The Library Workforce Is Breaking

It is. We need to talk about it honestly.

I've worked in library tech long enough to have watched three generational cohorts of librarians. The first generation rode out the transitions (2G to 3G phones, VHS to streaming, card catalogs to ILS). They retired comfortable. The second generation (my generation) built most of what exists now and is feeling the weight. The third generation is leaving.

They\'re not leaving because they don\'t love libraries. They\'re leaving because they can\'t afford to stay.

The Numbers Are Bleak

Here's what the recent literature review on the future of librarianship tells us:

• 186,500 librarians employed in the U.S.
• $64,320 median librarian wage
• 57% job satisfaction (2024), down from 71% (2022)
• 20-point drop in two years. That\'s not a trend. That\'s a cliff.
• 50% of state library leadership retiring now

That last one deserves its own line. Fifty percent. That\'s not "some folks retiring." That\'s a wave. It means institutional knowledge is walking out the door. It means the people who know how to navigate state politics, manage legacy systems, and mentor younger staff are gone. And there's a bench of one: you.

Why They're Leaving: The Real Reasons

The research is explicit about what's driving workforce collapse:

"Urgent retention focus is required - competitive compensation is necessary but insufficient without addressing toxic culture, recognition deficits, and book challenge stress."

Let me break that down:

1. Compensation Is Not Competitive

$64,320 median. That\'s in 2026 dollars. That\'s what a mid-career reference librarian makes after getting an MLIS, passing the certification exam, and working 8+ years.

Your local tech companies are offering software engineers $180K base + equity. Your city's criminal justice reform NGO is hiring project managers at $85K. Even your local community college is paying adjunct instructors more hourly than librarians make annually.

And libraries keep asking "Why can't we recruit talent?" Because talent can go somewhere else and afford rent.

2. Book Challenge Stress Is Real and Relentless

Your librarians are being personally attacked. That\'s not rhetoric. That\'s a documented workplace hazard.

Someone puts a book challenge targeting your collection development director by name. It goes on the agenda. The community meeting gets heated. The board gets nervous. And suddenly your professional judgment - the thing you went to grad school for - is questioned by people who haven\'t read the books they\'re banning.

That happens repeatedly. Some years it\'s dozens of challenges. You absorb that stress. You take it home. You wonder if it\'s worth it.

4,240 unique book titles were challenged in 2023. Those challenges don\'t appear at random. They\'re coordinated. Organized. Targeted. And your staff feels it in their nervous systems.

3. Toxic Culture Isn\'t New, But It\'s Worse

I've worked in libraries where the director was checked out. Where nobody celebrated wins. Where mistakes were disasters and successes were "just doing your job." That culture kills retention.

But now add to that: You\'re understaffed. Your director is burned out too. Your board is fighting about book challenges instead of supporting you. And when someone leaves, the work just lands on the remaining staff. So now you're toxic, understaffed, AND the good people are leaving faster.

It's a downward spiral.

What We're Losing and Why It Matters

When librarians leave, you don't just lose a person. You lose:

Institutional Knowledge. The reference librarian who knows which database actually works best for local history research. The systems person who knows why you can\'t just upgrade the ILS without redoing authentication. The youth services coordinator who knows which community partners will actually show up for programs. That\'s not written down. That's learned over years.

Community Relationships. The librarian who runs the ESL program has built trust with the immigrant community over three years. When they leave, you don't inherit that relationship. You start over. The community has to decide whether to trust the new person.

Professional Credibility. Librarians who stay longer get better at their jobs. A 3-year reference librarian is competent. A 10-year reference librarian is trusted by the community and knows how to teach patrons. When turnover is high, everybody on your staff stays junior.

Diversity and Cultural Competence. If all your staff is burnt-out early-career librarians, you don't have the lived experience diversity you need. The research shows that diversity initiatives in MLIS programs are showing results. But those new librarians need to actually stay and be supported. If they hit the toxic culture wall in year two and leave, you just had a revolving door.

The Succession Planning Crisis

This is where I get scared. Really scared.

In rural states and mid-sized systems, your director is 55-60. They\'re thinking about retirement. When they leave, you\'ve got maybe one or two people ready to take over. Maybe. And if they\'re burnt out, they don\'t want the job.

