Contingent Librarianship and Precarity: Two Lived Perspectives

Abstract

Academic Library Workers in Conversation is a C&RL News series focused on elevating
the everyday conversations of library professionals. The wisdom of the watercooler
has long been heralded, but this series hopes to go further by minimizing barriers to traditional
publishing with an accessible format. Each of the topics in the series were proposed
by the authors, and they were given space to explore. This issue’s conversation is the first
of two that will explore contingent labor and precarity in academic libraries and how it
impacts people, services, and communities. We begin with the personal experiences of
two incredible library workers, and next month will discuss management approaches to
precarity. - Dustin Fife, series editor