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Introduction Sister Professions I wanted to be a librarian as my second career because I’m kind of drawn to that part of the service that libraries do. Not that I think librarians are social workers, but there is a similarity in how you can connect people with com- munity services. —Chue, public librarian A Little Bit of History Social work and libraries in the United States share a common historical ori- gin. Both developed in the late 1800s as a response to the Progressive Era sentiment sweeping the country, as well as the increasing industrialization and immigration into the United States. Middle-class, European American women, educated but still confined to the roles of wife, mother, and home- maker, embraced an opportunity to participate and lead in civic, community, and occupational life. As they developed, librarianship and social work as professions were still dominated by men in leadership and administrative roles, but women comprised the rank-and-file workers. Women provided the vision, implementation, and sustainability of services to patrons, families, communities, and organizations. In social work, the profession developed with a dual, often-competing focus. Charitable giving in the mid-19th century moved from being the responsibility of the family, small town, or church community to more for- mal regional and state organizations known as Charity Organization Societ- ies (COS Trattner 2007). The COS emerged in the middle of the 19th century as a response to the growing poverty, overcrowding, mental illness, alcohol- ism, and family dysfunction seen in growing urban areas. Members of the COS embraced the new trend of applying science to the human experience and sought to study and analyze the causes of poverty and other social prob- lems. The COS was particularly focused on the individual or family and their