www.stevehargadon.com/2026/05/s…

“Between February and May 2026, 1,521 library workers completed an anonymous survey about what working in a library is actually like at this moment. They left 1,754 free-text comments alongside their answers. Respondents were from the Library 2.0 email list and were predominantly from public libraries; the majority were in frontline public service roles, and roughly 7 in 10 had more than a decade of library experience.

The headline finding is that stretched institutions are held together by people. The single most-agreed-with statement in the entire survey (chosen by 69% of respondents) is that libraries are expected to provide services that go well beyond their actual resources and staffing. More than half (55%) say they are often emotionally drained by the end of the workday. Nearly half (48%) say their library is not adequately staffed. Just over four in ten (44%) say they have personally experienced verbal, sexual, racial, or other harassment from patrons. More than a third (36%) say they regularly handle patron mental-health crises, substance-use situations, or homelessness.”