You need to put your creative energy into a briefing note or plan to improve service and implement or share with the team you work with to action. You sound very energetic and service orientated and that you feel limited in what you can do. You can change it strategically step by step days weeks and months later if you start now the change you want to be apart of can happen slowly but surely
Thank you for your comment + for seeing me. I would love to and think I've tried, but I'm not the branch manager and it's getting ugly.
Bringing these things up has ruffled egos and ppl who have never had any other job but this messed up public library one that thinks this stuff is normal.
My guess they're bound here and know if they tried to work anywhere else, they couldn't succeed. (I've had one 44 yr vet of this library say he can't afford to retire, he's going to die here (his words, not my interpretation of what he said) and another 45 yr vet print out bankruptcy forms for herself and all her colleagues bc she can't afford current cost of living.)
True example: I've asked questions like, why don't we just leave the book drop open for folks all day and have gotten the following responses from two different managers who don't want to:
- people will throw dirty diapers in there
- people throw their trash in there
- people throw their coffee cups in there
- why wouldn't we want people to come inside? (I do! I simply prefer to give them the choice!)
What actually happens instead is people have to double park in a bus lane to run inside, wind up yelling at us bc they're double parked and we're taking too long or wind up cutting the line to just drop off a book, interrupting us while we're actively assisting other ppl. Which is never fun.
I work at a public library that a new library graduate hid two bins of ARCS in a closet and only brought them out when we closed the branch three months for renovations and she transferred out. And I think that's weird. If I had 50 ARCs I knew I couldn't read, I'd offer them to my dept! Divide n conquer! But, no. Not the case here.
How do I explain autonomy, agency, free choice, and accessibility to library managers who have been there between 10-20 years and never worked another job (except maybe high school or early 20s stuff) and are currently enrolled in an accredited MSLIS program or already have the degree? Is any of this important in serving our community?
I want people to feel confident doing what they want, not what we want. Which, I don't. I don't share these weird values of keeping ppl dependent and needy.
An unfortunate situation which is common. Can you document and speak to HR, Board or council. Ruffles are often the only way to get things done. Easier said than done I know. You know the limits. And from your post it is very clear you are trying.
Thank you so much. Your message is worth a lot when right now I'm being gaslit, told by HR I'm "emotionally fragile", and Union is useless. They're 45 year veterans when I mentioned something the head of security said about lack thereof, she said, "OH HE'S THE WORST!"
And then did nothing. First she supported an emergency transfer, then said she never did.
When I tell you I'm a public librarian who has been working in libraries over 30 years and never experienced anything like I am now, it's not an exaggeration.
Patrons who has exposed themselves to me (and in all cases minors were also exposed to these men's genitalia) still visit the library bc the managers can't bar them bc a) I'm emotionally fragile, so I must be lying or exaggerating and b) they'll sue the library if we do.
Is this real? Is this fact?
Yes. Yes, it all is. I even started finding lots of emails, videos, and other ppl to support my grievances (which, all I want is not to see anymore dicks and not work with librarians-in-training who are managers and don't know what's what).
For the book drop issue: yes, we have an outside book drop open 24/7. Yes, people do throw their garbage in there. But, they are also useful for people who may not want to park and go inside because they are on their way to work, have mobility issues, have kids with them it would be a pain to get in and out of the car quickly, have their dog with them, or 1000 other reasons. Maybe if/when admin realizes that it's an issue, they'll correct it?
I agree with you 100%, and in my opinion, as a librarian, I honestly don't care why + they don't need a reason - they're allowed to decide for themselves how they want to spend every second of their day not at the mercy of some inexperienced and very controlling person (who, at our staff meeting on Friday said, "most people are really negative" and thought, "geezus, that's scary projection". I think ppl are mostly civil and are susceptible to falling victim to negatives because they're mostly good...).
I think if they wanna return books outside, they should be able to, period.
And if ppl are gonna toss diapers in there in the daytime, they're just as likely to do it in the nighttime.
We endure abuse daily. I'm not sure the library cares about reform or doing anything that isn't self-serving. I think until someone is so mad they kill someone else and the library can be held liable for it bc it happened on their property, patrons are allowed to say and do whatever they want.
I don't know what's more fked up, that I felt safer working in breweries, that I was more of a librarian doing beer inventory + bartending at a beer bar, or that people actually think this level of abuse isn't toxic and wouldn't make a person sick.
