At the end of June, Black employees of the Free Library of Philadelphia issued an open letter detailing the discrimination and disregard for safety following order for staff to return to library buildings. The letter is very much worth a read in its own right, especially as many of the issues detailed are not unique to Black workers in the FLP system.
The workers have now begun to see further support coming from authors who had scheduled events at the FLP. As of July 8th, LitHub reported that six authors had all cancelled events in solidarity with the workers after hearing that the concerns raised by Black workers were not being adressed and the situation on the ground had not improved.
Showing posts with label #protectlibraryworkers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #protectlibraryworkers. Show all posts
Monday, July 13, 2020
Friday, May 29, 2020
Scapi: CPL employees ask patrons to not come to open library
Last weekend Scapi Magazine ran an article in which it quotes an anonymous Chicago Public Library employee imploring patrons not to come into the library when it reopens.
The plea comes in the form of an unsigned letter circulating on social media (the employee has withheld their name fearing retaliation from management) that states safety concerns are being brushed off, hand sanitizer in the libraries is expired, and the libraries lack enough plexiglass to run the library safely.
This letter comes after previous statements by AFSCME Local 31 in which the union said it had not been consulted in reopening considerations and was caught off guard when Library Commissioner Andrea Telli emailed staff earlier in the month asking them to report to work May 20th.
While Mayor Lauri Lightfoot initially seemed to backtrack on a proposed June 1st reopening after details of Telli's email leaked, Illinois and Cook County are preparing to enter phase 3 of reopening even as the county is seeing one of the largest outbreaks of COVID-19 in the country -- surpassing even Queens in New York City.
The plea comes in the form of an unsigned letter circulating on social media (the employee has withheld their name fearing retaliation from management) that states safety concerns are being brushed off, hand sanitizer in the libraries is expired, and the libraries lack enough plexiglass to run the library safely.
This letter comes after previous statements by AFSCME Local 31 in which the union said it had not been consulted in reopening considerations and was caught off guard when Library Commissioner Andrea Telli emailed staff earlier in the month asking them to report to work May 20th.
While Mayor Lauri Lightfoot initially seemed to backtrack on a proposed June 1st reopening after details of Telli's email leaked, Illinois and Cook County are preparing to enter phase 3 of reopening even as the county is seeing one of the largest outbreaks of COVID-19 in the country -- surpassing even Queens in New York City.
Friday, May 15, 2020
Libraries Gave Us Power: Library workers push back against resiliancy narratives amid pandemic
An important article up on the new blog Libraries Gave Us Power by one of the founders of the #closethelibraries and #protectlibraryworkers movements pushes back against the popular media narrative that all is well in public libraries as boards and management push workers to take on dangerous and unnecessary work in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It should go without saying, but libraries should absolutely not be putting their workers on the front lines of this public health crisis unnecessarily. As the above piece points out, library workers know all too well how dealing with the public means dealing with people who will not follow directions, people who intentionally cause problems, and people who get very angry over things beyond the individual worker's control.
Libraries have been used for a long time as a safety net of last resort by a system that has failed ordinary people, library workers -- particularly underpaid front line staff -- should not be offered up as sacrificial lambs because of this system's failures.
It should go without saying, but libraries should absolutely not be putting their workers on the front lines of this public health crisis unnecessarily. As the above piece points out, library workers know all too well how dealing with the public means dealing with people who will not follow directions, people who intentionally cause problems, and people who get very angry over things beyond the individual worker's control.
Libraries have been used for a long time as a safety net of last resort by a system that has failed ordinary people, library workers -- particularly underpaid front line staff -- should not be offered up as sacrificial lambs because of this system's failures.
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