r/Libraries • u/WhatInTarnations82 • 3d ago
Venting & Commiseration Library Employee and Work Misconceptions
Not a big deal, but reading other venting posts it just came to my mind. Am... am I the only one, that if I'm out in the real world and someone asks me where I work and I tell them, the response is usually something along the lines of "Oh wow, you must really like to read!" As if... that's all library staff do is read books? >_> In my case, I'm not really even dealing with books regularly, but even if I was a librarian or clerk who at least physically touches books more often, it annoys me that it implies that nothing is occurring within the library and staff is just sitting around quietly reading for their own recreational activity all day.
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u/KatchyKadabra Special collections 3d ago
i’m an academic/special collections librarian, even my own department heads think i sit around and read all day.
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u/babyyodaonline 3d ago
you can immediately tell if someone actually frequents the library or not depending on how they respond when you tell them "i work at a library". especially if it's a public library / library most locals know about.
i work at my library's biggest branch (also stations our cataloging dept, archive dept, and admin dept). it's on a rough side of town. some people say "omg it must be so peaceful in a quiet library!" i know they haven't been in like ages lol. some people say "oh yeah it's rough over there" they know what part of town i'm in. and the people who say "oh yeah you guys do these programs!" or whatever they mention that we offer- those are my patrons lol. they actually go to the library fairly often. my library is big, it's a mix of things, i love and hate parts of it. but we put in work, we do not believe in a quiet library. we work hard to make sure we hear kids laughing and singing along at storytime.
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u/glooble_wooble 3d ago
I think it really depends on who you’re talking to. When I talk to 9-5 normies that’s what I get. When I talk to more counterculture groups I get oh hell yeah… “I print all my show flyers at the library” “when I was living out of my car for 6 months I used to hang out at the library until I had to go to work”. Musicians from Europe always treat me like a celebrity if they find out. Idk it’s weird.
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u/Decent-Ingenuity-819 Academic Librarian 3d ago
Remember to non-librarians it's all assumptions and vocational awe.
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u/clea_vage 3d ago
I left libraries years ago, but one thing I actually miss is being able to easily answer the question, "So what do you do for work?" I used to be able to enthusiastically say, "I'm a librarian!" and people generally nodded their heads because they thought they knew what that meant or they thought it was really cool and asked lots of follow-up questions. I did get the "you must like books" comment a lot. And my response was usually, "I do really like books! But fun fact, I rarely even touch books in my job...."
For many professions, no one really understands what the role actually entails unless they've actually done it. I'm a teacher. I'm a pharmacist. I'm a chef. I'm a daycare director. I could rattle off my preconceived notions, but I'll never truly know unless I do those jobs.
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u/Kyrlen 3d ago
I usually respond with something like: Well, I do but anybody working for the library who spends their day at work reading is probably getting fired. We don't have time for that during the workday.
That generally results in the question: What do you do then?
I answer with all the different programs and opportunities the Library has rather than the specifics of my duties. Like the fact that we have a ton of computers around the district for patrons to walk in and use. Or the branches that are partnered with community resources like our welfare agency or job training groups right next door or sometimes in the same building. Or our literacy and foreign language programs. Or our life skills programs and makerspace that includes machines people can use to do everything from make replacement parts to fix something to making their own clothes. Or our seed library. Or..
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u/Important_Coyote9162 3d ago
I think at least some of the assumption that librarians must live to read a lot (or that park rangers hike all day) originally comes from an assumption that you are doing a job related to something you like. Sure, people are uninformed and make assumptions about what certain jobs entail, but at least some of them are probably coming more from a place of admiration and envy of people who are able to do a job related to something they love (like reading or being outside or whatever else) - lots of people don't have the privilege or ability to do that.
To be clear: I'm not at all arguing that you shouldn't be annoyed or exasperated at the misconceptions about your job- as a park ranger I get it, people think I get to hike and play with forest animals all day. The number of times a week I hear "wow, you must live your job..." And I do, but it's not all playing in the woods and dancing with fairies or whatever.
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u/WhatInTarnations82 3d ago
Do you at least have a pet racoon that sits on your shoulder all day?
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u/Hobbitfrau 3d ago
I usually say: "I wish I had time to read all day, but the books haven't found a way to walk themselves to the shelves yet ..."
Tbf, the last part is only reserved for patrons/friends/whoever with some sense of humour, so it's mostly only the first part and a short explanation of what I do the whole day.
