Reshaping librarians' roles
a proactive call to support students' mental health at universities in Kenya
Keywords:
librarian’s role, library support, mental health, mental health support, depressionAbstract
Student mental health underscores the overall well-being and resilience. It also entails the ability for students to subsist life demands, manage daily stressors while being productive in their learning. Academic libraries are better situated to support student mental well-being, given that they are frequently visited by students both physically and virtually. Library professionals are therefore, expected to prioritise customer experience and present themselves as trusted intermediaries for students. However, librarians' potential to contribute beyond their traditional information roles and actively support student mental well-being remains underexplored. Global and regional research shows a growing interest in this subject, although unclear on the specific roles. A notable gap exists in integrating mental health concerns into their daily services, operations and practices. This paper explored the librarians’ proactive role in supporting students’ mental health at universities. The paper used a systematic review methodology that evaluated secondary sources as guided by inclusion and exclusion criteria and the sampled documents reported thematically. Findings revealed that while librarians’ role is critical in supporting student mental wellness, the absence of structured and proactive interventions limits their transformative impact. The limited involvement perpetuates despite the heightened cases of mental health challenges among university students. The paper recommends the heads of counselling services, to prioritize librarians’ capacity building to discover information, collaborations and supportive ways they can contribute towards supporting mental health in universities. Sensitization and awareness programs for librarians organized by the counselling departments should precede the designated mental health library ambassador or champion, to catch a wider participation. Additionally, the university librarians, counsellors and university management should collaborate and partner in developing mental health best-practices and policies. Librarians should acquire information resources on mental health and create awareness on the same, to influence student work-life balance, and foster a healthier lifestyle.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Sophia Mjeni Tsenga (Author)
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Accepted 2026-05-14
Published 2026-09-14