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Volume 3, No. 4 • April 2006
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I want to be in the Spotlight!
The ALA-APA Presidential Candidates Speak
Elections will be held in the spring! The candidates for ALA President are Loriene Roy, Professor at the University of Texas at Austin and William Crowe, Director of the University of Kansas’ (KU) Kenneth Spencer Research Library. As the victor will also serve as ALA-APA President, the candidates were asked, “How would you would represent ALA-APA as President in 2007-2008?” Here are their responses.
Bill Crowe
Presidential Blog: http://billcrowe.blogspot.com
ALA-APA fills a need long-felt by many of us: a body that can serve as an effective advocate for a wide range of issues, many of them economic, that affect people who work in libraries. MORE |
Loriene Roy
Presidential Web Site: http://lorieneroy.com
If ALA focuses on addressing the needs of libraries, ALA-APA was established to focus on providing support for library employees. Established only in 2001, ALA-APA is still finding its stride and developing its services. I believe that ALA-APA has the potential to improve the daily working lives of library employees. We need to nurture and support the organization to achieve this potential. MORE |
Winners of the SirsiDynix ALA-APA Award Spread the Word about Salaries
By Gwyneth Mibeck
In April and May we will feature the winners of the 2006 SirsiDynix–ALA-APA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Promoting Salaries and Status for Library Workers. This month we interviewed James Fish, Director of Baltimore County Public Libraries.
James Fish had a plan: to increase the status and salaries of library workers within Baltimore County Public Libraries. His strategy can serve as a model for libraries in desperate need of salary increases. MORE
Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library Contemplates Union
By Brendan O’Shaunessy, Indianapolis Star, April 3, 2006
A majority of Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library employees, disgruntled over changes in their workplace and concerned about the institution’s future, want to form a union. MORE
Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library Director Refuses 4% Raise
By Brendan O’Shaunessy, Indianapolis Star, March 29, 2006
The director of the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library announced Tuesday she has decided not to accept a 4 percent pay raise that would have brought her salary to nearly $122,000 a year. MORE
Are Librarians Cool?
Rachel Kidsman [sp], a 22-year old library school student, wrote that she wants to become a young adult librarian and wonders how to convince youth that librarians aren’t "shushy she-demons.” MORE
I want to write about Career Advancement!
I Was a Fashion Librarian
By Ida Tomshinsky
What does it take to be a "fashion librarian?" As I was doing my research to find a good and clear definition for the position, I sought the points of view of an information broker, online catalogs, fashion arbiters, John Bartlett, and even a fashion magazine. In the end, I was left with a choice to describe it in my own words how I worked and lived my life of being a fashion librarian. MORE
Professional or Workaholic: Do You Work Too Much?
By Larry Nash White
My father recently passed away at age 61 and I was cleaning out his office when I began to notice some things.
My father worked 12–16 hours a day, 6–7 days a week, with few vacations. He was driven to succeed, and he felt he was deserving of the success he acquired. I asked him a few years ago if he had any regrets and his only answer was that he wished he had spent more years as a dad, husband, or friend than a professional. He had missed too many of life’s personal episodes in his pursuit of professional success. MORE
I want to write about Certification!
First Class of Certification Applicants Approved!
The Certified Public Library Administrator Program now has sixteen candidates for certification. They were approved by the CPLA Certification Review Committee on National Library Workers Day, April 4. MORE
Professional Certification of Chefs: A Possible Model for Library Workers?
By Christine Martin
The heat was on.
Chef Michael Harris plunged two live Maine lobsters into a pot of boiling water. He had already prepared chicken Marsala with Russet potatoes, julienned vegetables and a Belgian endive salad. Now all that remained was to prepare the lobster and meet the test’s final "15 minute service window." He was trying to pass a test that would make him a "certified executive chef" under the rules of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) based in St. Augustine, Florida. MORE
I want to write about Salaries & Pay Equity!
Records Management As a Career for Librarians
This field can be added to the list of Things You Can Do with a Library Science Degree. Laurie Gingrich, MA, CRM and Robin Bourne-Caris are two librarians who became records management consultants in Chicago, Illinois. They describe their profession, its linkages to and distinctions from librarianship, support staff involvement in records management and the impact of professional development opportunities, including certification. MORE
I want to write about Salaries & Pay Equity!
Equal Pay Day is Tuesday, April 25!
Equal Pay Day is observed in April to indicate how far into each year a woman must work to earn as much as a man earned in the previous year. Tuesday symbolizes the day when women’s wages catch up to men’s wages from the previous week. MORE
Form a WAGE Club for Equal Pay Day
[Editor’s Note: This letter is from Evelyn Murphy, author of Getting Even: Why Women Don’t Get Paid Like Men and What To Do About It, founder of the WAGE (Women Are Getting Even) Project, and guest speaker at an ALA-APA program at the American Library Association Annual Conference in June 2006.]
Dear WAGE Project Supporters,
I am writing to let you know about an exciting opportunity to take action on the critical issue of the wage gap in conjunction with Equal Pay Day, April 25, 2006. The National Committee on Pay Equity is partnering with the WAGE Project to launch a national grassroots collaborative effort to launch WAGE clubs on April 25, Equal Pay Day. MORE
I want to write about Statistics!
Keep Out the Hair Dye.American Library Association Member Demographic Survey Update
By Denise M. Davis
As of March 22, 2006 we have had 6,581 eligible responses to the survey, about 10% of ALA membership. This is how the figures parse out: MORE
I want to write about Work/Life!
National Library Workers Day STARS!
For National Library Workers Day, Tuesday, April 4, ALA-APA asked you to ask your patrons, colleagues, administrators, and others to submit names of staff who are doing exemplary work in libraries. In celebration of the theme "Libraries Work Because We Do," more than 200 library employees were praised for their skill, positive attitudes, customer service and for generally making the profession look good! MORE
How Libraries Celebrated National Library Workers Day
Tuesday, April 4, was a fun day for library employees! Library staff were eager to share their celebrations with LW readers. You may find some inspiration below. Patrons, Friends groups and local media were involved in simple to elaborate celebrations to fit any budget and staff size. Many treats were distributed as thank yous, but there were also educational programs, behind-the-scenes exhibits, and heartfelt expressions of gratitude. A selection of these ideas will be posted on the NLWD Web site for the 2007 Celebrations. MORE
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