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Overdue: Reckoning with the Public Library
Who are libraries for, how have they evolved, and why do they fill so many roles in our society today?
Based on firsthand experiences from six years of professional work as a librarian in high-poverty neighborhoods of Washington, DC, as well as interviews and research, Overdue begins with Oliver's first day at an "unusual" branch: Northwest One.
Using her experience at this branch allows Oliver to highlight the national problems that have existed in libraries since they were founded: racism, segregation, and class inequalities. These age-old problems have evolved into police violence, the opioid epidemic, rampant houselessness, and lack of mental health care nationwide—all of which come to a head in public library spaces.
Can public librarians continue to play the many roles they are tasked with? Can American society sustain one of its most noble institutions?
Pushing against hundreds of years of stereotypes, romanticization, and discomfort with a call to reckoning, Overdue will change the way you think about libraries forever.
Based on firsthand experiences from six years of professional work as a librarian in high-poverty neighborhoods of Washington, DC, as well as interviews and research, Overdue begins with Oliver's first day at an "unusual" branch: Northwest One.
Using her experience at this branch allows Oliver to highlight the national problems that have existed in libraries since they were founded: racism, segregation, and class inequalities. These age-old problems have evolved into police violence, the opioid epidemic, rampant houselessness, and lack of mental health care nationwide—all of which come to a head in public library spaces.
Can public librarians continue to play the many roles they are tasked with? Can American society sustain one of its most noble institutions?
Pushing against hundreds of years of stereotypes, romanticization, and discomfort with a call to reckoning, Overdue will change the way you think about libraries forever.
8 pages, Audiobook
First published March 22, 2022
131 people are currently reading
5748 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Oliver
1 book47 followersAmanda Oliver is a writer and former librarian. Her book OVERDUE: Reckoning With the Public Library is forthcoming from Chicago Review Press on March 22, 2022. She is the nonfiction editor for Joyland Magazine.
Amanda’s writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Electric Literature, Vox, The Rumpus, Pank Magazine, Medium and more. She has been interviewed about libraries and being a librarian for NPR, CBC Radio, The Associated Press, The Guardian, The American Scholar, and American Libraries Magazine.
Amanda is the 2020 recipient of the McQuern Award in Non-Fiction Writing, the 2019 Yefe Nof Redesign Residency, and a 2019 Mill House Residency, awarded by author Pam Houston. Her essay Fourteen Women Playing One Guitar was nominated for a 2019 Pushcart Prize.
Amanda holds B.A. and M.L.S. degrees from SUNY Buffalo and a M.F.A. in nonfiction from University of California at Riverside. A Buffalo, New York native, she currently calls the Mojave Desert near Joshua Tree home.
Amanda’s writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Electric Literature, Vox, The Rumpus, Pank Magazine, Medium and more. She has been interviewed about libraries and being a librarian for NPR, CBC Radio, The Associated Press, The Guardian, The American Scholar, and American Libraries Magazine.
Amanda is the 2020 recipient of the McQuern Award in Non-Fiction Writing, the 2019 Yefe Nof Redesign Residency, and a 2019 Mill House Residency, awarded by author Pam Houston. Her essay Fourteen Women Playing One Guitar was nominated for a 2019 Pushcart Prize.
Amanda holds B.A. and M.L.S. degrees from SUNY Buffalo and a M.F.A. in nonfiction from University of California at Riverside. A Buffalo, New York native, she currently calls the Mojave Desert near Joshua Tree home.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 532 reviews
June 29, 2022
I have many conflicted feelings about this book. I’ve worked in public libraries for almost two decades now, and in that time I have worked at roughly 25 libraries in some capacity whether it be part time, full time, or weekend/program coverage. So to read a book about the public library, written by someone who spent nine months at one difficult branch, I do wonder if this is a perspective I want to listen to? It’s like teaching for one year and writing a book on it. Does this person’s thoughts and feelings have weight to them? I’m not sure.
There’s a lot that Oliver talks about in this book that I agree with, libraries are more than books, services don’t look like what they used to, outsiders romanticize the profession not really realizing what it entails. But what this book really lacked for me was cohesiveness. Is it a memoir? Is it a history of libraries? Is it a commentary on social media and cancel culture? All of these things were in the book, but nothing seemed to mesh well together into a narrative.
I’m glad that people are writing books about the public library, because the public does need to know more what librarians face. But I don’t personally think Oliver is the right perspective. This book just wasn’t executed very well.
There’s a lot that Oliver talks about in this book that I agree with, libraries are more than books, services don’t look like what they used to, outsiders romanticize the profession not really realizing what it entails. But what this book really lacked for me was cohesiveness. Is it a memoir? Is it a history of libraries? Is it a commentary on social media and cancel culture? All of these things were in the book, but nothing seemed to mesh well together into a narrative.
I’m glad that people are writing books about the public library, because the public does need to know more what librarians face. But I don’t personally think Oliver is the right perspective. This book just wasn’t executed very well.
November 17, 2024
Another bait-and-switch book. Like other readers, I approached Overdue: Reckoning with the Public Library with the assumption that it would be Amanda Oliver's incisive critique of America's public libraries. Well, the book is that, but only in part. This text is really an amalgam of Oliver's memoir, superfluous diatribes on the evils of social media and cancel culture, and lamentations about the homeless/unhoused populations who frequent libraries and rely on them to meet all of their needs. Only about a third of the book actually chronicles Oliver's very brief stint--nine months--as a public librarian in Washington, DC; unfortunately, the horrors she divulges to readers, I think, does more harm to libraries than good.
Oliver's struggles to establish a career as a librarian are evident in the unstructured presentation of this unwieldy book. At one point, she confesses that when she was shopping this book around to publishers most of them told her that the book was too despairing and lacked hope. I agree. She also said that readers have taken her to task for claiming that nine months of library work, brutal as it was, in no way gives her the right to claim she suffered from PTSD. I agree. She focuses so much on the harsh and insufferable labor of library work--which mostly involves managing mentally unstable homeless people and their attendant problems--that you'll finish this book never wanting to step inside of a library again.
Oliver's heart is in the right place, and I don't doubt any of the stories she related in the book. Public libraries, like schools and law enforcement, are being called upon to shoulder more and more of society's burdens and to aid more and more populations of people who have fallen into dire circumstances. Yet Oliver does a lot of virtue signaling here, and she spends the last third of the book discoursing from atop a soapbox about topics that have absolutely nothing to do with the library, either directly or indirectly. She strays so far from the main topic that I really think she cobbled this book together out of scraps from other writing projects that failed to come to fruition. Like I said, bait-and-switch.
Overdue will leave readers as frustrated about Oliver's aims as she was about her grueling daily and emotional labor as a librarian. Does she want to write about homelessness? Does she want to take a deep dive into the history, challenges, and future of public libraries? Does she want to write a memoir about her scrappy White working-class upbringing? Does she want to step into the ring of the nation's current culture wars? It appears she wants to do it all, and she wants to do it in one book. True, books can be about many topics, and a space like the public library is primed for a multitude of inquires. But the execution of Overdue keeps these topics at a distant remove. Whether Overdue is meant to be a memoir, an expose, an autoethnography or some hybrid of all three doesn't matter because it fails to do its job. The public needs a book on the woeful state of public libraries, but not this one. Amanda Oliver is a good witness but a lousy spokesperson.
