How was your shift?
Get it off your chest.
Public, university, school and specialist library staff and volunteers. Put down what you're carrying before you go home.
Which best describes you?
This changes a few questions and which support lines come first. You can change it any time.
Everything you enter stays on this phone. Nothing is sent to your employer, your manager or anyone else. Unladen Shelf is a prototype. It is not a medical or emergency service and is not connected to any library, council or government agency. · Give feedback
Take a moment.
Step away from the desk if you can. Ask a colleague to cover for a few minutes. That's allowed.
Breathe with this
What you might be feeling
- Shaky, sick, or a racing heart
- Numb, or oddly calm
- Tearful, angry, or both
- Going over what you could have done differently
These are normal reactions. They usually settle over hours or days.
If someone hurt or threatened you
It isn't part of the job and it isn't your fault. Tell your manager and report it through your incident system, even if it seems minor. Get checked if you were hurt. You can also contact police.
Ground yourself
Look around. Name them, out loud or in your head.
Call someone now
Add your manager, a colleague or your EAP in so they're here when you need them.
Not sure who to tell?
If you don't feel safe telling your manager, there are other people you can go to. Or write down what happened, just for you, while it's fresh.
What helps after
Handover to yourself
A few minutes at the end of a shift. Notice what you're carrying, then leave what you can at the door.
Please talk to someone now
You said you've had thoughts of harming yourself or not wanting to be here. Please call one of these now. If you're in immediate danger, call 000.
Light load
This phone isn't letting the page save. Your result shows here but won't be kept.
About the aggression
Report it through your incident system, even if it seems minor. Reports are how libraries get security, more staff on the floor and bans that stick. Staff hurt at work can make a workers compensation claim.
Your safety
You said you didn't feel fully safe. That matters. Tell your manager or supervisor, and report it through your incident system. If you open or close alone, ask for that to change.
Getting home safely
You said you've got very little energy left. If you're driving, a 15 to 20 minute nap before you leave can help, or get a lift. Text someone when you're home.
What might help
People you can call
This isn't a medical assessment. It's a way to notice how you're going over time.
How it's been going
Last 14 days
Handovers
This phone isn't letting the page save, so handovers won't be kept.
Privacy & your data
Add a PIN, download what you've entered, or delete everything from this phone.
Keeping a door open for everyone takes something out of you
What to watch for, and what helps. Tap a heading to open it.
Abuse and aggression from patrons
Libraries are open to everyone, and that includes people who are angry, unwell or intoxicated. Being abused or threatened still isn't part of the job.
Today
- Step back, get a colleague, and call 000 if you feel unsafe.
- Report it through your incident system, even if it seems minor.
- Debrief before going back on the desk.
Over the next days
- Talk it through. It can replay for days.
- Ask what will change, such as a ban, more staff or security.
Someone in a mental health crisis
Library staff are often the only people around when someone is distressed, confused or talking about harming themselves.
- If anyone is in immediate danger, call 000.
- Stay calm, give the person space and speak slowly. Get a colleague.
- The NSW Mental Health Line (1800 011 511) gives advice 24/7, including to people worried about someone else.
- Afterwards, debrief. It's normal to feel shaken.
An overdose or medical emergency
- Call 000 and follow their instructions. Start first aid if you are trained.
- In NSW, naloxone (which reverses opioid overdoses) is free without a prescription. First aid trained workers who might see an overdose are encouraged to carry it.
- Afterwards, take a break and debrief, whatever the outcome.
- If it keeps replaying, talk to your EAP or GP.
Protests, harassment and online abuse
Some library events and collections attract protests, complaints campaigns or online abuse aimed at staff.
- You don't have to engage. Refer people to your manager or official complaints process.
- Ask for a safety plan before targeted events: extra staff, security, police contact.
- Don't reply to online abuse. Screenshot it and report it to your manager. The eSafety Commissioner takes reports of serious online abuse.
- It's not personal, even when it feels it.
People with nowhere else to go
For many people sleeping rough or doing it tough, the library is the last free, warm, safe place. Staff carry a lot of that.
- Link2home (1800 152 152) gives homelessness information and referral in NSW, 24/7.
- You can't fix everyone's situation. Being kind and pointing people to help is enough.
- Notice if you're taking people's stories home with you.
Inappropriate behaviour or images
- Exposure, harassment or someone viewing illegal material: don't investigate it yourself. Get your manager and call police.
- If you think a child is at risk of significant harm, call the Child Protection Helpline on 132 111.
- Write down what you saw, with the date and time, while it's fresh.
- Feeling shaken or disgusted afterwards is normal. Debrief.
Working alone and closing
- Try not to open, close or work a branch alone. Raise it if it keeps happening.
- Know where your duress alarm is and how to use it.
- If someone refuses to leave at closing, get help rather than confronting them alone.
- Text someone when you're home.
