A library assistant explains that government policies have expanded libraries’ roles – and stretched staff.
“I am a library assistant in a medium-sized public library, serving a county town and the outlying rural area. Although I am a qualified librarian, I choose to work at library assistant level because of family commitments – so I work on the ‘shop floor’ and have no management responsibilities.
Most of my career has been spent in special and academic libraries, and I moved to public libraries five years ago. Before then, I did not really appreciate how public libraries are at the heart of the community. They are places where you can see friends and access free entertainment and education.
My role is to be on hand to help customers to borrow items and find information, to help run activities in the library, and to carry out routine duties like shelving. I feel that the most important part of what I do is making the library accessible and inclusive. I know how much it has to offer, and I want people to come in and get the best out of it. I want to say: “Come in, it’s your library. Use it!” People who live alone should have somewhere they can go and get some human contact rather than being isolated in their homes. It costs nothing to visit your local library.
Government policy to promote internet access has really taken off in libraries. The computers are heavily used by people with everyday requirements such as applying for jobs online and printing off travel tickets .We do a lot of IT education and actively encourage people who are intimidated by computers to try them.
Earlier this year, some public libraries participated in the Future Libraries Programme and experimented with ways of delivering a better service and saving money. Some of the recommended ideas have been implemented in our library, so we now share our building with the local council office. People can pay council tax, register births, get disability badges or talk to the Citizens Advice Bureau. Library customers grumble about having less space, until we point out that it has helped to keep the library open. I think that if you see the library as a place where you get information, there is no problem with mixing the two and it brings new people into the library. However, library staff fear that in the next round of cuts managers may try to merge the library and council workforces, to the detriment of the library service.
Libraries were incorporated with adult community services as part of an earlier cost-saving restructuring, so we now provide space for courses for personal development and activities such as flower arranging. This brings in revenue and people, but it takes up an inordinate amount of time in promotion and administration. That stretches staff who are already stretched trying to maintain the basic service.
We use volunteers to deliver books to the housebound and they are invaluable, but the question of using voluntary labour to run whole libraries needs to be looked at carefully. Staff are worried that it degrades the profession and could lead to a lowering of standards.
In my opinion all these changes are good for the library, but it is uphill work to convince the users. It takes enthusiasm, energy and commitment to do so. One feedback card from a customer said: “Everything may have changed, but as long as you have the same staff it will still be our library”. Unfortunately, team morale has been severely affected by fear of what’s to come and by the money-saving measures and initiatives that have already been put in place. We are aware that these cuts will go on for years, but we don’t know how they’ll affect budgets so we don’t have any real confidence in the future or in our jobs. Financial constraints mean that we already work regularly at minimum staffing levels. This is very tiring, demoralising and frustrating. Tea breaks are often skipped and we routinely do unofficial, unpaid overtime just to get the basics done. A recent initiative removed all desks and chairs for staff in order “to remove barriers” with customers. Staff on their feet all day are exhausted, and so cannot deliver the required standard of customer care.
On the other hand, some changes have had a very positive impact. Staff restructuring has removed layers of management, for example, giving us more personal responsibility; this makes work more interesting. And we are still very committed to the work; we strive to keep adapting to meet the changing needs of society. We provide help for people who are trying to find work in a difficult economic climate. The provision of talking books means that blind or elderly people are not cut off from reading. Children and students can come here to study away from the distractions of home. Above all, the library is a safe place where everyone can come for a sense of community. All these needs are increasing – and we need to be encouraged to grow, not forced to cut back or close.”