Oliver's struggles to establish a career as a librarian are evident in the unstructured presentation of this unwieldy book. At one point, she confesses that when she was shopping this book around to publishers most of them told her that the book was too despairing and lacked hope. I agree. She also said that readers have taken her to task for claiming that nine months of library work, brutal as it was, in no way gives her the right to claim she suffered from PTSD. I agree. She focuses so much on the harsh and insufferable labor of library work--which mostly involves managing mentally unstable homeless people and their attendant problems--that you'll finish this book never wanting to step inside of a library again.
Oliver's heart is in the right place, and I don't doubt any of the stories she related in the book. Public libraries, like schools and law enforcement, are being called upon to shoulder more and more of society's burdens and to aid more and more populations of people who have fallen into dire circumstances. Yet Oliver does a lot of virtue signaling here, and she spends the last third of the book discoursing from atop a soapbox about topics that have absolutely nothing to do with the library, either directly or indirectly. She strays so far from the main topic that I really think she cobbled this book together out of scraps from other writing projects that failed to come to fruition. Like I said, bait-and-switch.
Overdue will leave readers as frustrated about Oliver's aims as she was about her grueling daily and emotional labor as a librarian. Does she want to write about homelessness? Does she want to take a deep dive into the history, challenges, and future of public libraries? Does she want to write a memoir about her scrappy White working-class upbringing? Does she want to step into the ring of the nation's current culture wars? It appears she wants to do it all, and she wants to do it in one book. True, books can be about many topics, and a space like the public library is primed for a multitude of inquires. But the execution of Overdue keeps these topics at a distant remove. Whether Overdue is meant to be a memoir, an expose, an autoethnography or some hybrid of all three doesn't matter because it fails to do its job. The public needs a book on the woeful state of public libraries, but not this one. Amanda Oliver is a good witness but a lousy spokesperson.
March 23, 2022
I'm giving this 3 stars because it was good enough for me to finish and I enjoy reading about other librarians's experiences. However, she worked in a public library for 9 MONTHS. So, it's hard to take much of this seriously (and then she knocks on centralized selection and library administrators when she doesn't have the experience to do so). In short, it's a no.
April 24, 2022
This reads as a sanctimonious journal entry in which the author works through her guilt in order to justify why she quit her job as a librarian.
Yes, librarianship is tough. Yeah, it's not for everybody. Some of the research in this is pretty solid. I'm sure that many people will find this book enlightening. However, I feel it is irresponsible to position herself as a moral authority and blame the public library institution as a whole because she could not shoulder the burden. That's fair; library work is not for everyone. But the same can be said for any job or profession.
If the author framed this book as a memoir chronicling her experience working at DCPL and how her PTSD diagnosis made her realize that she needed a career change, then I wouldn't feel as enraged as I do. I think many people can relate to working towards something just to find out it's not what you wanted. However, the author unleashed her rage, guilt, and disillusionment with an institution that many people rely on despite budget cuts and imperfections. That is not to say that library institutions are perfect and should not be critiqued. It's more indicative that perhaps librarians themselves need better mental health and emotional support because libraries are not made to be social saviors. They are a place to access information. Libraries are not a panacea for the ills of society. It is unfair that the lack of governmental social support systems impacts libraries and by extension, librarians in a way that often leads to burnout or what the author calls empathy fatigue. It's true - we do want to help.
Librarians are meant to provide access and information. It is up to the individual to decide what they will do with that. Librarians cannot cure cancer or solve world hunger. People who are in vulnerable populations and do not have safe shelter will rely on the library. And in doing so, libraries and librarians are providing a service that is needed. Librarians can make connections with community partners and social workers to meet the needs of the population. But again, librarians are not superheroes. And that is likely what her whole point was, but the way in which she framed her argument is haphazard, especially during current times when cases of book banning are high and library support is under fire. That the author feels as though she needed to play savior is not the fault of the institution of libraries. It is irresponsible to frame her personal experiences as factual proof or novel insight into the limitations of libraries. It reads as a self-aggrandizing act of muckraking information that is actually commonly known and discussed in the profession.
The stories the author shares in this book are tough, emotionally heavy, and sometimes scary. I cannot say that I would want to trade positions with her. I work in a rural public library and I am an MLIS student. In the current curriculum, public library history (and all of its unpleasantness) is taught as well as de-escalation techniques, self-care, and how to handle burnout. This author was trained to be a school librarian, which is very different from public librarianship training. Of course, her experience is her own and her perspective on it is valid. However, most of the book felt as though she was trying to justify why she quit to herself than an actual researched work of nonfiction about public libraries.
She repeats that she became a librarian because she wanted to help. The author expected herself to be a savior. She mentions that she grew up believing that her work ethic is tied to her moral character. In other words, perhaps part of the author's trauma could be a failure to set up healthy boundaries. I do not think her reckoning is with the public library, but rather with herself for not living up to her own expectations.
Yes, librarianship is tough. Yeah, it's not for everybody. Some of the research in this is pretty solid. I'm sure that many people will find this book enlightening. However, I feel it is irresponsible to position herself as a moral authority and blame the public library institution as a whole because she could not shoulder the burden. That's fair; library work is not for everyone. But the same can be said for any job or profession.
If the author framed this book as a memoir chronicling her experience working at DCPL and how her PTSD diagnosis made her realize that she needed a career change, then I wouldn't feel as enraged as I do. I think many people can relate to working towards something just to find out it's not what you wanted. However, the author unleashed her rage, guilt, and disillusionment with an institution that many people rely on despite budget cuts and imperfections. That is not to say that library institutions are perfect and should not be critiqued. It's more indicative that perhaps librarians themselves need better mental health and emotional support because libraries are not made to be social saviors. They are a place to access information. Libraries are not a panacea for the ills of society. It is unfair that the lack of governmental social support systems impacts libraries and by extension, librarians in a way that often leads to burnout or what the author calls empathy fatigue. It's true - we do want to help.
Librarians are meant to provide access and information. It is up to the individual to decide what they will do with that. Librarians cannot cure cancer or solve world hunger. People who are in vulnerable populations and do not have safe shelter will rely on the library. And in doing so, libraries and librarians are providing a service that is needed. Librarians can make connections with community partners and social workers to meet the needs of the population. But again, librarians are not superheroes. And that is likely what her whole point was, but the way in which she framed her argument is haphazard, especially during current times when cases of book banning are high and library support is under fire. That the author feels as though she needed to play savior is not the fault of the institution of libraries. It is irresponsible to frame her personal experiences as factual proof or novel insight into the limitations of libraries. It reads as a self-aggrandizing act of muckraking information that is actually commonly known and discussed in the profession.
The stories the author shares in this book are tough, emotionally heavy, and sometimes scary. I cannot say that I would want to trade positions with her. I work in a rural public library and I am an MLIS student. In the current curriculum, public library history (and all of its unpleasantness) is taught as well as de-escalation techniques, self-care, and how to handle burnout. This author was trained to be a school librarian, which is very different from public librarianship training. Of course, her experience is her own and her perspective on it is valid. However, most of the book felt as though she was trying to justify why she quit to herself than an actual researched work of nonfiction about public libraries.