Complaints about books and events
- Follow your collection or events policy. That's what it is for.
- Refer challenges to your manager in writing.
- You don't have to defend every decision on the spot.
Bullying, harassment or conflict
You don't have to put up with it, and you don't have to sort it out alone.
- Write down what happened, with dates, while it's fresh.
- If your manager is involved, talk to someone outside your reporting line.
- The Fair Work Commission can make orders to stop bullying at work.
- For sexual harassment, 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) is there 24/7.
Signs you're carrying too much
- Dreading the desk
- Feeling numb, or on edge with patrons
- Replaying incidents at night
- Taking patrons' stories home
- Pulling back from people
Libraries carry a lot of the community's need. Feeling it is a normal response, not a weakness.
Volunteers
Library volunteers can see hard things too. Ask your coordinator what support there is, and it's OK to step back.
When to get more help
If your load has been heavy for two weeks or more, you dread going in, or it's affecting sleep or home life, talk to your GP or EAP. A GP can set up a Mental Health Treatment Plan for Medicare-subsidised sessions with a psychologist.
People to call
Save the ones that apply to you. They stay on this phone and show up on the Help now screen.
Support lines
You don't have to go through your manager
Sometimes the person you'd normally tell is part of the problem, or it just doesn't feel safe. Here are other ways to get support. You choose what to do, and when.
From your organisation
Your library service or council can add its own EAP, peer support and wellbeing numbers here.
Someone outside your reporting line
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Free, confidential counselling. Your manager isn't told that you called. Most councils, universities and schools have one.
- A colleague in another branch or library. Someone outside your reporting line.
- Your union. Council library staff in NSW are covered by the United Services Union (1300 136 604). University, school and state library staff have their own unions.
- Your work health and safety representative. For aggression, lone work and security.
- Volunteers: your volunteer coordinator.
- Your GP. Outside work altogether, and can refer you on.
Text or chat instead of calling
For when talking out loud isn't possible, or feels like too much.
For particular situations
If you think a child is at risk of significant harm, call the Child Protection Helpline on 132 111.
Spiritual and religious support
Some people find strength in prayer, ritual or their faith or cultural community after a hard shift. Others find it in nature, music, exercise or quiet. Whatever gives you meaning counts.
If your workplace has a chaplain or wellbeing officer, they support people of any faith or none. Their role is to listen, not to persuade.
Words to start with
The first sentence is often the hardest. You could say:
"I'm not ready to make a complaint. I just need to talk this through."
"Can this stay between us? Is there anything you'd have to pass on?"
"Something happened on the desk today that's stuck with me."
"I don't feel safe closing on my own."
What happens if I tell someone?
- Counsellors, peer supporters and helplines keep what you say private. The main exception is if someone is at serious risk of harm. If you're unsure, ask at the start.
- A union can give you confidential advice before you decide anything.
- A child at risk of significant harm has to be reported. Other incidents are yours to decide about.
- Your private record in this app stays on your phone unless you choose to share it.
Not ready to tell anyone?
That's OK. You can write down what happened, just for yourself, and decide later.
Numbers and services are for New South Wales and Australia-wide. Check with your organisation for its own services.
Write down what happened
It stays on this phone. It isn't a report, and nothing is sent anywhere. If you later decide to raise something, notes written at the time are easier to rely on than memory.
My entries
Entries can't be edited, so each one shows when it was written. To add something, write a new entry.
No entries yet.
If you decide to share it, you can download it or send it to yourself.
Your phone, your data
PIN lock
Ask for a PIN when the app opens, and after it has been in the background for a minute.
PIN is on.
The PIN stops someone else opening the app on your phone. It doesn't encrypt what's stored, so keep your phone locked too. If you forget it, you can delete everything and start again.
Hide the screen
Tap the eye button at the top of any screen to cover the app straight away, for example at the desk or on the bus home. Tap to come back, or enter your PIN if you've set one.
Download my data
Download everything you've entered (handovers, private record and contacts) as a text file. You could keep a copy, or show it to your GP or counsellor.
Delete everything
Deletes your handovers, private record, role, contacts and PIN from this phone.
Delete everything from this phone? This can't be undone.
About Unladen Shelf
Unladen™ Shelf is a prototype made by Co-Synthesist Pty Ltd, Newcastle NSW. Unladen™ is a trade mark of Co-Synthesist Pty Ltd. It isn't a medical or emergency service, and it isn't connected to any library, council or government agency. The questions haven't been clinically validated yet.
What's stored: your role, handovers, private record, saved contacts and settings, only in this phone's browser. Nothing is sent to anyone. There are no accounts, analytics or trackers.
Feedback: the feedback form is the only part of Unladen Shelf that sends anything, and only when you press Send. It doesn't include anything else from the app.
Keep in mind: if you clear your browser data or remove the app, what you've entered goes too. Download a copy first if you want to keep it.
Version 0.1 prototype · September 2026