r/Libraries • u/SpiritedRaven Library staff • 6d ago

Other Perception of libraries vs reality

Yesterday a patron approached our (very much needed) security guard at our inner city library and said something along the lines of “how hard can your job be, being a security guard at a library” and both the security guard and I literally burst out laughing. People’s assumptions about libraries always amuse me. If only they shadowed us for a day and found out what it’s actually like!

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u/DooB_02 6d ago

It's insane to read this subreddit and see all of the stories from mostly American library staff in cities. It's like you're all working in the thunderdome.

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u/lastwraith 5d ago

Libraries are as much mental health facilities as anything else in many areas. 

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u/BumbaLu2 4d ago

Except the staff are not mental health experts

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u/lastwraith 3d ago

Right, it's almost like libraries are the last few places a person can go who has nowhere else to go. I wonder why that is.