She repeats that she became a librarian because she wanted to help. The author expected herself to be a savior. She mentions that she grew up believing that her work ethic is tied to her moral character. In other words, perhaps part of the author's trauma could be a failure to set up healthy boundaries. I do not think her reckoning is with the public library, but rather with herself for not living up to her own expectations.
April 22, 2022
As a professional Librarian and Library Director, I have to say this book should not have been written by a person with 9 months of experience in a public library...and only one location at that. This book deserved better writing and better editing. In the alternative, a different title as this book had very little to do with actual public libraries.
While I applaud the author's efforts to write about some of the challenges public libraries face, she simply doesn't have the breadth of experience. Her disdain for library administrators is so blatant without ever having been in the shoes of one. Are some library administrators out of touch with what goes on day-to-day? Of course. However, thousands of small, medium, and rural libraries are headed by Directors that care very much about their staff and their communities.
This was little more than disjointed essays pretending to be a book.
While I applaud the author's efforts to write about some of the challenges public libraries face, she simply doesn't have the breadth of experience. Her disdain for library administrators is so blatant without ever having been in the shoes of one. Are some library administrators out of touch with what goes on day-to-day? Of course. However, thousands of small, medium, and rural libraries are headed by Directors that care very much about their staff and their communities.
This was little more than disjointed essays pretending to be a book.
April 22, 2022
I like that it exists! However, if you'd like to read why I gave it only two stars, here it is:
I understand the marketing aspect, but the fact that this book is mostly a (somewhat meandering and unfocused) memoir, contextualized with the history of libraries in America, doesn't mesh well with the title "Overdue." With a title like that, I wish that (rather than highlighting Oliver's short but memorable stint at an urban public library) it had been a collection of memoir essays from a variety of different public librarians (I suspect they would all have had similar themes that would have lent power to Oliver's central thesis), or a journalistic treatise on the state of public libraries today (I'm envisioning chapters about urban libraries, chapters about rural libraries, how the public library shoulders a lot of social services in either case, chapters about the difficulties administrations run into with library boards, tensions between different demographics in the same service area, etc.).
Since we already have a few memoirs out there, I just don't think this one is "overdue." I will, however, be recommending it to the next person who jokes that at my job I "must read books all day!"
I understand the marketing aspect, but the fact that this book is mostly a (somewhat meandering and unfocused) memoir, contextualized with the history of libraries in America, doesn't mesh well with the title "Overdue." With a title like that, I wish that (rather than highlighting Oliver's short but memorable stint at an urban public library) it had been a collection of memoir essays from a variety of different public librarians (I suspect they would all have had similar themes that would have lent power to Oliver's central thesis), or a journalistic treatise on the state of public libraries today (I'm envisioning chapters about urban libraries, chapters about rural libraries, how the public library shoulders a lot of social services in either case, chapters about the difficulties administrations run into with library boards, tensions between different demographics in the same service area, etc.).
Since we already have a few memoirs out there, I just don't think this one is "overdue." I will, however, be recommending it to the next person who jokes that at my job I "must read books all day!"
January 22, 2023
1. I'm fairly certain Oliver got paid an additional $1 every time she typed Northwest One (her branch for 9 months). I searched the book and it came up 117 times. Which means the number of days she showed up (~160-180x) is close to a .75 : 1.0 ratio.
2. With that said, the issues Oliver brings up are relevant and reasonable. I've worked in public libraries almost as many years as she did months but invalidating her perspective b/c of that won't do us (as public libraries) any good.
3. I enjoy the way Oliver writes but I feel like she moved through a lot of things hastily - like what, if anything, could have been done to better prepare her for what she experienced. If she hits the library speaking circuit like I suspect, I'd love for her to speak to what types of training would have helped her.
4. I've worked in branches/jails like the one she describes but in Brooklyn, NY. The despair and "firehose of needs" as I have described it exhausted me. After 5 years I had to find a change and I'm glad I have; I certainly don't begrudge her for finding her path.
5. Oliver's book did a good job of targetting the romanticized view of libraries as "the great equalizers." I've always mocked the idea that libraries are the cornerstone of democracy (fairly certain most autocracies have libraries....) but the true damage that Oliver lays out in this logic is that it creates an apathy in others. I could see someone thinking, "I don't need to advocate for XYZ issue b/c libraries got this" *throws hat on hook and turns TV on*
6. The work I do as a librarian/manager is important to me and I believe it truly changes lives. I've been through some dark times and, like Oliver, credit libraries w/ making me a better person. I'm glad Oliver took a stab at this even w/ her limited exposure. I also truly hope she's been able to process and heal from whatever traumas she experienced or were triggered in her.
7. A number of colleagues she describes in this book are folks I have great esteem for and have seen do incredible things to help their communities even if they aren't trumpeted in a daily newspaper. The value of that work is something I respect deeply. Walking the walk isn't so easy as most of us know.
*Note I'm a former DCPL employee.
2. With that said, the issues Oliver brings up are relevant and reasonable. I've worked in public libraries almost as many years as she did months but invalidating her perspective b/c of that won't do us (as public libraries) any good.
3. I enjoy the way Oliver writes but I feel like she moved through a lot of things hastily - like what, if anything, could have been done to better prepare her for what she experienced. If she hits the library speaking circuit like I suspect, I'd love for her to speak to what types of training would have helped her.
4. I've worked in branches/jails like the one she describes but in Brooklyn, NY. The despair and "firehose of needs" as I have described it exhausted me. After 5 years I had to find a change and I'm glad I have; I certainly don't begrudge her for finding her path.
5. Oliver's book did a good job of targetting the romanticized view of libraries as "the great equalizers." I've always mocked the idea that libraries are the cornerstone of democracy (fairly certain most autocracies have libraries....) but the true damage that Oliver lays out in this logic is that it creates an apathy in others. I could see someone thinking, "I don't need to advocate for XYZ issue b/c libraries got this" *throws hat on hook and turns TV on*
6. The work I do as a librarian/manager is important to me and I believe it truly changes lives. I've been through some dark times and, like Oliver, credit libraries w/ making me a better person. I'm glad Oliver took a stab at this even w/ her limited exposure. I also truly hope she's been able to process and heal from whatever traumas she experienced or were triggered in her.
7. A number of colleagues she describes in this book are folks I have great esteem for and have seen do incredible things to help their communities even if they aren't trumpeted in a daily newspaper. The value of that work is something I respect deeply. Walking the walk isn't so easy as most of us know.
*Note I'm a former DCPL employee.
July 27, 2022
L O L ok a couple things:
1) I am a public librarian
2) reading this at home felt like I was being robbed of my free time so I committed to only reading it when we were slow at work
3) bottom line, I hated this book. If it wasn't a library book I would've trashed it.
My major criticism lies within the author's very obvious white guilt and self-righteousness. I actually think she might have an addiction to martyrdom because of how much she went on and on about her privilege and how pathetic and helpless all of her POC patrons were. I guess I would've quit after nine months too if I had fully shouldered the responsibility of saving everyone from the depths of their underprivilege and pointing fingers at everything that's wrong and becoming the sole authority on enacting change. It made me sick. I am a second-generation Mexican American who believes very strongly in the power of mutual aid and community and I saw completely through this sanctimonious bullshit.
