Systematic Literature Review of the Bibliotherapy Practices in Public Libraries in Supporting Communities’ Mental Health and Wellbeing

ABSTRACT The issues of mental health such as depression and anxiety create impact to the psychological, social and economic of society. Public libraries as a community center play a great role in taking actions toward mental health and well-being through bibliotherapy services. This study aims to describe the public libraries experienced in bibliotherapy and to determine the criteria of bibliotherapy services in public libraries. A systematic literature search of studies was carried out based on the PRISMA framework. The analysis of the literatures revealed a large variety of bibliotherapy framework and models – most of them are developed in country-specific and only applicable in western countries, others could be applied by public libraries across borders. The review makes clear that bibliotherapy services are importance in libraries and requires specific criteria for bibliotherapy development. It also clearly outlines the potential of bibliotherapy services in libraries as a method of improving mental health and well-being. The article raises important issues with regards to how public library should go about developing bibliotherapy services. This study contributes to the field of library and information management as it highlights the public libraries experienced in implementing bibliotherapy. Library practitioners could use the results to develop their strategies to ensure the success of the bibliotherapy as part of library services.