Checked Out: Cinderburg Part 14
With the opening at Odom Circle, I would be able to put Pam and Myron’s antics behind me. Beyond that, I knew within a few months of started in the teen department that I missed working with kids. The teen position allowed me much more free time than I’d ever had at work, but I missed being creative and feeling useful. There was a hefty salary bump. And I’d also been let down after my expectations of recreating my experience with the Gatherden teens never manifested. The opportunity was too good to pass up.
In November I was called to Odom Circle for an interview. Three branch managers, including Odom Circle’s manager, interviewed me. It went well, and I expected things to go in my favor if I continued to pursue it. But then I started hearing things about Odom Circle.
While the positives for the job seemed endless (shorter commute, more pay, working with kids again, leaving Pam and Myron behind, a nicer neighborhood), the rumors I heard were enough to have me second guessing myself.
Cyprus’s circulation staff constantly complained about how no one in Odom Circle’s circ department knew how to do their jobs. They would check items in with pieces missing. They would add incomprehensible notes to patron accounts that no one could decode. They would cave and unblock patron accounts after the teeniest of complaints.
But the worst rumors were about the branch manager. It was said that this woman only received her promotion to a manager position because she complained that she was being overlooked due to her race (I am neither confirming nor denying this is the case, this is only what I heard). Once she received her promotion, she spent her shifts sitting in her office with the door closed in order to write lurid, steamy romance novels, the covers of which always featured a female character with a face disturbingly similar to hers. She treated most of her subordinates as either her greatest enemy or her bestest friend. She supposedly once called a staff member into her office to tell them they needed to start wearing make-up. HR got involved after that one.
Her worst crimes, however, were against the teen librarian. This poor girl was trying so hard to build up the teen programming at her branch. She had reached out to local schools. She planned activities with the coaches who travelled from branch to branch. But at every turn, the manager thwarted all her efforts, going so far as to call the coaches after an event had been set, planned, and advertised to say, “We won’t be doing that program here. No one comes to these events, so we’re going to cancel it.” But after canceling, she never told the teen librarian, who continued to promote and plan for the event, only to be left looking like a dunce when the event arrived, as did teens, but no coach to lead the activity.
She hired a second teen librarian at one point and told her the first teen librarian needed help building an audience with the teens and building relationships with groups in the community. So the new hire called school after school, eager to set up bus stops at the library and start partnerships with teachers and clubs. But one after another, the schools called her back, perplexed because they already had a working relationship with the Odom Circle branch. Did something happen to the first librarian?
I’d been hearing stories like this for months. And given my history of toxic library leaders, I was uncertain about knowingly entering an environment like that. I hadn’t heard the manager had a problem with the children’s department, but who knew what would make her switch from treating me like a friend to treating me like a foe.
To my delight, and consternation, I received an invitation to a second interview. I took a day to think and decided I couldn’t knowingly join a toxic work environment. I had enough of that and I knew I had no energy left to try to improve things. I wrote back to thank them for the opportunity, but I didn’t think I was the right fit for their branch.
It was a decision that I fretted over. Had I made the wrong choice? The pay increase was significant. Was I insane?! How long would I need to wait for my next opportunity? Would it be only a few weeks? Or would it be another year or more? Was that my only shot?
I kept busy by immersing myself further in projects.
I needn’t have worried.
In December, just before the holidays, Sylvia pulled me into her office for a very private, very hush-hush meeting.
“It seems very likely, though it’s not official yet, that Pam will be promoted to a branch manager position and leave us at the beginning of the new year. Which means we’ll need a children’s librarian. If it were to become available, would you be interested-”
“Yes.”
I hardly let her finish the sentence.
Her relief was palpable. It’s one thing to go without a teen librarian. It’s completely different to go without a children’s librarian.
She gave me an idea of what type of timeline to expect.
A week later, Pam announced her departure.
I was ecstatic. Pam was leaving and I was getting her job.
Positive emotions swelled: relief, hope, excitement. I felt a deep need to lead the department to even bigger and better things than what she’d done during her tenure. I wanted to prove myself. I had so many ideas and I was excited to be working directly with Caroline and Elaina to get them done.
But this wasn’t to be. Elaina, at six months in her pregnancy, was counting down the days to her maternity leave. Caroline, who had recently announced her own pregnancy, had been offered the Odom Circle job. The entire department was leaving.
I was sad I wouldn’t be working with either of them. I’d imagined the fun we’d have in the department with Pam gone. They were good at their jobs. They knew what needed doing and did it. I didn’t relish the idea of having to build up a department from scratch.
Even so, I thought that perhaps it was for the best. I’d heard it was hard to go from coworker and colleague to supervisor. That change in dynamic was sure to have been difficult. They had reached a point where they knew things were done a certain way with Pam. Unless they were on board, any changes I wanted to make in the wake of Pam’s departure were sure to be met with resistance.
Caroline left before Pam, but Elaina was going to stick around for another two months. She’d at least help me transition into the role and learn everything I needed to before she left for good.
The New Year came and went and Pam left and I stepped into my new role.
And then, everything stalled. Next time, we’ll explore why.
Until then, I remain…
-C. Quill
