Pros
Fairly good pay, you can at least make ends meet if you’re financially savvy, and they’re are some really excellent people that work in the branches.
Kontras
HR has a hugely inflated sense of themselves and employs extremely nepotistic, subjective, and inconsistent hiring practices making it impossible to move up or change locations, leaving people feeling trapped. Managers have no idea how to be proper leaders and criticize hurtfully without offering support or guidance, nor do they spend time on the public service desk learning about their patrons and seeing what staff has to go through every day before engaging in the criticizing. Printing systems are awful and staff take the brunt of upset patrons. Patrons don’t respect staff or the library properties. Service Design doesn’t get feedback from branch stuff and implements things that don’t work for every location and don’t really care about patrons’ actual needs. Emotional and mental health needs are not met or considered. Brutal scheduling takes a toll on work-life balance, physical health, and mental health. No benefits for part time staff and hardly any full time opportunities. Competition for roles, especially full time, is outrageous.