Came here to say this. A library job in high school paid just about 2x minimum wage and within the first week I was dispatched to help clean up the LA Central Library after the fire. I was sneezing black ash for two days. One time a gang banger chased a kid into the Brentwood Library. If you know anything about L.A. it’s that there are no gangs in Brentwood so this was very surreal. The librarian / clerk lady stepped up to the bully and told him to GTFO. There is something in librarians’ blood that is ultra access, ultra free speech and yes, they are nearly all of them ready to die on that hill. For decades before the Streisand Effect took place, the librarian network would instantly mobilize against any attempt to ban books.
This was before that branch remodeled. Being a shelving clerk I absolutely earned every penny - our collection was substantially larger than we had the physical capacity to shelve. The director of the library system likened our branch to “a chicken truck” where the books out in circulation were whatever chickens were flying in the truck. My burden was continually making space for the ones that were roosting. To the library-loving community he said: “Once in awhile, this truck will grind to a halt. You’ll need to get out there and bang the sides of the truck to keep the chickens flying.”
Same. And public school teachers -tend- to have the same souls as librarians.
It is very worthwhile to check in with your public library to see what they have developed online. LAPL has multiple app connections - you can use your library card to subscribe to all the major newspapers, get audio books and stream movies, all for free.
