Who Do You Work For

In the midst of a funding crisis in our library system, a local newspaper was doing a story, and our director was contacted (among others) to provide a few anecdotes about things we’ve done for our patrons. Although he was late in opening the last minute e-mail request and missed the deadline, he asked me to think about the assignment anyway. Library funding is a hot topic right now, and he wanted to be prepared if we are asked for such information again.

I’m not entirely comfortable with his request. While I do my best for all our patrons and often go beyond our normal routine to help them get what they need, I don’t think what I do makes a good story. Often, though it may mean very much to the patron, what I dig up for them is of little interest to the world at large.

On top of that, it’s all part of my job. To brag would be unsuitable and inappropriate. When I go out of my way for a patron, it’s not really special because library workers do these things every day. And that, I suppose, is the strongest argument for writing what he’s requested. There is an army of people out here dedicated to the ideals of the library, to provide free access to information and materials for their patrons. They will do all they can to help you get what you need and think nothing of it. Maybe now is the time people were told about that. If it helps those service-minded folks to keep doing what they do, society benefits.

So, decision made, here is the piece I am presenting:

I don’t work for my boss or any of my bosses, really. I don’t work for my manager, my director, or even my library board. Shh, don’t tell them I said so. I don’t even work for the money. And I am not alone.

I’ve worked at my library for nearly 19 years now. I’ve had a few positions, but my current job is Interlibrary Loan. When you want something our library doesn’t own, it’s my job to borrow it from another library for you. If you live in another library’s district and you want something we have, I arrange to loan it to your library. In this way, library patrons in my district, your district, or anywhere else in the vast network of libraries have access to all the knowledge stored in that network.

People

Have Access

To Knowledge

And that is down at the core of library service. It’s the reason that library workers do what they do. I, like so many other library employees, work for those people seeking what libraries offer.

Whether it’s a scholarly tome, the latest mystery novel, how-to book or kid’s movie, we’ve got it all. Looking for art, music or computer programs? Libraries have them. Need access to the internet, help finding community programs or a place to meet or study? You’re welcome here. We’ll even answer your trivia questions over the phone. FOR FREE.

Few patrons are aware of the lengths we will go to in order to satisfy their request or the numbers of people involved in bringing them what they want. In Interlibrary Loan, employees at the requesting library, at the lending library, and delivery personnel all work together to fulfill the patron’s wish.

I have personally searched numerous databases for rare sheet music for one patron and researched Australian copyright law in the process of trying to obtain a copy for them. On another occasion, I called on friends of my sister in the Fort Worth Historical Society to track down early area newspapers. Occasionally, I reach as far as Canada, Mexico, Great Britain or Australia to secure materials or information for patrons. In the course of my job, I’ve helped people find their ancestors, research the subjects they love, locate books they can read in their native language, and borrow textbooks they couldn’t afford to buy.

On the other side are libraries full of workers willing to be generous with their materials and their time. There are those who put extra effort into copying articles in just the right way for a finicky requester, or those who make exceptions to their normal policy to loan or renew an item few other libraries own. In that spirit of sharing, I serve the other libraries and their patrons as well.

Our library has made special accommodations to supply distant researchers with microfilm or other materials that we alone possessed. The extra work this entailed was just part of my job. I have worked hard to track down schools and out-of-state libraries whose books were accidentally returned to us, sometimes with very sketchy clues. Patrons’ personal books, CDs and movies have likewise been returned though it may take a little puzzle solving. I have even hand-delivered books to their libraries on my own time because it was the most efficient way to return them.

The truth is that this kind of service isn’t exceptional. In every department at the library, there are people working in their own ways to meet the library’s noble goals.

We don’t do it for the recognition. As I’ve said, few patrons realize what goes on behind the scenes, and fewer still say thank you. We don’t do it for the money. I’m certain 19 years in a more commercial profession could have provided a bigger salary. The pay is just something to keep the mundane side fed so I have the ability to work on the ideal.

What keeps many library workers working is knowing that real people are benefiting from what we do. We work for the ideal of giving people access to knowledge. We work for you.