You will make about 60k if you're lucky unless you become a manager, and you will have 35k of debt or more from grad school (online grad school is cheaper sometimes and no one cares where you get the degree anyways). And sometimes you work for a university (which is essentially a corporation) or the government. But in general everyone in your field will believe in a code of ethics that raises the dignity of humanity above the mire of misinformation and censorship. And you help empower people with the information literacy to move through the world as confident capable individuals/professionals/scholars. Community college libraries are my favorite environment I've worked in so far because the students are cool, driven, and diverse in age and background. Public libraries also do amazing social work in 2025 to provide services to their communities like harm reduction, networks of resources for unhoused people, language teaching, professional development, basic technology training, literally just being a third space, I could go on forever. It definitely is a career that exists because of neoliberalism I'm not going to lie, like American public libraries only exist because robber barons in the 1900s donated a mind boggling amount of grants to towns across the country to build them (not sure about other countries' history with this to be fair). All that being said I decided I wanted to be a librarian when I was 16 and I've been committed to that path for 11 years with no regret.
To add a personal note to this rec and emphasize how meaningful this work really is, I'm going to indulge in a story because I could genuinely cry thinking about all the kind, interesting people I've met who have chosen to be vulnerable with me about their needs and goals. A couple years ago I helped an older man for multiple hours to remember his email login so he could get a copy of his birth certificate from his son-in-law who had emailed a scan of the physical copy which was in another country. The stakes were incredibly high and the task seemed virtually impossible because we didn't even have an email address to start. He was having trouble reaching his son-in-law to ask for help because of the time difference, and he needed the scan ASAP. We were together for so long I learned a lot about him. He talked to me about Islam and Christianity and angels. And then we got it! It's probably one of the defining moments of my career and to me is one of the most impactful things I've ever done.
So there's my job rec lol!
21h ago
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I love your response it's super in-depth and personal. You seem like a very educated individual.
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i’m not technically a librarian (yet), but i’ve been working in public libraries for over 2 years now and i love it! every day is a little bit different, so it’s almost never monotonous and i get to help people while also talking about books.… and also, once, telling a patron not to [checks notes] confront another patron outside the library because they saw them apparently [checks notes again] washing raw chicken in the men’s restroom sink.
like i said—every day is a little different.
Feb 15, 2025
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🔌 i've been working so hard this summer to rip these wires out of my brain,
meaning i'm trying to detach myself from the internet as a replacement for community
🖍️ i think back to how often, as a child being raised in poverty,
i relied on the library for community, entertainment, friends, a space for learning,
a space to feel safe, a space to be free to dive into my interests without class shame
now, finding myself, as an adult still living in poverty,
returning to libraries searching for those same things. it feels restorative in nature
💘 i love going to libraries to meet with people, to borrow media & tools for creation
📚 also, with the realization there is no technical limit on how many library cards one can acquire has stoked this desire to become a member of libraries in different regions
its free, its without shame, its with love, for love
Jun 28, 2024
⭐
Truly underrated. I worked at a library for a couple years after college and it was maybe the best working experience I’ve ever had. Community, baby!
There’s so much on offer besides books too. Movies, music, video games, audiobooks, local history, free internet, printers, smells (good and bad). A library card is like a black Amex for people with personalities.
Jan 23, 2024
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