The research is clear: "Succession planning is critical given the retirement wave affecting 50% of state library leadership."

That\'s not academic language. That\'s a warning. It means in three years, you might not have a director. You might have interim leadership. You might have a hire from outside who doesn't know your community. And meanwhile, your organizational continuity just snapped.

Some states are preparing for this. Building talent pipelines. Investing in emerging leadership. Most aren't. Most are hoping it works out.

What Actually Works: The Resistance Model

Here\'s something interesting buried in the research: Despite the crisis, librarians aren\'t just leaving quietly. They're organizing.

13 states have passed "Right to Read" laws that protect librarians from challenges. That\'s not accidental. That\'s activists, librarians, and elected officials coordinating.

EveryLibrary's advocacy voter file grew to 575,000 engaged activists in 2025 alone. Each person recruited through fighting to keep their library open or defend book access.

Libraries secured $3+ billion in stable tax funding since 2012 through ballot measures and legislative advocacy.

This matters for the workforce because: Well-funded libraries can afford lawyers. They can afford to pay staff. They can provide the professional environment that makes people want to stay.

Underfunded libraries? They bleed people. Staff work for less, have fewer tools, face more conflict, and leave faster.

How to Fix This: The Honest Version

There\'s no tech solution. There\'s no AI copilot that makes burnout disappear. There's just this:

Pay People What They're Worth

You want to retain your best reference librarian? Pay them $85K, not $55K. Is your budget tight? Then you need to do the advocacy work to get stable funding. Because the librarian you can't afford to keep will cost you way more than her salary in lost productivity and institutional knowledge.

The research recommendation is direct: "Competitive compensation is necessary." Not just kind-of competitive. Actually competitive with what they could make elsewhere.

Support Them Through Challenge Battles

When a book gets challenged, your staff shouldn't fight it alone. You should have:

• Clear collection development policies they didn't have to write themselves
• Professional standards they can cite (ALA policies exist for this)
• Legal support ready to go
• Board backing before the meeting, not hoping for it during
• Explicit recognition that defending the collection is part of their job, not a personal failing

The worst thing a library can do is make staff defend books alone while the board second-guesses them. Don't do that.

Build Leadership Pipeline Immediately

You have 3-5 years before the retirement wave really hits. Use that time to:

• Identify your next generation leaders now (don't wait for someone to quit)
• Give them real leadership experience (task forces, project management, strategic planning)
• Send them to leadership training and development programs
• Create pathways where they can see themselves as future directors

Most systems wait until the director retires to start looking for a replacement. Then they panic. Build the pipeline now.

Support Diversity and Intentional Hiring

The research shows: "Diversity initiatives in MLIS programs are showing results and should be sustained."

This means:

• When you hire, actively recruit from diverse candidate pools
• Don't just post the job and hope. Build relationships with MLIS programs that serve students of color
• When you hire diverse staff, support them (mentorship, professional development, real opportunities)
• Don't expect them to fix your diversity problem alone. Build culture that keeps them

Fix the Culture

This is the hardest one. You can't mandate a positive workplace culture. But you can:

• Stop the constant small cuts that accumulate into resentment
• Celebrate wins publicly and specifically
• Handle conflicts directly instead of letting them fester
• Give people real decision-making power (they get to make some calls, not just execute yours)
• Invest in team building and professional community, not just individual tasks
• Make it clear that going to conferences, getting trained, learning new skills is supported, not seen as indulgence

Bad culture saves money in the short term (no professional development, no bonuses, minimal staff engagement). It costs enormously in the long term (turnover, burnout, lost institutional knowledge).

The Uncomfortable Truth About Our Industry

We created a system where librarians are expected to have a master's degree, make $64K, deal with organized political attacks on their professional judgment, work understaffed, and be grateful for the job.

That system is breaking. Because talented people are choosing other careers. Because librarians are doing the math and realizing this isn't sustainable.

We can fix it. The research shows what works:

• Competitive pay
• Professional autonomy
• Organizational support during challenges
• Career development and advancement
• Workplace culture that values them

It costs money. Some libraries are making that investment. Most aren\'t. That\'s why they're losing their best people.

The question isn't "Can we afford to pay librarians better?" The question is "Can we afford not to?"