Just finished "Overdue: Reckoning with the Public Library" by Amanda Oliver. A good example of what burnout looks like in librarianship, from someone who worked at an inner city library for nine months, saw the worst parts of the field, and then bailed.
Very meandering, but had some good points about libraries being ill-equipped for managing the unhoused and other social issues.
Full review here: https://tinyurl.com/4whf4mwa
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AltLovesBooks's review of Overdue
3/5: I’m conflicted by this book. On one hand, it’s supremely good at showing what burnout in librarianship can look like, particularly in large cities. Libraries are being asked to shoulder an enormous burden that’s only getting larger, without getting the support it needs to do so. It’s no wonder that librarians everywhere are experiencing a great deal of burnout and disillusionment with the field they started in, and it’s unfair of other librarians to shame them for doing so. I thought a lot of points the author brings up about the unhoused and the constant struggle between helping them where...
