“Pizza Parties Don’t Fix Burnout”: The State of Librarian Mental Health – Book Riot
“Pizza Parties Don’t Fix Burnout”: The State of Librarian Mental Health
By Kelly Jensen, Jan 20, 2026
We know that the constant demands put upon libraries and their workers take a toll. That’s why the intersection of trauma and librarianship has become a significant research and discussion topic, especially over the last six years.
Look to the need for public libraries to become a place where unhoused people can spend their days; how they are expected to put their safety on the line to be warming centers during cold snaps and cooling centers during heat waves; how they continued to need to provide in-person services during the height of a deadly pandemic; and how they have begun in recent years to hire staff social workers to help with the ongoing mental health crisis faced by community members who may have no other viable access to support.
Libraries are not essential services, despite the demands made upon them to provide essential services. These are roles that library workers take on because they view their job as meeting the needs of their communities, and if they choose not to, it could mean their budgets being slashed in the next round of cuts. Both things can be true, just as it can be true that library workers enjoy the challenges present to them and are directly impacted by them on a personal level. Librarians experience compassion fatigue and significant stress throughout their days, and that is without being faced with book bans or people showing up to board meetings calling them groomers. We also know that the physical state of America’s public libraries is poor: the Government Accountability Office found that 61% of U.S. libraries have at least one building system or feature that poses a potential health or safety concern in a report put out in December 2025.
Last year saw tremendous budget slashing in all types of libraries nationwide. It wasn’t just public or school librarians who saw their jobs and resources end. Academic libraries were on the chopping block, sending yet another message about the ways that access to verifiable facts, the historical record, and resources that advance knowledge aren’t priorities. They’re instead simply “nice to have.” It’s a confounding message, especially in an era of fake news, disordered information, and the ongoing push to integrate Artificial Intelligence into every aspect of life. It’s also a confounding message, given all the ways libraries are expected to fill in the gaps left by budget cuts elsewhere, and to do so without pushing back.
All of this has a direct and material impact on the mental health of library workers.
I wanted to know how much of a toll the job takes on library workers when I sent out a lengthy survey last summer, from July to August 2025. The survey asked library workers of all backgrounds, experiences, and demographics to get honest about where and how library work intersected with their mental health. Respondents were asked to share their experiences in a free-form style, highlighting what they perceived as the most significant stressors in the field, where and how they’ve managed their mental health in relation to their job, and what kinds of solutions they think would be helpful. Those who took part were welcome to write as much or as little as they’d like.
The results were even more surprising than expected.
The State of Library Worker Mental Health
This was by no means a controlled survey. It was self-select, but it did represent the field well. A total of 213 library workers responded: 77% worked in public libraries, 16% in academic libraries, 3% in special libraries, 2% in school libraries, 1% in government/state libraries, and 1% were retired/former. The weakness here is school libraries, but that’s likely due to the survey being sent during the summer, when the majority of school librarians are not in the office. Survey respondents were composed of 42% urban library workers, 42% suburban, 12% rural, 4% exurban, 5% mixed/multi-type systems. Library workers in the survey averaged 17 years in the field, with a median of 14 years. No degree or official “librarian” title was required to participate, just that the individual worked in a library.
The data was analyzed broadly, meaning that certain responses were grouped. Percentages in the responses will add up to more than 100% because library workers often mentioned several things that were arranged thematically. In other words, consider these responses representative and accurate, if not precise–that was not the goal.
The Biggest External Stressors in Libraries Right Now
Five big themes emerged in at least half the responses when it comes to the most significant outside stressors for libraries:
- 95% of responses noted budget cuts, layoffs, closures, and defunding as the most significant concerns from outside the library
- 80% of library workers noted stress came from the expectation that the library operates as a social service provider
- 75% mentioned book bans, censorship, and political interference
- 50% mentioned the rising costs of materials, specifically the high costs of digital materials. Libraries pay significantly more to purchase ebooks than the average consumer, and digital platforms like hoopla are a budget drainer.
Mission Creep was the single-most day-to-day stressor mentioned.
DrWeb note: Valuable and in-depth article, look online for the rest of the story.
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: “Pizza Parties Don’t Fix Burnout”: The State of Librarian Mental Health
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