Advocate for better pay for public library staff and speak out against automation

  • England
  • Public Library
  • Our current salary as public library workers in our county is slightly less than that of an ASDA general employee. For those with families or university fees, this is not sustainable. The library workforce has been casualised and it's pay frozen to the point where we are valued, in the most concrete way, no more than a checkout operator. This is combined with recruitment freezes and the introduction of automated, staff-less library hours (always resulting in reduced staff hours). Qualified people cannot afford to make a career in libraries. This is a slow-burn crisis which will result in libraries with a work force equivalent to that of a McDonalds. Many library staff are helpless in the face of this trend and are leaving the profession.

  • Advocate for better pay for library workers and resist the call for more automation.

  • Advocacy. Become spokespeople for safeguarding library work. Call out councils where downsizing and automation is being implemented.