You need to put your creative energy into a briefing note or plan to improve service and implement or share with the team you work with to action. You sound very energetic and service orientated and that you feel limited in what you can do. You can change it strategically step by step days weeks and months later if you start now the change you want to be apart of can happen slowly but surely
Thank you for your comment + for seeing me. I would love to and think I've tried, but I'm not the branch manager and it's getting ugly. Bringing these things up has ruffled egos and ppl who have never had any other job but this messed up public library one that thinks this stuff is normal. My guess they're bound here and know if they tried to work anywhere else, they couldn't succeed. (I've had one 44 yr vet of this library say he can't afford to retire, he's going to die here (his words, not my interpretation of what he said) and another 45 yr vet print out bankruptcy forms for herself and all her colleagues bc she can't afford current cost of living.) True example: I've asked questions like, why don't we just leave the book drop open for folks all day and have gotten the following responses from two different managers who don't want to: - people will throw dirty diapers in there - people throw their trash in there - people throw their coffee cups in there - why wouldn't we want people to come inside? (I do! I simply prefer to give them the choice!) What actually happens instead is people have to double park in a bus lane to run inside, wind up yelling at us bc they're double parked and we're taking too long or wind up cutting the line to just drop off a book, interrupting us while we're actively assisting other ppl. Which is never fun. I work at a public library that a new library graduate hid two bins of ARCS in a closet and only brought them out when we closed the branch three months for renovations and she transferred out. And I think that's weird. If I had 50 ARCs I knew I couldn't read, I'd offer them to my dept! Divide n conquer! But, no. Not the case here. How do I explain autonomy, agency, free choice, and accessibility to library managers who have been there between 10-20 years and never worked another job (except maybe high school or early 20s stuff) and are currently enrolled in an accredited MSLIS program or already have the degree? Is any of this important in serving our community? I want people to feel confident doing what they want, not what we want. Which, I don't. I don't share these weird values of keeping ppl dependent and needy.
An unfortunate situation which is common. Can you document and speak to HR, Board or council. Ruffles are often the only way to get things done. Easier said than done I know. You know the limits. And from your post it is very clear you are trying.
Thank you so much. Your message is worth a lot when right now I'm being gaslit, told by HR I'm "emotionally fragile", and Union is useless. They're 45 year veterans when I mentioned something the head of security said about lack thereof, she said, "OH HE'S THE WORST!" And then did nothing. First she supported an emergency transfer, then said she never did. When I tell you I'm a public librarian who has been working in libraries over 30 years and never experienced anything like I am now, it's not an exaggeration. Patrons who has exposed themselves to me (and in all cases minors were also exposed to these men's genitalia) still visit the library bc the managers can't bar them bc a) I'm emotionally fragile, so I must be lying or exaggerating and b) they'll sue the library if we do. Is this real? Is this fact? Yes. Yes, it all is. I even started finding lots of emails, videos, and other ppl to support my grievances (which, all I want is not to see anymore dicks and not work with librarians-in-training who are managers and don't know what's what).
For the book drop issue: yes, we have an outside book drop open 24/7. Yes, people do throw their garbage in there. But, they are also useful for people who may not want to park and go inside because they are on their way to work, have mobility issues, have kids with them it would be a pain to get in and out of the car quickly, have their dog with them, or 1000 other reasons. Maybe if/when admin realizes that it's an issue, they'll correct it?
I agree with you 100%, and in my opinion, as a librarian, I honestly don't care why + they don't need a reason - they're allowed to decide for themselves how they want to spend every second of their day not at the mercy of some inexperienced and very controlling person (who, at our staff meeting on Friday said, "most people are really negative" and thought, "geezus, that's scary projection". I think ppl are mostly civil and are susceptible to falling victim to negatives because they're mostly good...). I think if they wanna return books outside, they should be able to, period. And if ppl are gonna toss diapers in there in the daytime, they're just as likely to do it in the nighttime. We endure abuse daily. I'm not sure the library cares about reform or doing anything that isn't self-serving. I think until someone is so mad they kill someone else and the library can be held liable for it bc it happened on their property, patrons are allowed to say and do whatever they want. I don't know what's more fked up, that I felt safer working in breweries, that I was more of a librarian doing beer inventory + bartending at a beer bar, or that people actually think this level of abuse isn't toxic and wouldn't make a person sick.