[Publib] Bad Libraries

[Kate Wolicki]

Maybe you've worked in one, or heard about one, or there is one in your 
neighborhood: Bad Libraries.  Places no one works...for long.  It might be 
employees, or the director, or the building, or the trustees, or the 
community, but it's not worth a good librarian's time to take a job there, 
no matter the salary.

What is it that drives good workers from an organization?

What can dedicated staff do to rehabilitate a library that's bleeding good 
people?

And after the library is Better, what can everyone do to fix the library's 
image and attract good staff again?  How can the library ensure that the 
poisonous atmosphere will not return?

I read articles about Bad City Libraries with atrocious management vs staff 
problems, or even staff vs public problems, and I wonder: is there something 
that can cause a turnaround without a whole new crew?  I have also seen 
smaller libraries where one or two personalities somehow combine to create 
fiefdoms of misery where staff stay only because they can't afford to go.  
How on earth does all this happen, and how can employees at all levels 
combat the rot?

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