This felt like a good start. We need to discuss the social institution of the Public Library much more than we do and with this kind of systemic awareness. Having worked in a public library (around 8 months myself), I know firsthand how challenging it can be to offer public services to folks without the support or training to do so.

However, at times this book felt like it was using the patrons (telling sensational stories) to say "look how bad this is" rather than framing these stories as evidence of systemic injustice. Sort of "look how hard it is to serve this population because of their actions" rather than "look how hard it is to serve this population because there is no governmental support for the work libraries actually do."

I'm not sure. I think we need more of this, and I think there are real hints at nuance here. It just didn't come together for me.