But also, the book is in dire need of a strong editor who isn't afraid to cut out the unnecessary stuff -- you can always save the extra rambling for an essay collection or something. I'm also personally incredibly bored and past the point of needing my hand held through the concepts of white privilege and systemic oppression and governmental failure, which is exactly what it felt like she was doing with Overdue. It was too dense with information (something I find very hard to say as a lover of info); the really good stats and anecdotes get completely lost among all of the other facts and figures, making this book come across like one of my community college papers where I got too excited about everything I just learned and hastily threw it all into my essay without trimming the fat. At her big age and having gone through a MFA program, I expected a whole lot better.
I am maintaining two stars for two reasons: for all of the TMI and SJW buzzwords thrown around, there is a lot of GOOD information here and you can tell the author did her research, especially when citing all of the various shooting/stabbing incidents that have taken place in public libraries and the statistics on current issues such as empathy fatigue and PTSD in public service.
The second reason is because I think it's important to validate the author's traumatic experiences as a librarian. It's true, library school doesn't prepare you for any of this; an entire childhood of romanticizing being in the stacks and lovingly placing new books in adoring patrons' hands just to find yourself as an adult in the fucking trenches 40 hours a week.
I have only been in public libraries for two years (hired within the first six months of the pandemic in the U.S.) and I have already experienced so much first and secondhand distress and trauma from the stuff I have been put through. It's fucking awful out here. I'll probably not make it to retirement status without being killed on the job or driven out of public service. But that's where my generosity comes to a dramatic halt. I pray that someone else takes this concept and does better, because readers deserve a true-to-life look into what we go through and this book just wasn't it.
1) I am a public librarian
2) reading this at home felt like I was being robbed of my free time so I committed to only reading it when we were slow at work
3) bottom line, I hated this book. If it wasn't a library book I would've trashed it.
My major criticism lies within the author's very obvious white guilt and self-righteousness. I actually think she might have an addiction to martyrdom because of how much she went on and on about her privilege and how pathetic and helpless all of her POC patrons were. I guess I would've quit after nine months too if I had fully shouldered the responsibility of saving everyone from the depths of their underprivilege and pointing fingers at everything that's wrong and becoming the sole authority on enacting change. It made me sick. I am a second-generation Mexican American who believes very strongly in the power of mutual aid and community and I saw completely through this sanctimonious bullshit.
But also, the book is in dire need of a strong editor who isn't afraid to cut out the unnecessary stuff -- you can always save the extra rambling for an essay collection or something. I'm also personally incredibly bored and past the point of needing my hand held through the concepts of white privilege and systemic oppression and governmental failure, which is exactly what it felt like she was doing with Overdue. It was too dense with information (something I find very hard to say as a lover of info); the really good stats and anecdotes get completely lost among all of the other facts and figures, making this book come across like one of my community college papers where I got too excited about everything I just learned and hastily threw it all into my essay without trimming the fat. At her big age and having gone through a MFA program, I expected a whole lot better.
I am maintaining two stars for two reasons: for all of the TMI and SJW buzzwords thrown around, there is a lot of GOOD information here and you can tell the author did her research, especially when citing all of the various shooting/stabbing incidents that have taken place in public libraries and the statistics on current issues such as empathy fatigue and PTSD in public service.
The second reason is because I think it's important to validate the author's traumatic experiences as a librarian. It's true, library school doesn't prepare you for any of this; an entire childhood of romanticizing being in the stacks and lovingly placing new books in adoring patrons' hands just to find yourself as an adult in the fucking trenches 40 hours a week.
I have only been in public libraries for two years (hired within the first six months of the pandemic in the U.S.) and I have already experienced so much first and secondhand distress and trauma from the stuff I have been put through. It's fucking awful out here. I'll probably not make it to retirement status without being killed on the job or driven out of public service. But that's where my generosity comes to a dramatic halt. I pray that someone else takes this concept and does better, because readers deserve a true-to-life look into what we go through and this book just wasn't it.
April 14, 2022
As a librarian, I was anxious to read a fellow colleague's take on public libraries, however, it turns out she only worked in a public library for nine months and I came away disappointed. A bulk of her time was spent in school libraries in DC, and I felt for her, for I myself had a brief stint as an elementary school librarian and I know too well all the limitations and extra work that administrators put on school library staff.
As for her short public library experience, I know the neighborhood, as my family traveled to DC a few years ago, and we stayed at a townhouse in the gentrifying neighborhood of NoMa, so I saw the homelessness that is part of the city. Even in the two rural libraries I have worked at, there is homelessness and mental health issues among patrons, but what the branch she worked at deals with is on the extreme side. But despite that, how can she be the voice of librarians with her limited experience?
I enjoy my job as a teen librarian, but I know there is a lot of dissatisfaction among library workers, as I see a lot of raw feelings shared on Facebook on Twitter, and the pandemic has just magnified those issues. The author highlighted some very real problems in libraries, I just wish she had more experiences to draw on or had co-written it with another librarian, as to pull together a larger picture of libraries today.
As for her short public library experience, I know the neighborhood, as my family traveled to DC a few years ago, and we stayed at a townhouse in the gentrifying neighborhood of NoMa, so I saw the homelessness that is part of the city. Even in the two rural libraries I have worked at, there is homelessness and mental health issues among patrons, but what the branch she worked at deals with is on the extreme side. But despite that, how can she be the voice of librarians with her limited experience?
I enjoy my job as a teen librarian, but I know there is a lot of dissatisfaction among library workers, as I see a lot of raw feelings shared on Facebook on Twitter, and the pandemic has just magnified those issues. The author highlighted some very real problems in libraries, I just wish she had more experiences to draw on or had co-written it with another librarian, as to pull together a larger picture of libraries today.
April 26, 2022
America's public libraries are often referred to as sanctuaries, beacons of democracy, the people's university. Some call them The Great Equalizer. But libraries are not created or treated equally. In fact, they magnify the economic and social inequality that permeates our communities.
Oliver asserts that while public libraries are given more than enough public praise (read: white guy writes an op-ed), library workers are expected to fill the gaps in our social safety net with little to no training, inadequate equipment, low compensation, and often zero mental or emotional support from administration or medical professionals. As policing becomes more rampant and funding for mental health treatment and emergency shelters dwindles, librarians are expected, if not forced, to become first and second responders to crises like overdoses and violence. Many library workers entered the field to be of service, but many also endure complex PTSD caused by the constant need for vigilance and empathy in public spaces.
Oliver asserts that while public libraries are given more than enough public praise (read: white guy writes an op-ed), library workers are expected to fill the gaps in our social safety net with little to no training, inadequate equipment, low compensation, and often zero mental or emotional support from administration or medical professionals. As policing becomes more rampant and funding for mental health treatment and emergency shelters dwindles, librarians are expected, if not forced, to become first and second responders to crises like overdoses and violence. Many library workers entered the field to be of service, but many also endure complex PTSD caused by the constant need for vigilance and empathy in public spaces.
July 19, 2022
I don't usually read Goodreads reviews of books before posting my own. I made an exception with this book, however, because I wanted to test a hypothesis: as positive as this book is about public libraries, and as much as Goodreads is a public library-positive place, this book would be downgraded because the author spent less than a year actually working in a public library. (Full disclosure: I'm a public librarian (ret.) with 30 years service.)
My hypothesis was more right than I expected: the overwhelmingly common refrain among those critical of the book had to do with the brevity of the author's employment, and it was cited as the primary reason for downgrading it.
