The Library Worker

Audrey and alissa
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Society & Culture

The Library Worker is a project by and for library workers. We explore the current issues happening in public libraries in Canada from a worker perspective.

Episodes

  1. Oct 19

    Libraries and Unions, Part 1: Worker Solidarity

    This is the first of a series on Libraries and Unions. The 'worker' part of our project is closely connected to labour rights. Any conversation about the conditions of our workplaces has to begin with centering the worker within the labour movement. Fighting for protections means pushing back against the forces that see us as units of production, which is way of dehumanizing our workforce. This is a hard fight, but we have to start somewhere and solidarity is a good place to do so. Labour rights is an incredibly urgent topic affecting unionized workers everywhere. The introduction of Bill C-39 is an attack on our right to strike, at a time when workers are struggling survive. Solidarity forever!  We have a website, The Library Worker where we publish short articles that compliment the episodes. You can also sign up for our newsletter which is an occasional newsletter and alerts when we publish something new on the podcast or the website.  Get in touch with us! We'd love to know who is listening. You can email us at thelibraryworkers@gmail.com or find us over at Instagram.  This podcast was produced by Audrey with music by Charbzarella, Watson, and Ian Loves Pickles.

  2. Oct 18

    WTF is WCB: Demystifying the Workers Compensation Board, Part 2

    This is the second of two episodes on the Workers Compensation Board. While Occupational Health and Safety is often more familiar to library workers, WCB sometimes isn't. We do our best to explain how we understand WCB and our own thoughts on the barriers that exist in accessing it.  We want to help people understand the tools at their disposal to improve their working conditions, but we are not offering legal advice. If anything piques your interest in this or any of our podcasts, we highly encourage you to check out your provincial or territorial WCB bodies, check in with your union, and never take anyone's word for it (ie ours).  Some good resources that you can check out include CUPE's Psychological Health and Safety Toolkit that includes guides on psychological health and safety, fact sheets on critical incidents and stress, and plenty of other useful documents.  If you care interested in the WCB bodies across Canada, you can find a list put together by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety/Centre canadien d'hygene et de securite au travail (published 2021).  We have a website, The Library Worker where we publish short articles that compliment the episodes. You can also sign up for our newsletter which is just a quick alert when we publish something new on the podcast or the website.  Get in touch with us! We'd love to know who is listening. You can email us at thelibraryworkers@gmail.com or find us over on Instagram.  This podcast was produced by alissa with music by Charbzarella, Watson and Ian Loves Pickles.

    WTF is WCB: Demystifying the Workers Compensation Board, Part 2

  3. Sep 7

    WTF is WCB: attempting to demystify the Workers Compensation Board, Part 1

    This is the first of two episodes on the Workers Compensation Board. While Occupational Health and Safety is often more familiar to library workers, WCB sometimes isn't. We do our best to explain how we understand WCB and our own thoughts on the barriers that exist in accessing it.  We want to help people understand the tools at their disposal to improve their working conditions, but we are not offering legal advice. If anything piques your interest in this or any of our podcasts, we highly encourage you to check out your provincial or territorial WCB bodies, check in with your union, and never take anyone's word for it (ie ours).  Some good resources that you can check out include CUPE's Psychological Health and Safety Toolkit that includes guides on psychological health and safety, fact sheets on critical incidents and stress, and plenty of other useful documents.  If you care interested in the WCB bodies across Canada, you can find a list put together by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety/Centre canadien d'hygene et de securite au travail (published 2021).  Also, don't forget to check out our website, The Library Worker. You can sign up for our newsletter which is really just a quick alert when we publish something new on the podcast or the website.  Get in touch with us! We'd love to know who is listening to use. You can email us at thelibraryworkers@gmail.com  This podcast was produced by alissa with music by Charbzarella, Watson and Ian Loves Pickles.

