I am losing hope that any library system is better. I just keep seeing others post about their toxic work environment because of management and admin. Us too.

My boss is extremely passive aggressive. She always assumes the worst of everyone below her as if any mistake is just her staff trying to "get back at her". Every call out or use of PTO used by staff results in her talking shit about that staff member and rolling her eyes.

She never has direct conversations or check-ins unless they are disciplinary. And she has become deeply embroiled in the admin culture. She has grown very close to her boss who does the same things to the managers. I attended a few meetings with her and her boss in it and they just side-chat, giggle, and criticize people to each other.

I don't know what to do. I am applying for other jobs, but the market is terrible right now. I have brought some (safer) concerns up to her and she blows up, denies, and blames you. Then she talked behind my back to coworkers.

If an incident happens at the branch there is no check in. In fact if a situation affects you, she will tell everyone you can't handle things "we should all be able to handle".

We had a rough spring and summer that we talked about and all she could say was "well I shielded everyone from the worst of it".

We have a union, but it is extremely hard to prove any of this as she never puts this behavior in teams. I've been documenting what I can. I am just so burnt out.

Any advice?

First of all, I know this is a common question! I’d just like advice specific to my situation.

Despite applying to any library position within an hour of where I live, I haven’t had any luck landing so much as an interview at a library. I would like to get library experience before beginning an MLIS program, but that doesn’t seem to be working. Lol.

I wonder if being able to put on my resume that I am pursuing an MLIS would make me a more competitive applicant.

Ideally, I’d attend SJSU. I live in the Bay Area, so I’d do my best to take advantage of their intern opportunities as well while trying to snag a library job.

I’m currently working a soul sucking job in corporate America, and I’m truthfully at my wits end. I’m so sick of feeling like my work is meaningless. I want to be a librarian because I’d love to work with the community. Meaningful work is more important to me than money.

How stupid would this be? I have to decide before December 1st since the alternative is a teacher credentialing program, which is better than corporate America, but not my ideal career choice. However, I’d get to work full time while earning my credentials.

Thoughts?

My note: I am a department head within the library. I am not on this search committee and I do not anticipate being part of the search in any significant way. Because of that, I'm happy to answer questions about the library or about the role of department heads and how we work together here if you're considering an application.

Note that when our job postings say "Twelve-month assignment" that means that we work 12 months of the year, not that this is a 1-year position.

https://facultycareers.gsu.edu/postings/7307

The Georgia State University Library seeks an innovative, collegial, and forward-thinking colleague to join us as a Department Head at the Dunwoody Campus.

The Department Head manages the Alpharetta and Dunwoody library facilities as part of the leadership team for Perimeter Library Services. They are also a part of the University Library department head team and collaborates with library leadership. The Department Head supervises the campus library faculty and staff and works with campus partners across academic and administrative departments to contribute to student learning, retention, and success.

Hello, I manage a library of a couple thousand volumes. We took out the old shelving, so I have to work on putting everything back to its proper place. I'm new to this so I don't know where some items belong. I have like 20 or more mini-series (short series of 5 or so books) and I don't know if I should just put them in with the rest by their author or if I should have a special section dedicated to mini-series. I already have a seperate section for big series like The Hardy Boys, so I'm wondering if it would be best to put the short series among the bigger ones in the special "series/collections" section. What's the best way of doing this?

Thanks.