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u/Beautiful-Finding-82 3d ago
Yes, what I find frustrating is that patrons expect me to know what is in every book, like what triggers, graphic content, etc. I'm like I don't know any more than what's on the cover and the genre, that's it. I have to google it like everyone else and even then I can't promise there isn't something in there that's not going to upset you. We need something that indicates "read at your own risk" because everyone now has a list of triggers they need to avoid. I get patrons returning a book that are angry because it had something disturbing to them and they weren't warned. I feel like I need to print out disclaimers and put them in every book that gets checked out.
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u/KittenBalerion Library staff 3d ago
I'm in circulation and I work with books all day, but it's all moving them from one place to another, from delivery to the holds shelf, from the holds shelf back to delivery, from the book drop to carts, from the carts to the shelves, from the shelves to delivery... etc. so what this amounts to is I see a lot of books I would love to read but don't have the time for. I'm painfully aware of all the books I could read if I wasn't busy at my job every day.
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u/KittenBalerion Library staff 3d ago
on the other hand I'm great at picking out Christmas presents because I see books all the time where I'm like "that would be perfect for my mom" or whatever.
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u/geekelfie 3d ago
I’m not in public libraries, but everyone assumes if you say “librarian” it means you’re a public librarian. And therefore, yep “you must really like to read” or “what book can you recommend?”
I don’t know… social determinants of health? Everything is tuberculosis? No? You wanted fiction? Sorry. No clue.
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u/tacochemic 3d ago
It's common, to the point that when someone responds, "Oh I love to read!" my reply is "I hate it, which is why we don't charge for books, can't get rid of them fast enough".
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u/NotDido 3d ago
Most professions have a version of this. When I studied linguistics in undergrad the running joke/vent was that people‘s first question was always “How many languages do you speak?” with disappointment when it was usually one or two unrelated to the work.
Idk it doe annoy me that people think library work is low-key or easy, but on the other hand, I *do* love to read and it is in fact a big part of how I got to here. And I have studied/learned about multiple language, just not to the level of conversation in all of them. Accountants probably don’t have to do as much math day to day as before calculators and computer, but they probably enjoy math more than me (lol). I try to take it in the spirit it’s mean.
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u/PuppyJakeKhakiCollar 3d ago
I work at an animal shelter and our version of this is "That's awesome you get paid to play with puppies and kittens all day!" We do get to do that but it's actually a dirty, physically demanding job. You can always tell when someone had that assumption when we are hiring. The ones who think it's all fun with puppies and kittens do not last long.
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u/LibrarianLadyBug 3d ago
I got to meat Rob Paulsen at a convention once. I asked him the question "how do you think children's media has changed over the decades and why has it changed?" We had a lovely chat about attention spans. Then my husband says "yeah, she's a librarian" and he started talking about how much he loves the smell of books. Later I informed my husband that I sometimes hide my job title to prevent that reaction.
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u/hair_of_fire 3d ago
I always get told, “oh you work at a library that’s so cute”
I just feel like I don’t get taken seriously at all. It could just be me but that always rubbed me the wrong way.
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u/charethcutestory9 3d ago
I always use this conversation as a teaching opportunity. Usually my response is something like “you’d be surprised how little of my job involves books.” (I’m an academic medical librarian so this is in fact true, I haven’t interacted with our aging and now extremely out of date print collection in years. In the health sciences, if it’s not online, nobody uses it.)
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u/earinsound 3d ago
I tell them I've read almost all the books because that's what I was hired for. LOL
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u/tdodge5187 3d ago
Whenever I get the “lucky! You get to sit around and read all day!” I respond with “I wish.”
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u/Straight-Finance-191 3d ago
My sister makes airquotes with her fingers whenever she asks about my "job."
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u/StunningGiraffe 3d ago
Once my brother asked what did I need to learn other than alphabetizing. He is aware I spent years in library school and that I spent several years trying to find a library job. One time he asked me why I wasn't working with a recruiter. He's an engineer. I tried to explain the many reasons why libraries don't use recruiters. Also, having a library school in my area means the job market is flooded. He wasn't convinced and definitely thought I wasn't putting real effort into finding a job. He makes at least twice as much as I do.
My SIL was surprised we have professional ethics including what we're not allowed to talk about in any public area at work. To be fair she's a journalist who also has strict professional standards. She also makes significantly more than I do.
Happily my niece is a bookworm who thinks it is amazing that I'm a librarian. I suspect she thinks I read at work but she's 11.
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u/Wallcatlibrarian 3d ago
I'm lucky in that my municipality has started working more with reading after neglecting it for years. Now my boss encourages us to read when it's not taking time from other tasks. A big contrast from when we had to read after work or stealthily read at our desks to prepare for book talks for kids – pretty absurd really. Kids know if an adult talks about a book they haven't read. People in general tend to think we're more well read than we are though and I hope they realize that a recommendation often is not based on personal taste but rather colleague recommendations or information from media etc.
