CSEA ASKS: "WHY ARE YOU PROUD TO BE IN PUBLIC SERVICE?"

Rochester, N.Y.--  CSEA is asking our members to go the homepage and tell your story.  Click on this link and submit your response.  Or, you can email the CSEA Voice Reporter and we will tell your story.

Below you will find a testimony by Rochester Public Library employee Ove Overmyer, who works at the downtown Central Library.  Overmyer is also VP of CSEA Monroe County Local 828 and president of City of Rochester Library Workers Unit 7420.

"I found my true character when I lost myself in the service of others. Years ago, library patrons mostly had intellectual, academic and recreational pursuits. These are not the only scenarios we see today-- the needs of the community are constantly evolving.

Library workers now have the extra burden of becoming social service advocates as well. The demand for our services has doubled in recent years and funding has basically remained flat. Some of our urban library patrons are in turmoil and we are trying to predict their needs-- our challenge for the last several years has been "do more with less" and yet we remain resilient.  In spite our formidable financial constraints, it would be a crime not to continue to provide the high level of library services and partnerships that this community has come to know and respect. 

Our patrons need access to a computer and computer skills to get a job; pregnant teenage girls want information about reproductive health; immigrants want to learn English as a second language; taxpayers want resources for accurate returns come April 15; homeless families want to know where the food pantries are and where they can find a safe shelter for the night; and some just want a friendly person to confide in and a good book to read.


New York State library advocates visit
Albany at Library Lobby Day on March 1.
photo:  Bess Watts

 The patrons who come to our public libraries today are searching for answers to life’s most difficult questions. They are looking for dignity and a sense of purpose in times of personal crisis and uncertainty. Library workers and libraries are on the front lines--we are not ivory towers. We are pawns and soldiers in a political game of chess and class warfare that is being played out in our state legislatures and local governments across our great nation.

Despite these circumstances, every day I go to work and know that I can and I will make a difference in someone’s life-- no matter how small or insignificant it might seem at the moment. If it’s not introducing a young adult to a new graphic novelist, it would be helping a senior citizen learn how to type--  this is my reward.  This makes me proud to be a public employee.

What makes a good library a great library is its people.  If not for libraries and for the workers who provide these services, the poor, the marginalized and even those who are insulated from any financial harm will be immeasurably impacted in some way if libraries suddenly cut services or raise fees. Libraries are the cornerstones of every community and they just plain matter.  I am very proud to call myself a public employee who works everyday to make a difference in the lives of the residents of Monroe County and the City of Rochester."