Working at a university library: Is it somewhat removed from reality?
My partner tells me how stressful it can be working at a bank and what a competitive world banking is. She works in business banking and looks after small business owners. Some of her clients' businesses are doing well, others not so well and they have to resort to laying off staff.
It made me realize what a cushy, sheltered world it is working at a university library. None of us are ever in danger of being made redundant (although my manager was restructured a few years ago). We don't need to reach targets of any kind. We don't need to make a profit, in fact we are a loss making enterprise considering all the books that are stolen, never returned or damaged. We receive money from fines but I'm told the university receives it, not the library.
The library gets its share of the university's budget which comes from student fees and money from the government. I don't know what the library's budget is but last year our total expenditure was $16,694,000. The budget can go up and down depending on the university's financial position which depends on the number of student enrollments, the economy, etc. There's never a dire shortage of money though. When I was seconded as a liaison librarian I remember being told we were encouraged to spend all our budget on new resources, otherwise we'd get a lesser budget next time if we didn't spend it all.
So in a sense I feel a bit removed from reality working at a uni library. I guess public libraries are the same. It's neither a good thing nor a bad thing.
It made me realize what a cushy, sheltered world it is working at a university library. None of us are ever in danger of being made redundant (although my manager was restructured a few years ago). We don't need to reach targets of any kind. We don't need to make a profit, in fact we are a loss making enterprise considering all the books that are stolen, never returned or damaged. We receive money from fines but I'm told the university receives it, not the library.
The library gets its share of the university's budget which comes from student fees and money from the government. I don't know what the library's budget is but last year our total expenditure was $16,694,000. The budget can go up and down depending on the university's financial position which depends on the number of student enrollments, the economy, etc. There's never a dire shortage of money though. When I was seconded as a liaison librarian I remember being told we were encouraged to spend all our budget on new resources, otherwise we'd get a lesser budget next time if we didn't spend it all.
So in a sense I feel a bit removed from reality working at a uni library. I guess public libraries are the same. It's neither a good thing nor a bad thing.
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