This is regrettable coming from a literate culture that holds out Tocqueville to be the last word on American culture even though he was basically a Frenchman on vacation, or Dante to be the expert on Hell by virtue of an imaginary guided tour, or journalists everywhere as cable news talking head experts on topics in which they cannot claim practical expertise. Oliver's experience in a public library, together with her years as a school librarian and her library degree, qualify her to comment on the current public library scene every bit as much as if she were, say, a reporter for a local newspaper who has won a Pulitzer for investigating the opioid epidemic in a small town in the hinterlands.
Oliver's critics are missing the point. The book is not a memoir, although it has a memoir-ish aspect. She puts her experience and her education in the service of a much larger focus and purpose, which is nothing less than American society. In her words, "the American public library is a case study for American society: what we value and uphold, what we resist and weave stories around, whom we give certain access to and whom we deny it. I finally became curious about what public libraries could teach us about American society, once I had physical and emotional distance from the space where I had observed it. I started to see the library not necessarily as a failing solution or a shoddy fix-all, but rather as information about American society and culture. I started to think about how the American public library might move forward differently, and then how it might be one great teacher in how we move forward as a country." (p. 137)
I applaud her effort. I would like for nothing more than that the American Library Association mail copies of this book not just to public library boards but also to city councils around the country in order to turn them -- for a brief, shining moment -- into book clubs, which would read (it's short!) and digest this book in group discussion. There is no decent politician anywhere who does not have ideals, and this is a book that as much as anything is about ideals and idealism. How can we approach them? How have we done so in the past?
The problem with institutions is that they have not kept up with the pace and the scope of change. This is true of public libraries in spades. It is not that they have not adapted. In fact, they have adapted, and sometimes reasonably well. Oliver writes of the valiant responses of libraries forming the center of their communities during times of existential crisis. But challenges are being pushed onto libraries by default that were unforeseen and unforeseeable at the time of their creation. The result has been both that the mission has exploded (the information revolution) at the same time as it has crept (population pressures and the dissolved safety net) without proportional, concomitant expansions in budget and personnel.
The crux of the issue, as reported by Oliver, is captured in the common reaction of onlookers to disruptions in her DC branch library caused by someone with a homelessness/mental health issue: "But this is a library!" We hold in our minds an image of the ideal library as an oasis for quiet reading, study, and reflection. We also hold in our minds an image of the ideal library as not only free but freely accessible to the general public at large. The accretions of security and policy required to allow the survival of the oasis, as it happens, do not prevent the crumbling of that idea.
The book forces the reader to grapple with notions of the public good. If the public good is well-served by a "free" institution formed around the individual pursuit of education, enlightenment, and culture, what should that institution look like in today's world? How do we pursue -- on behalf of humanity -- a culture that builds up and preserves rather than one that builds up and destroys? What many people will not want to see, but that Oliver points out, is that this is fundamentally a problem of capitalism. She does not provide a nuanced critique, but simply holds up a time-honored, progressive institution as a counter-balance that deserves vastly greater support if it is to offset the unanticipated-but-nonetheless-predictable "externalities" such as link rot (I was reading this book when one day it was reported that MySpace had vaporized) and a large, unsheltered urban population, many of them in need of but completely without mental healthcare.
Oliver's hopefulness is inspirational, as is her ethical persona: She practiced in her library work and professes in this book a solidarity both with library workers and the people they serve. Her book should be a beacon. In her all-too-brief history of public libraries, she mentions that the first public-funded library in Boston adopted the motto "Omnium lux civium," which Oliver translates as "Light for all people." She re-connects to this motto in her penultimate sentence: "May libraries shine their light as unending reminders of who we have been and who we might be." (p. 188)
My hypothesis was more right than I expected: the overwhelmingly common refrain among those critical of the book had to do with the brevity of the author's employment, and it was cited as the primary reason for downgrading it.
This is regrettable coming from a literate culture that holds out Tocqueville to be the last word on American culture even though he was basically a Frenchman on vacation, or Dante to be the expert on Hell by virtue of an imaginary guided tour, or journalists everywhere as cable news talking head experts on topics in which they cannot claim practical expertise. Oliver's experience in a public library, together with her years as a school librarian and her library degree, qualify her to comment on the current public library scene every bit as much as if she were, say, a reporter for a local newspaper who has won a Pulitzer for investigating the opioid epidemic in a small town in the hinterlands.
Oliver's critics are missing the point. The book is not a memoir, although it has a memoir-ish aspect. She puts her experience and her education in the service of a much larger focus and purpose, which is nothing less than American society. In her words, "the American public library is a case study for American society: what we value and uphold, what we resist and weave stories around, whom we give certain access to and whom we deny it. I finally became curious about what public libraries could teach us about American society, once I had physical and emotional distance from the space where I had observed it. I started to see the library not necessarily as a failing solution or a shoddy fix-all, but rather as information about American society and culture. I started to think about how the American public library might move forward differently, and then how it might be one great teacher in how we move forward as a country." (p. 137)
I applaud her effort. I would like for nothing more than that the American Library Association mail copies of this book not just to public library boards but also to city councils around the country in order to turn them -- for a brief, shining moment -- into book clubs, which would read (it's short!) and digest this book in group discussion. There is no decent politician anywhere who does not have ideals, and this is a book that as much as anything is about ideals and idealism. How can we approach them? How have we done so in the past?
The problem with institutions is that they have not kept up with the pace and the scope of change. This is true of public libraries in spades. It is not that they have not adapted. In fact, they have adapted, and sometimes reasonably well. Oliver writes of the valiant responses of libraries forming the center of their communities during times of existential crisis. But challenges are being pushed onto libraries by default that were unforeseen and unforeseeable at the time of their creation. The result has been both that the mission has exploded (the information revolution) at the same time as it has crept (population pressures and the dissolved safety net) without proportional, concomitant expansions in budget and personnel.
The crux of the issue, as reported by Oliver, is captured in the common reaction of onlookers to disruptions in her DC branch library caused by someone with a homelessness/mental health issue: "But this is a library!" We hold in our minds an image of the ideal library as an oasis for quiet reading, study, and reflection. We also hold in our minds an image of the ideal library as not only free but freely accessible to the general public at large. The accretions of security and policy required to allow the survival of the oasis, as it happens, do not prevent the crumbling of that idea.
The book forces the reader to grapple with notions of the public good. If the public good is well-served by a "free" institution formed around the individual pursuit of education, enlightenment, and culture, what should that institution look like in today's world? How do we pursue -- on behalf of humanity -- a culture that builds up and preserves rather than one that builds up and destroys? What many people will not want to see, but that Oliver points out, is that this is fundamentally a problem of capitalism. She does not provide a nuanced critique, but simply holds up a time-honored, progressive institution as a counter-balance that deserves vastly greater support if it is to offset the unanticipated-but-nonetheless-predictable "externalities" such as link rot (I was reading this book when one day it was reported that MySpace had vaporized) and a large, unsheltered urban population, many of them in need of but completely without mental healthcare.
