Overdue : Reckoning with the Public Library
-- Overdue Through her experience at this branch, Oliver highlights the national problems that have existed in libraries since they were founded, troublingly at odds with the common romanticization of the library as a shining beacon of equality: racism, segregation, and economic oppression. These fundamental American problems manifest today as police violence, the opioid epidemic, widespread inaccessibility of affordable housing, and a lack of mental health care nationwide'all of which come to a head in public library spaces. Can public librarians continue to play the many roles they are tasked with? Can American society sustain one of its most noble institutions? Libraries will not save us, but Oliver helps us imagine what might be possible if we stop expecting them to.
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Genre |
Electronic books. |
- ISBN: 9781641605342
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Physical Description
remote
1 online resource
224 pages - Publisher [Place of publication not identified] : Chicago Review Press, 2022.
Content descriptions
General Note: | Electronic book. |
Reproduction Note: | Electronic reproduction. [S.l.] Chicago Review Press 2022 Available via World Wide Web. |
System Details Note: | Format: Adobe EPUB Requires: cloudLibrary (file size: 744.0 KB) |
Additional Information
BookList Review
Overdue : Reckoning with the Public Library
Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Oliver knows that librarians don't read all day in a quiet building; she worked for seven years as a librarian in Washington, D.C., first in its public schools, then at the Northwest One branch of the public library. Like so many public libraries, Northwest One served as a de facto day shelter, with many patrons suffering from mental health and addiction issues, creating an environment where "even with this basic understanding of, and patience for, trauma-impacted behavior, the reality was that I felt unsafe at the library every day." She began to suffer from empathy fatigue, and quit library work when she was diagnosed with complex PTSD. This well-researched book is part memoir, part history of the public library, part analysis of the current state of library service, and a necessary cure for vocational awe for those outside of the profession. Despite harsh words for administrators and the capitalist forces that keep people disenfranchised, she ends with a note of hope, that libraries are a necessary part of American society. A thought-provoking read for those in and out of the library.