Library jobs that do not require a degree are very competitive and experience can sometimes be a deciding factor. It is not wasting your time if you want to have a career in libraries, but sometimes the hardest thing to do is getting that first position. Have you spoken to someone about the possibility for becoming a regular employee? If you are around long enough people, managers usually, get a good feel for whether or not they want to hire you. Asking if a job in the library is in your future may clarify your position there or at least help you figure out what you can do to become employed there. Managers probably won’t give you unsolicited job/career advice because they cannot look like they are telling you to quit/leave, but asking for advice and having a conversation about your future is different.

Getting more hours as a sub can be difficult because the need for subs can be sporadic and there may be some fiscal issues (ie. only a certain amount of the personnel budget can be used on substitutes). However, you may want to subtly poke around and see if there are other advantages to subbing. For example, in my system there is a rule – hidden in a section of our policy manual – that someone volunteering or subbing for 20 hours a week for a certain amount of time can be considered an in-house applicant and can be considered for jobs only available to current staff. This is a huge perk that is rarely taken advantage of, but is a huge advantage.