When you walk into your local public library, you expect to receive help from a reference librarian, a circulation desk librarian, or perhaps a children’s librarian, depending on your needs.

However, many libraries are starting to employ people in new, non-librarian roles to better meet the changing needs of the communities they serve. The below nine cutting-edge jobs within libraries showcase the evolving role of this uniquely flexible public institution, an institution whose value as social infrastructure only seems to grow as crisis after crisis rocks society.

Public Health Nurse
In Arizona, the Pima County Public Library has forged a partnership with the Pima County Health Department in which a team of public health nurses provides services to library patrons from Tucson and the surrounding area.

Homeless Services Coordinator
Many unhoused individuals rely on libraries for a safe place to stay during the day, a computer to use for job hunting or email, and a sense of community. Libraries recognize this growing cohort of library patrons and are responding to their needs.

Farmers Market Manager
When you think of libraries, you don’t usually think of food; after all, eating is typically forbidden in libraries! In North Carolina, however, the High Point Public Library is the site of the local farmers market, which runs from April to October.

Program Coordinator for Indigenous Placemaking 
In Canada, the Calgary Public Library has made great strides in honoring the Indigenous communities within the Treaty 7 area of southern Alberta. At the heart of this initiative is the idea of Indigenous placemaking. Livia Manywounds, a former reporter for the CBC, recently became the library’s program coordinator for Indigenous placemaking.

Social Worker
At the Long Branch Free Public Library in New Jersey, David Perez is the only full-time, library-based social worker in the state, according to NPR. Library social workers teach technology courses, help job seekers find employment, connect patrons to mental health and legal services, and refer homeless patrons to local social services.

Youth & Family Services Consultant
Libraries have long prioritized children’s programming, from story hour to summer reading initiatives to personalized book recommendations. However, there are only 50 librarians nationwide who specifically work at state libraries on statewide initiatives to support children.

Deaf Literacy Coordinator
The Tampa Bay area is home to nearly 350,000 deaf or hard of hearing individuals—the largest such community in Florida, according to the Florida Association of the Deaf. To better serve this population, the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative houses the Deaf Literacy Center.

Health and Wellness Coordinator
At the Kansas City Public Library, Amanda Landayan, the Library’s health and wellness librarian, is dedicated to helping patrons reach their health and wellness goals, according to Northeast News.

Little Free Library Coordinator 
The Port Washington Public Library on Long Island in New York State has placed two Little Free Libraries in its community, each of which provides books in more than one language.

Read the full article about library services by Alessandra Bautze at Shareable.