Overdue: Reckoning with the Public Library

By Amanda Oliver

"One part love letter, one part eulogy, Overdue tells the story of America's public library system . . . Amanda Oliver proves herself a vibrant new literary voice . . . This is a book for all book lovers." —Reza Aslan, author of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

When Amanda Oliver began work as a school librarian, fueled by a lifelong love of books and a desire to help, she felt qualified for the job. What she learned was that librarians are expected to serve as mediators and mental-health-crisis support professionals, customer service reps and administrators of overdose treatment, fierce loyalists to institutionalized mythology and enforced silence, and arms of state surveillance.

Based on firsthand experiences from six years of professional work as a librarian in high-poverty neighborhoods of Washington, DC, as well as interviews and research, Overdue begins with Oliver's first day at Northwest One, the DC Public Library branch where she would ultimately end her library career.

Through her experience at this branch, Oliver highlights the national problems that have existed in libraries since they were founded, troublingly at odds with the common romanticization of the library as a shining beacon of equality: racism, segregation, and economic oppression. These fundamental American problems manifest today as police violence, the opioid epidemic, widespread inaccessibility of affordable housing, and a lack of mental health care nationwide—all of which come to a head in public library spaces.

Can public librarians continue to play the many roles they are tasked with? Can American society sustain one of its most noble institutions?

Libraries will not save us, but Oliver helps us imagine what might be possible if we stop expecting them to.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press
• Release date: Mar 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781641605328

Reviews for Overdue

[villemezbrown · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Interesting material about public libraries is presented in a manner that left me disappointed and frustrated.My first impression of the book is that a bright-eyed white woman who grew up and went to college around Buffalo, New York, was shocked to find that the library where she worked in Washington, D.C., was frequented by people who had mental health issues and spent their nights in shelters or on the street. It wore her down so much, so fast, that she jumped at the chance to cross the country and pursue an MFA after just a few months. Now she lives in the Mojave desert and writes about that experience. That she feels obliged to explain at one point why she is not a "white savior" probably tells you most everything you need to know about the book.The history of public libraries is interesting if scant. Same for her anecdotes about her experiences as a librarian. Previous to her short stint in the public library, she had a few years working in a school library in D.C. And while she claims her library career spans a decade, she's generously rounding up and even including the time spent pursuing her MLS.Her points about the issues facing public libraries are valid, but she never really finds the necessary balance between high view analysis and on-the-ground experience. And solutions are something she rarely pursues, satisfied with pointing out the problems of houselessness, mental health care, and systemic racism.Even though I agree with much that she has to say, I just found myself bored by her prose and presentation. At least it was short.

[deldevries · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is an important book for understanding the role of libraries in communities. Of course, our society is not perfect and librarians are in the front line. Mental illness, house-lessness, and social issues play out in our very public libraries. Excellent writing from the perspective of a memoir and reflecting on personal experiences, backed up with research and references.The author's words in the last paragraph summarize nicely: "Every question I have asked and every idea I have posited in these pages has been included with a hope that it might send others down their own paths of research and reckoning, of change. Part of our collective truth - one that has been recorded, housed and protected for centuries in libraries and by librarians - is that we are all connected to each other."

[bookappeal · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A somewhat depressing look at underserved populations and the institutions, like schools and libraries, who try to help but aren't trained or funded to do so.

[brianinbuffalo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One yardstick I use for evaluating a book boils down to one question: Did it make me think about an issue I hadn’t previously given much thought to – or think differently about the issue? Using this benchmark, Oliver’s work merits four stars. The book sheds a revealing light on how library systems are being forced to grapple with a disproportionate share of society’s looming challenges. The book also red flags the inequalities that exist among library systems. I do agree with some reviewers who suggest that the book meandered a bit too much and contained an unwarranted amount of autobiographical material. But the fact that some of these life stories were based in my hometown of Buffalo, NY actually added to my overall enjoyment of “Overdue.”