Enough already: compassion fatigue

Abstract

The factory closed almost two years ago. Life moved along as usual for a while, but then the unemployment started to run out. Businesses started closing or letting workers go. People came into the library asking about domestic abuse, how to get food stamps or social security, and how to find out about jobs out of town. A few moved away, but most, with family ties to the area, stayed on, even as the situation got worse and opportunities diminished. With the reduced budget the Council approved for the library, Melissa figured she would be able to keep the light on but not much else. There was no way she was going to get the new computer that was so desperately needed. She appreciated that the townspeople felt strongly that defunding the library would mean the town was taking one step closer to the end but despite their best wishes, Melissa knew that the reduced funding meant she would have to lay off one of her staff. She might even have to reduce her own hours. As the director and only degreed librarian, Melissa felt she had no one to go to for support, no one who would understand patron service and the role of the library in the community the way she did. As much as she enjoyed her job and cared for her patrons, Melissa knew that caring wasn’t going to put more money in the budget. And it wasn’t going to help her patrons – whose problems had begun to eclipse her ability to help them with the resources available to her.