Yesterday I participated in the twitter hashtag #librarianstress, a hashtag that started ironically as a backlash from a
CNBC article that named “librarian” as one of the least stressful jobs on the planet. I participated in the mocking of both this article and the people who took it as a serious threat of our (librarians) position because I am the kid in the back of the class that enjoys making his friends laugh at uncomfortable subjects. Others, they had their own agendas. I cannot speak for them.
Here are the facts as I see them:
1) The “article” (more of a slideshow presentation) was attributed to Tony Lee, publisher of CareerCast.com. While Mr. Lee may have some influence as a public relations person, I see no peer reviewed or academic evidence he supports in his “findings,” nor as I went down the rest of the list did I see “random guy from second rate career website” listed as a “least stressful job of 2013.” I assure you, I did as much research in that search as Mr. Lee seemed to do and used the same criteria as he did, including “low pressure and warm fuzzies.” I can only conclude that Mr. Lee is under some degree of stress and getting no fuzzies.
2) The primary reaction in the library twitter community (including and chronicled in the excellent article from
Rita Meade in her Screwy Decimal blog) was near immediate. Outrage that “librarian” was once again being stereotyped and marginalized in the vein of the spinster look or the sexy seductress in glasses was the immediate reaction. With good reason. The opportunity to have such a blatant “look at the cute little librarian” is not one that any advocate of libraries should pass up. Where the light is shining, stand and speak.
3) The secondary reaction came in the form of jokes. The hashtag #librarianstress was created (credit:
homance ladies) to give an exaggerated view of the “stresses” librarians live through on a day to day basis. Another platform, another voice. Not wrong, not right, just another reaction that proved popular. So popular, in fact, that it soon became a national trend on twitter as the persons from the outraged group began using it. The fun of a satirical hashtag being used for real purposes is not lost here, nor was it there. It was at that point that I began pretending to be fictional librarians because, well, the next logical step was to use things others had just made the hell up.
4) Finally, nothing changed. As of midnight the night the slideshow was published, no retraction has been printed, no apology has been made, and we begin the weekend with a few belly laughs, some hurt feelings, and little else. Maybe some beer or wine. Whiskey to comfort sore throats, let’s not be picky. It is cold outside.
All this because of some guy from some website.
Here is what I believe:
Public librarians are under stress, now more than ever. Underfunded, understaffed and outmatched by technology as it increases daily, the public library is, in the definition of stress, under a “constraining force or influence.” People want more than ever before, and public libraries are able to give less. Instruction on technology, ebooks, books, magazines, whatever, these all cost money and there is no money to give and only a few properly trained individuals to pick the best ones when money is available. That is stress and it comes from both sides. See, the public library is the public. When the people are stressed, when the library is stressed, the mirror is there. The reflection of a library on the people it serves and visa versa can be painful and at times unbearable. From someone who has served for nearly a decade, this can wear someone down very quickly. Throw in a disaster or two, personal or otherwise, and the stress builds. Do not discount that.
Okay, here’s the part where you might want to put the kids to bed, because I am gonna use some strong language. Some statements made on twitter today got me pretty mad. You have been warned.
“My [whoever] is a doctor/surgeon/nurse and if he messes up someone dies. That’s stress. Librarians don’t have stress.”Fuck you. Yeah, I know nobody has ever died by a direct result of my actions or in-actions (that I know of, I am still relatively young) as a librarian. I applaud and in no way discount the acts of anyone in the medical or other field that puts their lives and other's lives in their hands.
But I know what I have done. I am not a teacher, but I have taught more impromptu English, history, computer and science classes than I can count. I am not a lawyer, but I have given out reams of legal forms and information. I am not an accountant, but I have gone through every tax document that is on record. I am not a police officer, but I have aided in the arrest of some deviant individuals. I am not a social worker, but I have sat with battered women and children. I am not a doctor, but I have waited for ambulances. I am not in anyway qualified to provide psychiatric counseling, but I have listened to hundreds, maybe thousands of stories of hell, from refugees of disaster areas to elderly patrons just wanting to talk. I am a librarian, I am accountable, and I have been under stress in my job more than once.
I am a librarian, and I am one of the least in the profession. Other librarians have done so, so, so much more than I ever have or will and have done it with more grace and dignity and given their patrons the same. And they bear all that stress gladly. To them, I say thank you for your service and hope you are too busy enjoying your career to read this.