Oliver's hopefulness is inspirational, as is her ethical persona: She practiced in her library work and professes in this book a solidarity both with library workers and the people they serve. Her book should be a beacon. In her all-too-brief history of public libraries, she mentions that the first public-funded library in Boston adopted the motto "Omnium lux civium," which Oliver translates as "Light for all people." She re-connects to this motto in her penultimate sentence: "May libraries shine their light as unending reminders of who we have been and who we might be." (p. 188)
April 20, 2022
So I'm gonna let everyone know I have very strong opinions in this so if you don't like cursing or as a librarian gave this good less the 4 stars look away now.
First, I want to address all the negative reviews I saw saying that this girl was only in public libraries for 9 months...she still had traumatic experiences that about 40% of librarians can relate too she just got the fuck out sooner and she has a right to comment on what she saw. Also if you were paying attention you saw she was a librarian for 6 years just mostly at schools.
Also second, yes she can talk about admin even though she wasn't there that long and wasn't a supervisor, but I know many of you are in the same boat and don't tell me you don't talk shit about admin or library boards when you have a problem with something.
Now I do agree she got a bit too into her own memoir towards the end...but as she is a writer I get it. Now I've only been in libraries for a little more than a year but this book made me feel seen! I work at one of those "unique" libraries as she put it and I have the same issues. I also have empathy fatigue and think she did a wonderful job of explaining it. This book is for the librarian that feels over whelmed or says "this is not what I was taught in library school." It's not supposed to be for NYPL of BPL workers and if you can't see that you weren't paying attention. The point is the system needs help and this book highlights where and how. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.
First, I want to address all the negative reviews I saw saying that this girl was only in public libraries for 9 months...she still had traumatic experiences that about 40% of librarians can relate too she just got the fuck out sooner and she has a right to comment on what she saw. Also if you were paying attention you saw she was a librarian for 6 years just mostly at schools.
Also second, yes she can talk about admin even though she wasn't there that long and wasn't a supervisor, but I know many of you are in the same boat and don't tell me you don't talk shit about admin or library boards when you have a problem with something.
Now I do agree she got a bit too into her own memoir towards the end...but as she is a writer I get it. Now I've only been in libraries for a little more than a year but this book made me feel seen! I work at one of those "unique" libraries as she put it and I have the same issues. I also have empathy fatigue and think she did a wonderful job of explaining it. This book is for the librarian that feels over whelmed or says "this is not what I was taught in library school." It's not supposed to be for NYPL of BPL workers and if you can't see that you weren't paying attention. The point is the system needs help and this book highlights where and how. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.
August 10, 2022
DNF. I am a huge fan of public libraries and I know they play a critical role in their communities, particularly for hosting public dialogues on controversial topics, building bridges, demonstrating inclusion for all, and being compassionate with customers/patrons who count on libraries for shelter, safe spaces, and their home.
There are many very successful public library stories where libraries have played instrumental roles in bringing citizens together to be change agents and to create strong partnerships across many community organizations.
Racism, sexism, and all "isms" have been present at libraries because they reflect the times. But typically libraries are leaders of inclusion and are protectors of freedom of speech, thought, and press.
The author's limited level of experience at a public library and the tone/approach of the book caused me to not invest in finishing it.
There are many very successful public library stories where libraries have played instrumental roles in bringing citizens together to be change agents and to create strong partnerships across many community organizations.
Racism, sexism, and all "isms" have been present at libraries because they reflect the times. But typically libraries are leaders of inclusion and are protectors of freedom of speech, thought, and press.
The author's limited level of experience at a public library and the tone/approach of the book caused me to not invest in finishing it.
July 10, 2022
Interesting material about public libraries is presented in a manner that left me disappointed and frustrated.
My first impression of the book is that a bright-eyed white woman who grew up and went to college around Buffalo, New York, was shocked to find that the library where she worked in Washington, D.C., was frequented by people who had mental health issues and spent their nights in shelters or on the street. It wore her down so much, so fast, that she jumped at the chance to cross the country and pursue an MFA after just a few months. Now she lives in the Mojave desert and writes about that experience. That she feels obliged to explain at one point why she is not a "white savior" probably tells you most everything you need to know about the book.
The history of public libraries is interesting if scant. Same for her anecdotes about her experiences as a librarian. Previous to her short stint in the public library, she had a few years working in a school library in D.C. And while she claims her library career spans a decade, she's generously rounding up and even including the time spent pursuing her MLS.
Her points about the issues facing public libraries are valid, but she never really finds the necessary balance between high view analysis and on-the-ground experience. And solutions are something she rarely pursues, satisfied with pointing out the problems of houselessness, mental health care, and systemic racism.
Even though I agree with much that she has to say, I just found myself bored by her prose and presentation. At least it was short.
My first impression of the book is that a bright-eyed white woman who grew up and went to college around Buffalo, New York, was shocked to find that the library where she worked in Washington, D.C., was frequented by people who had mental health issues and spent their nights in shelters or on the street. It wore her down so much, so fast, that she jumped at the chance to cross the country and pursue an MFA after just a few months. Now she lives in the Mojave desert and writes about that experience. That she feels obliged to explain at one point why she is not a "white savior" probably tells you most everything you need to know about the book.
The history of public libraries is interesting if scant. Same for her anecdotes about her experiences as a librarian. Previous to her short stint in the public library, she had a few years working in a school library in D.C. And while she claims her library career spans a decade, she's generously rounding up and even including the time spent pursuing her MLS.
Her points about the issues facing public libraries are valid, but she never really finds the necessary balance between high view analysis and on-the-ground experience. And solutions are something she rarely pursues, satisfied with pointing out the problems of houselessness, mental health care, and systemic racism.
Even though I agree with much that she has to say, I just found myself bored by her prose and presentation. At least it was short.
April 20, 2022
The author tells some real truths about libraries that should really be discussed more. However, some of her observations and opinions reveal her inexperience (9 months in a public library hardly makes you an expert) and often lacks context. I found a lot of it naive at best, more often substantially uniformed.
Also, I don't care about her childhood.
Also, I don't care about her childhood.
April 23, 2022
Mixed feelings on this one. Yes, this book is “Overdue.” Such an important topic that must be discussed outside of LibraryLand.
But the execution of this important discussion is uneven and lacking in some areas. Just too many tangents and fillers.
Overdue is at its best when the focus is on the library. I would like to see these topics tacked in anthology of library focused essays.
Not flawless, but I am grateful for this crucial conversation.
But the execution of this important discussion is uneven and lacking in some areas. Just too many tangents and fillers.
Overdue is at its best when the focus is on the library. I would like to see these topics tacked in anthology of library focused essays.
Not flawless, but I am grateful for this crucial conversation.
Want to read
May 3, 2024I have worked with a couple of local libraries and excited to learn a bit more
April 23, 2022
I wasn't a huge fan of this book. This was likely because of the disjointed writing, the overall vibe, and that she only spent nine months in a public library.
Nonetheless, I think it is important we recognize and address the role that libraries play for unhoused and marginalized groups and the inadequacies of the systems in place to address the needs of people. I don't know if the general public realizes some of the roles that public libraries play in the lives of people whether that is providing a temperature-controlled place and public restroom for unhoused people, access to technology to apply for jobs, or a place for supervised visits. (All of which I've witnessed as a patron at my suburban library.)
Nonetheless, I think it is important we recognize and address the role that libraries play for unhoused and marginalized groups and the inadequacies of the systems in place to address the needs of people. I don't know if the general public realizes some of the roles that public libraries play in the lives of people whether that is providing a temperature-controlled place and public restroom for unhoused people, access to technology to apply for jobs, or a place for supervised visits. (All of which I've witnessed as a patron at my suburban library.)
