Worker shortage impacts public libraries

The coronavirus pandemic forced the six libraries of the Shawano County Library system to close their doors to the public, although they kept their services alive through phone calls, online help and curbside service.

Eventually, the libraries returned to their regular schedules, providing in-person service and activities like guest authors and children’s programs. However, the libraries are having to close their doors again, not because of COVID-19, but because there are not enough employees to keep things running smoothly.

While the phenomenon is showing up in a number of different industries, for libraries to be limited in services means that people have to adjust their schedules when they’re using books for research, using the computers for job searches, and many fun programs that community members enjoy have to be scaled back or cancelled.

Kristie Hauer, county library director, said that the library system has had three employees retire in the last year, whereas in the previous decade, there had only been two retirements in that time.

“The good thing about these retirements were that they were higher level, full-time positions, so we were able to do some internal movement, moving some part-time people into full-time jobs,” Hauer said. “We’ve moved some library assistants into librarians. There’s been a domino effect.”

What really impacted the library system was when some resignations coincided with the retirements, leaving some areas short-staffed, according to Hauer. She noted that when that happened, it was decided to close each of the six libraries for an additional day per week, as they could not afford to be spread so thin.

The phenomenon isn’t unique to Shawano County’s libraries, according to Hauer.

“We’re seeing this at libraries across northeast Wisconsin,” she said. “Almost all of the libraries in northeast Wisconsin are running on a more limited operation schedule than they usually have.”

To compound the issue, there are also very few people applying to fill the vacant positions available, which means a quick hiring turnaround is not happening.

“Our applicant pool is quite small,” Hauer said. “As we’re working through the hiring process, library work tends to be more fast-paced and detailed than folks who have had less exposure to libraries might think. Sometimes the tasks get to be more difficult than what people think it might be.”

For one thing, library workers are dealing with more technology than their predecessors. Gone are the card catalogs, with computer systems handling the checking out and in of books and other materials the library lends to community members.

“All of our library assistants work with a lot of technology,” Hauer said. “It is not just learning the technology that our staff uses to check out materials and inventory of those materials, but we’re helping patrons navigate their technological devices, as well.”

Helping patrons with their devices also involves a lot of IT work, helping them to print from their mobile devices, going through program and processes and more, Hauer said.

“We are helping people set up an email, at a very basic level, teaching a person how to use a mouse to navigate through a basic online job application,” she said. “We deal with a lot of technology, and I think that surprises people sometimes.”

Even when technology isn’t a factor, library employees are dealing with multiple patrons at a given time. Hauer said there could be one person at the desk they’re dealing with at the same time that the phone is ringing and other folks are emailing inquires for help.

“Also, our back-of-house operations is pretty detailed, as well, processing them and preparing them to get ready,” Hauer said. “We’re using volunteers to help get that stuff ready.”

Although the library has a number of volunteers to assist, Hauer noted that, since they are not employees, they are not allowed to have access to patron information, so library assistants are still needed for those tasks. She said, to ensure that operations flow smoothly without long lines, it was necessary to limit the hours of operation to consolidate staff and prevent burnout.

“That patron data is a huge chunk of what we do,” Hauer said.

Now, the branch libraries in Bonduel, Tigerton, Wittenberg, Birnamwood and Mattoon are fully staffed and have returned to full staffing levels and are able to resume their normal schedules, according to Hauer. However, a few more vacancies prompted the main library in Shawano to close shop an additional day, so the library is closed Wednesdays and Thursdays in October.

Hauer is hoping to have the Shawano library back to normal operations by November, noting that four people were recently hired, and there were one or two positions left to fill. Once the new employees are trained, things should be back to normal, she said.

“We have fewer staff to handle training at this time to handle training with so many new people, so that’s a little bit of a challenge,” Hauer said. “We’ll get there.”

Anyone wanting to apply for vacant library positions can go to Shawano County’s website, www.co.shawano.wi.us, and click on the employment button to see what’s available.

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com