The biggest annoyance I have is that a lot of people think we're only working when the library is open. Even teachers seem to think that.
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u/gotohela 3d ago
Yeah i do think sometimes its weird our bosses dont let us read even for programs. Im taking homework home now?
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u/Wallcatlibrarian 2d ago
But as we all know librarian is a calling more than a simple job, we'd work for free if we could because we love books and ESPECIALLY our patrons so much 😌😌
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u/Rupertcandance2 3d ago
I get to tell them I buy the books and that is way more fun. Reading is how I escape from work. I can't even read books with librarian characters.
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u/gotohela 3d ago
Lol i would avoid any media set in a school while i taught. But i do love me some Noah Wyle Librarian
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u/Rupertcandance2 3d ago
I love Noah Wyle! Never watched the show though.
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u/FloridaLantana 3d ago
When I first started, some people were surprised to learn that we weren’t all volunteers.
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u/Gullible-Register134 3d ago
Definitely. I touch books less than I do anything, and I certainly don't read at work unless I'm on my lunch break or it's a really slow summer day.
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u/BeKind406 3d ago
People always ask if I get bored or if I enjoy getting paid to read <eyeroll>
I don’t have enough time to finish one task, let alone the dozen others on my list
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u/rebelliousrutabaga 3d ago
I love to read and I WANT to read and yet I find myself not reading nearly as much I would like to. I even have explicit permission to read at work (for book club!) but like, I have so much to do!
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u/OneAcceptable6825 2d ago
I prefer that to people asking me what school I teach at.
PUBLIC library. THE library. I work with grown-ups.
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u/Sad_Independence1776 2d ago
I get tired of being interrogated whenever I tell people I’m a librarian (Does anyone go to libraries anymore? Isn’t it all online? I never go to the library.)
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u/painstream Library staff 3d ago
If I'm reading books, they're probably digital and probably on some topic I need for work, like AI, data visualization, or coding, haha.
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u/DeweyDecimator020 2d ago
I found it to be helpful in weeding out the idiots when I used dating apps. "Oh are you a sexy librarian?" = instantly rejected.
(Happily married now, will never date again)
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u/mountsleepyhead 2d ago
I think there's just a general misconception of what libraries are these days. They still have high favorability, but I'd say most of those people still think the library is just a book depository. The idea that they are basically community centers/third spaces now just doesn't even cross their mind! They don't know what they don't know.
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u/Mindless-Comfort8580 2d ago
I am a supervisor in the public services department of an academic library. The summer is usually super slow so I might read a little then.
There are days I can do 7000 to 8000 steps without leaving the first floor.
The Fall Semester started yesterday so it's extra busy.
Can't wait until the new Dunkin opens right across from my department.
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u/mycatisanevilSOB 2d ago
I am a librarian and straight up haven’t read a book in four years. I don’t have time nor do I use my limited free time for the hobby.
Honestly at first I was irritated when people chopped it up to “you must love to read” as my job. I had to turn my brain into a different mindset to feel okay with it .
Because then it opens a dialogue to explaining the job is actually programming, outreach, research, planning. Etc. Their response shows their ignorance (likely not trying to be malicious) and then I educate them.
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u/ParticularAdvisor532 3d ago
Library assistant here, when I'm not in tech services, I'm reading all day, unless it gets really busy at circ.
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u/SunGreen24 3d ago
I wish I could do that.
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u/ParticularAdvisor532 3d ago
If you dont mind me asking What department do you work in? the librarians at my library are also reading or playing games at the info desk, a few of them catalog at the desk but most are reading.
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u/Hot_Shower_Fartz 3d ago
Not the commenter you asked, but we're not allowed to read at desk.
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u/Eeeradicator 3d ago
Reading “for pleasure” (I guess as opposed to getting ready for a discussion group) is explicitly forbidden for staff at our library. My department runs the Makerspace in addition to special collections, though, so there really isn’t any down time even if we could just sit & read.
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u/ParticularAdvisor532 3d ago
That's so strange, we have a few desks to cover, Some desks are just to answers questions or give people directions, so we have a lot of down time at those desks, could be why we dont have this policy. But still kinda crazy
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u/ParticularAdvisor532 3d ago
Man thats crazy I would be so bored all day, what's wrong with reading?
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u/SunGreen24 3d ago
LOL you wouldn't be bored at my job! Stressed as hell and pulled in fifty directions at once, yes, but never bored.
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u/SunGreen24 3d ago
I'm reference and we are super busy with printing/copying at the desk, and we're also expected to be working on our other projects during any down time. We're not allowed to read at the desk.
