Hi LIB -
I can sympathize with your position. I am a reference librarian at a community college and we also have a hiring freeze. We had a really hard time when our circulation supervisor took early retirement; it was 2 years before we were able to get a replacement for her position. We all had to take on extra duties due to the cuts. Our open hours have also been reduced. I am part-time by choice (though I sure would love those benefits.)
Despite the hiring freeze, some people (including me) have had their hours increased. Being part-time can sometimes be a good thing during hard times - it is so much cheaper to give a current employee a few more hours than to hire someone new! At my college, the library director basically has to go begging to the dean and the college president for staff increases - it is slow, but increases do happen (and when you get an increase in hours, it is usually permanent.)
You should be able to apply for and receive unemployment for the summer months. (At least, in California you can.) Many of our adjunct faculty do this not only for the summer break but for the winter break as well (we are closed one month December-January.)
The full-time librarians here earn 70-100K for a 10 month position. (This is in San Francisco - it's very expensive to live around here.) We would never consider a librarian without an MLS. There are virtually no openings in the libraries around here. When there is an opening, there are often more than 100 applicants. It's a tough market right now. It has really changed - when I got my MLS (almost 30 years ago
) everyone thought it was an odd career choice. I think the increased interest in libraries and librarianship can only be a good thing, but it sure makes it hard when looking for a job.
I wish I had some advice to give you about work, but I can only offer my best wishes and blessings for you.