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I work in a city public library as a clerk. I used to work in rural and suburban community libraries. Running children and YA programs and keeping the place running. Actually I've worked in... twelve to fifteen public libraries ha. But this one is a big library, comparatively. It used to be just me and a couple older librarians in a small rural town over the summers. Now I'm in a library of over a hundred staff with thousands of patrons. I definitely feel hardened by the sharpness of an inner city public facing role. Public libraries are generally run by local councils, at least in my country (nz). You have to deal with some amount of bureaucracy and organizational politics because of this but overall its a stable job in which you are left alone. I'm a massive hippie so all for the possibility of democratic, egalitarian or decentralized work environments. I can tell you the libraries that run best are those where the staff on the ground feel empowered and confident to take initiatives without having to run them past upper management (too much~). I've found the libraries that are more decentralized run heaps smoother and healthier. Management and above are generally rather good. Nobody is running a library to make evil dollars. Definitely been on the receiving end of sexual harassment. Both by some staff (in previous libraries) and patrons. The patrons has almost been a weekly occurrence. It feels 'just part of the gig' even though it really shouldn't. Honestly after working in public libraries for.. six years (wa?!), I've become rather numb to all sorts of bleak behaviour by the public. My current position isn't so rough, I have a v good team. But there has definitely been times in the past where if a coworker wandered into the workroom with "yeah they asked for help finding a book and when we got to the shelf he started running at me screaming "I'm going to hurt you!" I would be concerned but not.. like, surprised. Working with the vague broad demographic of the public is probably where most of my trepidation with my job comes from. That and robots lol. No shadiness re: breaking employment laws or shady bosses or anything. No corruption haha. I wish I called out the sexual harrasment but I was in my early 20s and really, really needed the job. I was afraid I'd lose it if I rocked the boat. I enjoy my job. I have interesting, creative coworkers who often have another passion/aspiration going. Comedians, musicians, poetry people, etc. A proportion are burnt out lawyers, excorporates and teachers who realized they need a job that is relatively low stress and 'easy' (ha). I'm only working part time this year. I'm studying a bachelor of health/psychology and volunteering as a phone counsellor as to eventually transition into that field. Libraries are cool but the pay is bad and I've worked Saturdays my whole twenties. Lampsacus fucked around with this message at 16:22 on Aug 27, 2018 |
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Aug 27, 2018 16:20
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| # ¿ May 16, 2024 11:43 |
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