November 20, 2021
Oh this made my heart ache the whole time reading it. My library career has not been the same as the author's, but there was much overlap that I was all too familiar with. This is a must-read for all library workers and administrators, and I encourage any who are library fans to read it to get a deeper look at what goes on in the backend. You'll get a lot of myths dispelled.
June 15, 2023
"I have always wanted to work in a library! Surrounded by books, time to read, and all that quiet!" In the 25 years I've worked as a librarian, I have heard this or something similar more times than I can count. Today's library is NOT the library you remember or have idealized from your youth. It is a hive of activity, and only a small percentage of the activity is about leisure reading. Much of what I do in the public library where I work is more akin to social work. I help our customers find information. Sometimes it's as simple as helping them sign up for or into email or social media, but more often, I help them search and apply for jobs, for food benefits, housing assistance, utility payment assistance, or admission to rehab for substance abuse. As the weather heats up or cools down, I help customers find shelter. Sometimes, they just want someone to listen for a few minutes to alleviate the loneliness that seems epidemic these days. Occasionally someone wants help finding a book, but most readers can do that on their own with our online catalog. They reserve the books and run into the library only long enough to pick up their holds. I work for an excellent public library system, but only part-time. I am not certain I could sustain such a high level of interaction with our truly vulnerable population for 40 hours a week. Too much is asked of public facing library staff these days, and that is what I was hoping to read about in Overdue. That the public library has become the last great hope for our neediest customers is a symptom of how horribly they have been failed and marginalized. The book is peppered with relevant bits, but mostly the content is all over the place. Overdue needed some heavy duty editing and guidance to keep the author on track.
April 2, 2022
"Overdue" confronts the fact that when we idealize libraries we are often unable to address the issues that arise in the reality of libraries. Even though I work at a library in a small city and incidents at our branch are less frequent than what the author was dealing with, I recognized that what Oliver is describing is relevant to all public libraries. The library often becomes the place where people go when every other public system has failed them, and yet it doesn’t have the resources or the training to pick up the slack. As a way of bringing awareness to what librarians frequently handle, Owens did a fine job. Perhaps the book would have been better if it was marketed differently. It is marketed specifically with public libraries in mind, but the author only worked at a public library for nine months, the majority of her experience is in school libraries. Perhaps if the marketing had been less focused or if the book had been more focused then I would have enjoyed it more.
There are sections that focus on history and societal critique which are written formally and almost academically. In addition is the author’s memoir about growing up in poverty, her work as a school librarian, and her short time working at a public library in D.C. The two focuses of the book were written in radically different tones which didn’t fit as a whole. "Overdue" is great at starting the conversation around public libraries and I’ll be interested to see how the conversation progresses.
There are sections that focus on history and societal critique which are written formally and almost academically. In addition is the author’s memoir about growing up in poverty, her work as a school librarian, and her short time working at a public library in D.C. The two focuses of the book were written in radically different tones which didn’t fit as a whole. "Overdue" is great at starting the conversation around public libraries and I’ll be interested to see how the conversation progresses.
May 9, 2022
I'm not sure how to weigh in fairly about this book. I appreciate what Oliver is trying to do here-- which is drawing attention to the dangerous environments and toxic mission creep of public library work-- but I'd rather have a megaphone for this cause who has worked in the field for longer than 9 months.
Overall the tone of this book tends toward bitter. And while the profession is struggling overall, I don't want public librarians to be represented as bitter. We are passionate about our work, yes. And this passion is frequently taken advantage of in the form of low pay, limited flexibility, and out-of-scope expectations. But if someone is going to speak to the systemic issues in the field, I'd prefer a librarian with 5-10+ years of experience under their belt.
Oliver's personal experience is couched in a rather long-winded philosophical bedding, a commentary on America's libraries on a larger scale. For such a short book, I would have preferred to see the focus placed on a personal experience with an admission of the limited experience Oliver actually had/has.
Overall the tone of this book tends toward bitter. And while the profession is struggling overall, I don't want public librarians to be represented as bitter. We are passionate about our work, yes. And this passion is frequently taken advantage of in the form of low pay, limited flexibility, and out-of-scope expectations. But if someone is going to speak to the systemic issues in the field, I'd prefer a librarian with 5-10+ years of experience under their belt.
Oliver's personal experience is couched in a rather long-winded philosophical bedding, a commentary on America's libraries on a larger scale. For such a short book, I would have preferred to see the focus placed on a personal experience with an admission of the limited experience Oliver actually had/has.
December 19, 2022
this is not a history of public libraries, a memoir about public libraries, a manifesto about how to fix public libraries, or a coherent narrative about the structural problems in modern public libraries. it's just bad!!!! and worse than that, it's sooOOOO annoying! i cannot believe the author worked in her library branch for *nine months* before doing the ~that's enough activism for today, sweetie~ tweet and logging off to write this book
December 4, 2022
Listened to the audio version of this. Not what I expected, probably a third of the book is memoir of Oliver’s childhood, family, teen problems, etc. I get that she was building her case about society inequalities that led to houseless folks depending on their libraries for a place to spend the day. But still, too much info.
Most interesting part is her account of her 9 months as a librarian at a branch of the Washington D.C. libraries that served a large number of houseless people (houseless new term for me). She makes a strong case for libraries to serve this group more directly and intentionally.
Last chapter, while interesting to me, seemed to veer off in another direction, talking about how internet news had affected information processing and society as a whole.
A worthy topic and a needed look at the realities of public libraries, especially ones serving poor and marginalized users. And a strong indictment of government policy failures to help mentally I’ll poor people.
Most interesting part is her account of her 9 months as a librarian at a branch of the Washington D.C. libraries that served a large number of houseless people (houseless new term for me). She makes a strong case for libraries to serve this group more directly and intentionally.
Last chapter, while interesting to me, seemed to veer off in another direction, talking about how internet news had affected information processing and society as a whole.
A worthy topic and a needed look at the realities of public libraries, especially ones serving poor and marginalized users. And a strong indictment of government policy failures to help mentally I’ll poor people.
March 30, 2022
3.5 stars
If I had read this book before becoming a librarian, it might have made me doubt if this was a job field I could handle. Even now, I have not worked in a library with a large unhoused population or patrons with addiction like the author did, so my experience is pretty limited in that way.
I appreciate that the author pulls back the curtain on the systemic racism that is part of the library's foundational history and how mostly white staff serving diverse populations often leads to gaps in services that the community needs. I also found it EXTREMELY validating to read about librarians' experiences with harassment and assault from the public, as this seems to be a widespread issue across many libraries in different communities with no real solution at the moment.
I felt like the last chapter veered off into discussing internet culture too much before tying it back into libraries, and at times the writing felt like it was trying to be profound, so that it just felt like a soapbox speech. But I enjoyed reading a book so specifically about the career I chose and being able to broaden my perspective on the work.
If I had read this book before becoming a librarian, it might have made me doubt if this was a job field I could handle. Even now, I have not worked in a library with a large unhoused population or patrons with addiction like the author did, so my experience is pretty limited in that way.
