As libraries across the United States reopened after the COVID-19 shutdown with lessened pandemic restrictions, librarians made their way back to their original roles working among the bookstacks. However, as the industry sees an uptick in turnovers just five years since the start of the pandemic, the responsibilities of a librarian now seem to fit the bill of a social worker. As libraries are accommodating the post-pandemic world, librarians are experiencing a public health and occupational crisis as workplace stress and abuse continue to rise.
Libraries are seen as public community hubs where many gather for leisure, entertainment, or recreation. Today, librarians report higher levels of vandalism, physical altercations, and theft occurring under their watch.
In an editorial piece to the Los Angeles Times, Amanda Oliver, a librarian, wrote, “And yet, to work in a library I also had to be a social worker and a first responder, an advocate for the underserved, and a human with very thick skin.”
In 2022, the Urban Libraries Unite Trauma Study observed these attitudes from librarians as well as their underlying causes. The study reported the responses of 435 urban library workers and reviewed the literature landscape. The report shows the difficult working conditions for many librarians and proposes a new framework to maintain the future of the occupation. Over 68.5% of respondents said they had experienced violent or aggressive patrons, with 22% of respondents saying this violence came from co-workers.
Another study surveying over 500 academic librarians showed that over half report having a diagnosed mental condition. Over 70% of these librarians said that they had not received any paid time off to recover from their condition.
That being said, many librarians are not properly prepared to engage these growing public health crises occurring right in their workplace. The spirit of helping others, as many report, is more than present among librarians, who will open their facilities as warming facilities during snowstorms and places for vaccinations or flu shots during the pandemic. Turnovers and understaffing combine into a whirlwind of stress for librarians who continue to work and endure. The recent string of state-enforced book bans, poor management, and aged buildings only add to that pressure. From the previous study, over 60% of the 500 librarians surveyed reported not having any previous training on how to properly handle a patron with a mental illness or condition.
As a service provider, many librarians are in a difficult situation, having to abide by a “customer is always right” mentality while also having to manage customers who are incredibly difficult in nature for a variety of reasons. Librarians have called for increased funding, higher employment and staffing rates, and the inclusion of mental health resources to effectively combat burnout.
By Lois Angelo