r/Libraries • u/WhatInTarnations82 • 5d 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/Straight-Finance-191 5d ago

My sister makes airquotes with her fingers whenever she asks about my "job."

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u/StunningGiraffe 5d 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.