Testimonies From the Frontline: Postcrisis Academic Library Staff Balance the Narrative

Many academic libraries opened their doors in fall 2020 to support students after operations had been suspended due to COVID-19 the previous spring. Frontline employees returned in person while remote work remained standard for others. Staff encountered deficits, on-site isolation, the responsibility of enforcing new protocols, short-tempered patrons, and unprecedented workplace stress.

At the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), staff who served on-site throughout the pandemic still feel the effects of this crucible, even as the library assesses and implements hybrid models to meet the needs of students. Concurrent is a need for leadership to do the same for its vulnerable frontline staff, whose physical and mental well-being suffered over the last 3 years.

In the waning months of university-mandated COVID-19 protocols (spring 2023), the UIC Library conducted its biennial survey to assess library impact on its students. Results revealed frustration with hours, services, and health and safety. Administration immediately discussed what could be done to improve impressions of library culture, but that student survey tells only one side of the story.

This chapter presents the results of facilitated discussions with frontline staff, often people from underrepresented groups, who speak to the other side of navigating the pandemic. It also interrogates how leadership can do more to provide essential employees with support during and postcrisis to protect them from burnout, aggressive and unreasonable patrons, and the stress of doing more with less. Staff voices balance existing student narratives and call for a healthier environment to better serve everyone within the library.