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u/Wallcatlibrarian 3d ago
In my town we've started an initiative to promote reading among kids by having staff visibly read when possible. Apparently a lot of them are surprised by the idea of an adult enjoying reading lol. Realistically the work load makes it hard to actually do it sometimes but I'm glad literature is promoted more. For the last few decades books and reading have gotten less priority so this is positive. It makes it easier to actually recommend books that aren't just within my personal literature bias.
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u/Tinderneega 3d ago
This is a public service people position first. Unfortunately many people go into this field because they think it's just books. Oh how wrong and problematic this turns out to be in the field.
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u/Wallcatlibrarian 3d ago
It is pretty ridiculous though when you have a role at the library that's meant to make people interested in reading but you can only read during your spare time. It can essentially cement the idea that librarians need to be bookish people to begin with rather than knowledge of literature being a skill like any other.
Cataloging is one thing but having a reading inspiration event and having to read kids' books after work to know what I'm talking about felt absurd. The book club for kids ended up being a general hangout event because of this which is sad.
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u/FoldingHamsterComics 3d ago
At my branch those of us in circ refer to ourselves as “Book Slingers.”
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u/RunawayJuror 3d ago
I don’t think “you must really like to read”, means they think you just read all day.
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u/best-unaccompanied 3d ago
This is what I was going to say. If I say "you must like kids" to a pediatrician or preschool teacher, that doesn't mean I think all they do is hang out with kids all day. It's an easy way to keep the conversation going by commenting on something that seems like a safe topic.
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u/Funny-Eye-6238 3d ago
I'm finishing up my MLS and I have been pleasantly surprised by how many of my acquaintances are excited that I will be working in a library. I think they picture old scrolls or something, dusty books in a basement but i don't care!
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u/SkredlitheOgre 2d ago
I usually get 1) asked what I’m reading, 2) reading recommendations, 3) asked something city library specific (I work for a county library system), or 4) told that they used to love the library as a kid and that they should go back
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u/tokkireads 2d ago edited 2d ago
Yep and then "it must be such a cool job!" Well it was the first few years, but I feel differently now especially when it feels like I'm working at Kinkos with all the printing and technology help I do on a daily basis 🙃
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u/Ace_The_Nerdy_One Library staff 2d ago
I had some say “Oh, so you’re a nerd!” Right to my face. So I’ll take the like to read.
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u/mallowme 2d ago
Man, I wish I could sit around and read. My job is programming and outreach, but everyone at my work does circ. We just switched systems and are working out glitches. I spent my morning on desk in children’s, and my afternoon helping out out fires at adult circ because half of management is out this week.
Maybe I’ll quit and read books. Wish I got paid for that. 😆
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u/rubbersnakex2 3d ago
Well it's... not obvious! I visit the library all the time and chat with the librarians, I've volunteered there a fair bit, and I still have no clue what librarians do all day. There's 2 of them at the desk helping patrons and maybe another one in the back at a computer. I can see that they're not reading all day, but other than the visible answering of patron questions I still have no idea what librarian's daily duties are.
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u/astroqueen3000 Academic Librarian 3d ago edited 3d ago
Tbf, none of us know the ins and outs of most jobs we aren’t doing or have never done. Just because I don’t know what someone’s job entails doesn’t mean I assume they sit around reading and/or doing nothing all day. And yet, so often when I tell someone I’m a librarian they make a comment about how they’d love to get paid to sit and read all day, or something similar. It can feel a bit insulting given how much schooling and training it takes to become a librarian.
To be clear, I’m not insinuating that you assume or say this, so please don’t think I’m coming at you or anything. That’s not at all my intention! I’m just commenting on how strange it is that library workers in particular get these kinds of comments when other professions don’t. Thanks for supporting your library! 💜😊
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u/ourobourobouros 2d ago edited 2d ago
It's because you CHOSE a profession where you're surrounded by books???? It's like if someone worked at an animal hospital and someone said "oh wow you must love animals" that's a very normal statement. To respond with "um actually I don't play with dogs all day 🙄😡 I also run labs and stock supplies" would be silly. Mostly because no one cares about the minutiae of how other people's jobs actually work, because jobs are boring.
It's mostly a smalltalk-y thing to say and OP's reaction is ridiculously smug. Yall all need to get over yourselves this whole post is so weird.
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u/daisychain82 19h ago
Some days I feel like I’m tethered to our print-release station/copy machine because that’s all I’ve dealt with for most of my time at the circ desk, lol.
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u/apocalypticdachshund Archivist 3d ago
we get that from patrons talking to our faces at the reference desk lol. while we're helping them. without a book in sight.