Recovery Month prompted a larger service question: What should children and teens be able to find when they have questions about substance use and recovery?

Young people should be able to find accurate, age-appropriate information that offers hope, avoids blame, and points toward qualified help. Some may need information about their own substance use or recovery. Others may be trying to understand the substance use or recovery of a parent, caregiver, sibling, or friend.

A 2025 JAMA Pediatrics analysis of 2023 national survey data estimated that nearly 19 million U.S. children under 18—about one in four—lived in the same household as at least one parent who met survey-based DSM-5 criteria for a substance use disorder during the previous year. The estimate cannot describe any individual child’s experience, but it shows why family substance use belongs within the scope of youth services.

Observed each September, National Recovery Month promotes evidence-based treatment and recovery practices and recognizes people in recovery, service providers, and communities that make recovery possible. The service questions in this post focus on substance use recovery. A Recovery Month display can prompt a year-round review of collections, access, staff preparation, and partnerships.

Make Recovery Visible Alongside Prevention

Prevention, treatment, crisis response, and recovery answer different questions. Library resources should distinguish among them and avoid presenting recovery as a single sequence with a single definition of success. SAMHSA describes recovery as highly personal and occurring through many pathways.

The flyer I prepared led with a simple message: “Recovery is possible.” A collection review can build on that message by looking for accurate portrayals of evidence-based treatment, including medications used for some substance use disorders, along with peer and family support, ongoing recovery, and multiple recovery pathways. Materials should avoid treating one approach as a moral test or presenting recovery as quick or final.

Because grief, mental health, resilience, and substance use can overlap without being interchangeable, each selection should have a clear connection to substance use, treatment, recovery, or the effects of substance use on family and friends. Staff should also consider whether a title’s framing, terminology, authorship claims, or dated information could mislead readers or reinforce stigma. Professional reviews and official publisher descriptions can help staff assess age level and content, while a qualified health partner can review clinical and referral information.

Age-appropriate entry points will differ. For young children, libraries can offer caregiver guides and child-facing resources that use concrete language. Middle-grade readers may look for fiction or nonfiction that explains a relative’s substance use without assigning blame. Teens may look for material about helping a loved one, setting limits, finding a trusted adult, or seeking help for their own substance use or recovery.

Give Young People Language Without Blame

Some children may believe that they caused another person’s substance use or that they can control it. The National Association for Children of Addiction’s Seven Cs explains that children did not cause a loved one’s addiction, cannot control it, and cannot cure it. The framework then encourages taking care of themselves, communicating their feelings, making healthy choices, and celebrating themselves.

Library workers can make age-appropriate resources available without assuming a family’s circumstances. A book, take-home card, or caregiver guide can give a young person language before a direct conversation feels possible. Programs should keep personal disclosure optional and should not ask children or teens to explain substance use or recovery in their homes. Staff should not promise that every personal disclosure will remain confidential. They should know how local policy and law govern responses to abuse, imminent danger, or other safety concerns.

Library-created signs, booklists, and web pages should default to precise, person-first language, such as person with a substance use disorder and person in recovery. National Institute on Drug Abuse guidance recommends replacing labels such as addict, alcoholic, and substance abuser with language that describes a health condition without reducing a person to it. Staff should still respect the language individuals choose for themselves.

Offer More Than One Route to Information

Discreet access begins with choice. When the branch layout permits, place take-home information where young people and caregivers can access it without approaching a service desk, and pair digital routes with print. A young person should not have to explain a personal reason for taking a card or opening a link.

The flyer I prepared included 988 under “Need Support?” and labeled the CDC Free Mind QR code “Teen Resources,” with a readable fallback URL. The QR code and fallback URL expand choice, but a QR code does not guarantee privacy. A visit may remain in browser history, and either a redirect service or the destination may collect data through cookies or analytics. Use a direct, static QR code rather than a shortened or tracking link. ALA privacy guidance notes that computer and network use can create records and that websites may track users. When the library controls the linked page or analytics, collect only the minimum data required and avoid connecting use to an individual.

Resource cards should explain what each service does:

• CDC Free Mind offers substance-use education and prevention resources for teens ages 12–17 and their parents and caregivers.
• The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free, confidential, 24/7 crisis support by call, text, or chat, including support for alcohol or drug use concerns.
• SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357), provides free, confidential, 24/7 treatment referral and information in English and Spanish. The helpline does not provide counseling.
• The National Association for Children of Addiction offers resources for children, teens, and caregivers affected by substance use in the family.
• For a suspected overdose or another immediate medical emergency, call 911 and follow the library’s approved emergency procedures.

Clear labels help patrons choose among resources that are related but not interchangeable.

Prepare Staff to Inform and Refer

Pair public-facing resources with a one-page staff guide that records each resource’s purpose, contact methods, age and geographic eligibility, language access, cost, and update date. The guide should also identify staff role boundaries and local privacy, child safety, crisis-response, emergency-response, and reporting procedures.

A qualitative study of 44 public library workers found interest in providing substance-use information and referrals and in partnering with health and social-service organizations, alongside gaps in preparation, resources, and institutional support. The study concerned libraries’ role in the overdose crisis, not youth services or display outcomes. Even so, its findings suggest a practical question: Have staff received the preparation and organizational support needed to use a resource list responsibly?

Library workers can provide accurate information, listen without judgment, and help patrons locate qualified sources. They should not assess a young person’s condition, interpret symptoms, or recommend an individual treatment plan. A behavioral health, public health, youth recovery, or family recovery organization may be able to review materials, train staff, or facilitate a caregiver program. Before promoting a service, the library should verify the partner’s relevant credentials or demonstrated expertise, age eligibility, privacy practices, costs, potential conflicts of interest, and agreed role.

An earlier ALSC Blog post described a countywide middle-school program centered on The Seventh Wish and developed with schools, health organizations, and other community partners. A branch can begin with a smaller step, such as asking a qualified partner to review a resource list.

Carry the Work Past September

Before taking down a Recovery Month display, library workers can review the larger service path:

• Can children, teens, and caregivers find age-appropriate print and digital information without explaining why they need it?
• Does the collection address young people seeking help for themselves as well as those affected by another person’s substance use?
• Do library-created materials use nonstigmatizing language and distinguish education, treatment referral, crisis support, and emergency response?
• Do staff have approved role boundaries and current local procedures?
• Are library-created health and referral claims supported by current authoritative information and reviewed by an appropriately qualified professional when needed?
• Who is responsible for keeping that copy and its links current?

When the September display comes down, children, teens, and caregivers should still be able to find accurate information without disclosing a personal reason and reach an appropriate source when they need one. Recovery information belongs within young people’s reach throughout the year.

Featured image: National Recovery Month teen book display at Quince Orchard Library. Photo by Witt Salley.

This post addresses ALSC Core Competency #2: Reference and User Services.

Today’s guest contributor is Witt Salley (he/him/his). Witt is the Teen Services Librarian at Quince Orchard Library in Montgomery County Public Libraries. He writes about teen services, reader formation, service-learning, digital and AI literacy, accessibility, and intellectual freedom. His work focuses on the everyday choices that make public library service more welcoming, usable, and responsive for children, teens, and families. If he could read one book again for the first time, he would choose Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game for the way it turns attention, pattern-finding, and community into a shared act of discovery.

Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.

If you are interested in submitting a guest post, please read and fill out our Guest Blogging Interest Form. We would love to hear from you!

The post National Recovery Month in Youth Services: Beyond the Display appeared first on ALSC Blog.