I appreciate that the author pulls back the curtain on the systemic racism that is part of the library's foundational history and how mostly white staff serving diverse populations often leads to gaps in services that the community needs. I also found it EXTREMELY validating to read about librarians' experiences with harassment and assault from the public, as this seems to be a widespread issue across many libraries in different communities with no real solution at the moment.
I felt like the last chapter veered off into discussing internet culture too much before tying it back into libraries, and at times the writing felt like it was trying to be profound, so that it just felt like a soapbox speech. But I enjoyed reading a book so specifically about the career I chose and being able to broaden my perspective on the work.
June 17, 2022
I wanted to like this book, and there were parts that I really got into. I wish that Oliver had focused more on her time at Northwest One and the issues that surrounded the branch and its patrons as well as how the staff at the branch helped those patrons. How, with the limited time allowed, did the hired social worker make any progress? What has the DC Public Library System done since to address these issues. Maybe this is a wish because this is my specific area of interest.
To me, the entire book seemed disjointed. Something that could have been written in a journal and that Oliver was almost using to unpack her time as a librarian. While I can empathize with her and have needed to take time to decompress, I don’t think that writing a book with this particular format is the way to go.
It could have been productive on so many levels. But I think that one topic should have been chosen and stuck to.
To me, the entire book seemed disjointed. Something that could have been written in a journal and that Oliver was almost using to unpack her time as a librarian. While I can empathize with her and have needed to take time to decompress, I don’t think that writing a book with this particular format is the way to go.
It could have been productive on so many levels. But I think that one topic should have been chosen and stuck to.
Read
April 27, 2022DNF about 1/2 way through. Author is whiny and obviously doesn't enjoy being a librarian, which is fine. There are plenty of jobs/careers I wouldn't want, but she complains a lot even going as far as how she loathes her co-workers. If you love all your co-workers, then kudos to you. My point is everyone is entitled to their opinion, but don't write it as fact and publish it for the world to get the wrong sense of being a librarian.
If she wanted to write a book about history of libraries, underprivileged communities and how libraries are for all, she should not have included her personal experiences to the extent that she does or bitch about her co-workers. While, libraries should be for ALL; they are not and will never be the same.
If she wanted to write a book about history of libraries, underprivileged communities and how libraries are for all, she should not have included her personal experiences to the extent that she does or bitch about her co-workers. While, libraries should be for ALL; they are not and will never be the same.
June 29, 2022
Oof. First I must say that 1) I have a very similar experience to Oliver in that I worked as a school librarian in DC for many years (in a different state now) and 2) we were colleagues and acquaintances. I REALLY wanted to love this book as I think that the misunderstandings of libraries can lead to a myriad of negative consequences. I think the research at the beginning of the book was very well done.
I really think the centering Oliver does here is really hurtful to the overall message. Our experiences in the field are valid and important. Unfortunately, as impactful as they can be on a personal level is simply not speaking for the whole of librarianship. As a white woman myself, I would feel remiss to use my specific trauma as framework for the very real challenges to all folks in the profession.
There was really a missed opportunity to speak to librarians who come from marginalized communities and uplift their stories as well. I was disappointed to not hear of the work of groups like We Here or librarians of color in our DC community that were leading towards change at the time of Oliver’a tenure. I also had a very hard time with the representation of unhorsed people. Although intentions were ultimately coming from a place of good, this was not the story to be told from one perspective.
This book has an important message but I think the heavy pull towards memoir really took away from that. I would have loved to hear from more library workers but was left in lengthy passages about past relationships or philosophies on social media. I do hope, though, that we keep having these conversations and move towards effective, institutional wide change.
I am also shocked at some of the information that Oliver did not know as it was integral to my library education in my program. I hope that maybe this book can be used as a discussion prompt for those coming into the profession as a way to unpack some of the history and truths of library work, however uncomfortable.
I really think the centering Oliver does here is really hurtful to the overall message. Our experiences in the field are valid and important. Unfortunately, as impactful as they can be on a personal level is simply not speaking for the whole of librarianship. As a white woman myself, I would feel remiss to use my specific trauma as framework for the very real challenges to all folks in the profession.
There was really a missed opportunity to speak to librarians who come from marginalized communities and uplift their stories as well. I was disappointed to not hear of the work of groups like We Here or librarians of color in our DC community that were leading towards change at the time of Oliver’a tenure. I also had a very hard time with the representation of unhorsed people. Although intentions were ultimately coming from a place of good, this was not the story to be told from one perspective.
This book has an important message but I think the heavy pull towards memoir really took away from that. I would have loved to hear from more library workers but was left in lengthy passages about past relationships or philosophies on social media. I do hope, though, that we keep having these conversations and move towards effective, institutional wide change.
I am also shocked at some of the information that Oliver did not know as it was integral to my library education in my program. I hope that maybe this book can be used as a discussion prompt for those coming into the profession as a way to unpack some of the history and truths of library work, however uncomfortable.
November 8, 2024
I naively thought that this was a book about overdue fines and their place in public libraries. Like... who could fill 188 pages with that? I'm kinda goofy. But had I known it was basically a memoir, I probably wouldn't have read it. I'm glad I read it, though, because it's written well and kept me entertained.
There are bits of history about public libraries and how they relate to systemic racism and sexism, some of which I had not been educated on before. The author mostly sticks to sharing her experience working as an elementary school librarian and a public librarian in areas with particularly high income inequality, her literal "Reckoning with the Public Library." Again, I literally did not read the description of this book at all when I checked it out, or I may have known what this was truly about.
A lot of the negative reviews for this are from librarians who don't find her experience valid (or, more accurately, not worth listening to), as she only worked in the DC Public Library system for like 9 months. Coming from someone who has worked in public and academic libraries (in a variety of roles) for almost a decade, I find her experience valid. Sounds like she was at a very tough branch and realized that she wasn't exactly cut out for the job. Or, it wasn't what she was prepared for in grad school or emotionally prepared to handle. Fair. It's not for everyone. Still,
Overall, the author still has the utmost respect for public libraries, though she no longer works in the field. I can kind of see why people rated it low based on employment history, but I wonder how many raters read the entire book.
I'd recommend this to my coworkers, if they don't mind memoirs or social justice stuff.
There are bits of history about public libraries and how they relate to systemic racism and sexism, some of which I had not been educated on before. The author mostly sticks to sharing her experience working as an elementary school librarian and a public librarian in areas with particularly high income inequality, her literal "Reckoning with the Public Library." Again, I literally did not read the description of this book at all when I checked it out, or I may have known what this was truly about.
A lot of the negative reviews for this are from librarians who don't find her experience valid (or, more accurately, not worth listening to), as she only worked in the DC Public Library system for like 9 months. Coming from someone who has worked in public and academic libraries (in a variety of roles) for almost a decade, I find her experience valid. Sounds like she was at a very tough branch and realized that she wasn't exactly cut out for the job. Or, it wasn't what she was prepared for in grad school or emotionally prepared to handle. Fair. It's not for everyone. Still,
Overall, the author still has the utmost respect for public libraries, though she no longer works in the field. I can kind of see why people rated it low based on employment history, but I wonder how many raters read the entire book.
I'd recommend this to my coworkers, if they don't mind memoirs or social justice stuff.
July 25, 2022
This book is an “I see you” for librarians that work with hard populations. I love the history mixed with memoir mixed with let’s be people of hope and action.
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