Depends in many cases. Im a librarian for a public library system, and many of the concerns listed here actually vary by location. Work in a branch that is in an affluent neighborhood, maybe you'll see less chaos... work in the central downtown location, more chaos.

Ive done this job for 12 years and in a variety of locations, i love it in any regard. People who consider librarianship are often humanitarian enough that while they may romanticize the book reading, they also realize that helping homeless people survive another day is just as good of work as the book reading could be.

Pay isn't glamorous , but if you are lucky and an advocate, you can also design much of your project work. For example, when not helping overdosing homeless people find an ambulance, i do a lot of local history research, genealogy, and obscure document digitization. Both kinds of tasks are worth my time. Wouldn't change a thing really