Bailey McKnight

One person can separate fiction from reality, doesn’t harm anyone in real life, thinks harassment and censorship are bad. The other scams a real person, who’s trying to support an artist, and then brags about their literal crime online.

I made one comment, and it was this:

Brian Haberlin (American, born 1963)

Pygmalion, 2025

Watercolor on paper

21 × 14 in (53.3 × 35.6 cm)

It was an immensely rewarding experience but I got burnt out by 1) Proud Boys taking over one of my libraries and permanently altering Illinois law with their moronic antics 2) One of my colleagues dying in a mass shooting at an event we were encouraged to attend and then having almost no time for ourselves while being expected to help the community rally.

On a day to day basis I loved the work, I loved helping people, I loved when regulars would come up to me, I loved encouraging teenagers to open up, I loved getting people to read something that wasn't fucking James Patterson, I loved the programs and I loved weeding and I loved getting to go to conventions and be paid for it and I loved purchasing for collections.

The pay was excruciating though, and my libraries were completely awful about protecting staff. I complained once about a coworker calling me a slur and I was given a Feelings Chart to help regular my emotions. I reported a patron for following one of our teenage shelvers in the parking lot and was told "Oh yeah that's Creepy Steve, remind her to walk with a buddy next time."

I don't think this is necessarily representative of what most people's library experiences will be like! But for me the burnout was swift and brutal. I was in a dark place for a really long time, worse than even my current position because here at least I get paid well and I KNOW it sucks, whereas in libraries I felt angry with myself for not being better at toughing out a field I supposedly loved and I had to work a second job to make ends meet.