Really enjoyed the workplace - Library Assistant Chesterfield County Public Library Employee Review

In general, my coworkers are great people to work with. You also always have Sundays off, state holidays, and usually at least 1-3 Saturdays a month.

Especially during COVID, it has become clear how little the part-time staff is valued and protected by the county and library higher-ups.

Some of the staff were warm, welcoming, collaborative and open-minded, excited to be working towards a common cause of providing excellent services to the public. Especially true for public-facing staffers, but many in administrative roles too.

Unfortunately, the director and many who reported to him were short-sighted and unwilling to do the work of uniting the administrative side with the public side of staffing. This led to divisions, confusion, and mistrust. There was a lack of trust from the administration with teams and a constant double-speak. I felt unsupported and sabotaged. In addition, the director bullied people including myself and could be found making fun of his own staff. His abuse and power-playing was directed at women who dared to challenge his thinking. He played favorites. It was an unacceptable work environment and sad that those whose hearts were and are in the right place have or had to suffer in that climate. The library is wonderful, but the leadership has driven out many if not most of the open-minded leaders who wanted to build better and timely services for Chesterfield with the full support of the director. I wish I could have stayed there.