Bibliotherapy: Present-day marvel in Malaysia

Abstract

This study explores the current trends of bibliotherapy within the public library community in Malaysia. A qualitative data collection approach using a structured interview was employed to elicit the opinions of five public librarians, two practitioners specializing in mental health, and a bibliotherapy writer. Eight (8) interview transcripts have been analyzed using theme-based analysis. This study shows that bibliotherapy in Malaysia is a new trend and concept. The public librarians were unnoticed that they had already practiced the technique due to the lack of bibliotherapy awareness among public librarians. There is a need to establish bibliotherapy education for future librarians.  Keywords: Public library; Bibliotherapy; Library education; Malaysia eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by E-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC  BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under the responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behavior Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioral Researchers on Asians), and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behavior Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.