  4. Jul 27

    Occupational Health Safety, Part 3: Basic worker rights and worker participation in OH&S

    The third and final episode in our series on Occupational Health and Safety, in this episode we discuss the four basic worker rights, how to participate in OH&S at work, and how OH&S and the union can work together. We end the episode with a couple of examples of how OH&S can play out in the workplace.  This podcast is not legal advice. Although workplace safety in Canada is federally regulated, territories and provinces are responsible for providing the structures and guidances which means workplace safety can look very different from region to region. We are only discussing our experiences in library work.  The best answers come from experts, so be in touch with your union or your local government agencies if you have questions.  We have companion articles available on our website. We have a short introduction to OH&S and Libraries, and Libraries and Joint Health and Safety Committees.  If you enjoyed the episode, let us know! We can be reached at thelibraryworkers@gmail.com or you can reach out through our website.  Music by Charbzarella, Watson and Ian Loves Pickles.

  5. Jul 13

    Occupational Health and Safety, Part 2: Violence prevention programs--training, incident reporting, and workplace inspections

    We continue our conversation about Occupational Health and Safety. This episode, we discuss Violence Prevention Programs including training, incident reporting, and workplace inspections.  This podcast is not legal advice and we are only discussing our experiences in library work. Although workplace safety in Canada is federally regulated, territories and provinces are responsible for providing the structures and guidances which means workplace safety can look very different from region to region.  The best answers come from experts, so be in touch with your union or your local government agencies if you have questions.  We have companion articles available on our website. We have a short introduction to OH&S and Libraries, and Libraries and Joint Health and Safety Committees.  If you enjoyed the episode, let us know! We can be reached at thelibraryworkers@gmail.com or you can reach out through our website or on Instagram.  This podcast was produced by alissa with music by Charbzarella, Watson and Ian Loves Pickles.

  6. Jun 29

    Occupational Health and Safety, Part 1: What is it?

    In the first of our series on Occupational Health and Safety, we talk about what OH&S is, how it differs in different provinces and territories (spoiler alert: your territorial or provincial government effects how strong your OHS regulations are!)  **This is not legal advice, this is just the two of us discussing our own experiences and hoping to encourage folks to seek out more information on the tools and resources available to us to improve our working conditions.***** Although workplace safety in Canada is federally regulated, territories and provinces are responsible for providing the structures and guidances which means workplace safety can look very different from region to region. The best answers come from experts, so be in touch with your union or your local government agencies if you have questions.  We’ve been publishing companion articles that go a bit more in depth with the OHS processes and our experiences on our website. Check them out here and sign up for notifications for new posts and episodes.  Let us know what you think! Drop us a line at thelibraryworkers@gmail.com  Citations for this episode:  Canadian Labour Congress on the Hogg’s Hollow Disaster  United Nurses of Alberta document outlining OH&S history  The Safety Mag has a few articles on the history of workplace safety in Canada.  Researching the history of workplace safety in Canada reminded me that research without access to articles (ie through a university library) can be difficult, and it also highlighted how little attention our public education system pays to Canadian labour history.  Music by Charbzarella, Watson and Ian Loves Pickles.

  7. Jun 15

    Public Library Work, Part 3: Barriers, safety , and the weaponization of security

    In the final instalment of this short series, Audrey and I discuss how barriers have been identified and removed from public libraries, what barriers continue to exist, how security does and does not create safer spaces, and how the idea of what security means is used against marginalized patrons.

  8. May 18

    Public Library Work, Part 2: Automation, staffing levels, and the changing nature of library work.

    We discuss how library work has changed over the years, how “innovation” via automation is impacting library work, and how these changes have affected workplace safety.

    Public Library Work, Part 2: Automation, staffing levels, and the changing nature of library work.

  9. Apr 20

    Public Library Work, Part 1: Changing Library Expectations

    This is the first part of a longer conversation on the ways that public library work has changed in the last 15-20 years. This episode delves into the changing public expectations of public libraries and how that impacts our work. We get distracted by AI for a second, and the ways that AI enthusiasts think of humans, and how AI is catching us all up.

  10. Mar 1

    The Library Worker, a podcast for and by library workers.

    Audrey and alissa make their first recording. We introduce ourselves, our experience in public libraries, and explain what we hope to do with The Library Worker project.  Please visit our website at The Library Worker.  Like what you hear? Get in touch! thelibraryworkers@gmail.com Thanks for listening!

    The Library Worker, a podcast for and by library workers.
  • 10 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

The Library Worker is a project by and for library workers. We explore the current issues happening in public libraries in Canada from a worker perspective.

Information

  • Creator
    Audrey and alissa
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Library Worker