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Volume 3, No. 6 • June 2006
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I want to be in the Spotlight!
Good News: Fairview Heights (IL) Director Settles Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Against City Council
By Deborah Owen
On January 3, 2006, the City Council of Fairview Heights voted to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit that I had filed in December 2003. It was a long journey that actually began when I was first hired. I started with the city in 1979 as a Grade 6 (non-management). In 1986, the City Treasurer raised concern that there may be a potential problem in the way the city “treated” its female employees. Specifically, there were no females in any management classifications. MORE
ALA-APA Has a New Name!
The American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) Board of Directors, at its spring meeting, decided on a new informal name for the organization. The legal/official name of the organization remains the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association, but the informal name, which will be used prominently in all media, is now ALA-APA: the Organization for the Advancement of Library Employees. MORE
ALA-APA Programs at the American Library Association Annual Conference in New Orleans in June 2006
Affordable Health Care, Salary Negotiations, Advocacy Training, Certifications, Managing in Libraries with Unions, and our special guest, Evelyn Murphy, author of Getting Even: Why Women Don’t Get Paid Like Men and What To Do About It are just a few of the programs ALA-APA will bring to New Orleans. MORE
National Library Workers Day Stars Honored at ALA Annual Conference
The 223 National Library Workers Day Stars will be listed on a large poster in the Morial Convention Center, to be displayed for the duration of the Conference. There may be a few who you know! www.ala-apa.org/about/nlwdstars.html. MORE
Poverty Links For Librarians (www.hhptf.org)
The American Library Association Social Responsibilities Round Table (SSRT) has updated its Website on poor and homeless issues. The site was developed by John Gehner, a recent LIS graduate and chair of SRRT’s Task Force on Hunger, Homelessness and Poverty. This is a great resource for libraries, especially as they address policy-making challenges. MORE
Call For Papers—Information For Social Change
The summer 2007 issue of the online journal Information for Social Change (ISC, ISSN 1364-694X) will focus on the urgent theme of library and information workers as political actors in times of war, civil war, military occupation, and social conflicts worldwide. MORE
I want to write about Career Advancement!
What’s Your Job?
By Julius Rhodes
Often I will ask a person, “What’s your job?” In response they will begin to tell me the specific title of the position they hold. In the past this has been everything from floor sweeper to CEO. In addition to providing me with their title, they also share with me the specifics of their role such as, “I am responsible for making sure that all debris is removed from the floors on a regular basis.” Or they might reply that they are in charge of ensuring the needs of the organization are met. While these responses are accurate, as far as they go, they don’t go far enough. MORE
I want to write about Certification!
Certification Program at the American Library Association Annual Conference
Certification Overview: What’s In It For Me? Christine Lind Hage, Eva Poole, Jenifer Grady;
Saturday, June 24, 2006, 4–5:30 p.m. MORE
I want to write about HR Law!
Blow to Whistleblowers? U.S. Supreme Court Rules That Workplace Reports Not Protected Free Speech
By Christine Martin
Public employees who report what they believe is workplace misconduct to their supervisors cannot necessarily invoke their constitutional right to free speech if their employer retaliates, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled late last month. The decision stemmed from a 2000 incident in which Richard Ceballos, a deputy district attorney working in the office of Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti, claimed that he was transferred and demoted after he reported what he believed were misrepresentations used to obtain a search warrant. Critics said the 5–4 decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos will have a chilling effect on whistleblowers and others who attempt to expose government wrongdoing. MORE
I want to write about HR Practice!
Unions in Libraries: A Running List
By Kathleen de la Peña McCook
McCook hosts and posts the Union Librarian Blog, and she has a vast network that keeps her up-to-date on union activities in libraries across the country. Her blog is more than three years old and is a resource for all-things union, including those not library-specific. MORE
I want to write about Salaries & Pay Equity!
Salaries of Librarians and Other Professionals Working in Libraries
The Colorado State Library, Library Research Service has compiled data comparing library professionals' salaries with other professionals in libraries, like auditors, computer scientists, compensation managers, public relations managers, etc. This data is a state-specific version of what will soon be available from ALA-APA’s nation-wide Non-MLS Salary Survey. It is noteworthy that of the eleven other professions, all but two bring in higher salaries than librarians. MORE
“The Devaluing of Higher Education”—AAUP to Release Annual Report on Faculty Salaries
Washington, D.C.—For the second consecutive year, the increase in overall average salaries for college and university professors failed to keep up with the rate of inflation. That is one of the central findings of “The Devaluing of Higher Education: The Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, 2005–06,” which was released by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) on Monday, April 24. MORE
I want to write about Statistics!
Library Staff Covered by Collective Bargaining Agreements: A Report from the 2005 Survey of Librarian Salaries
This month, we report on the percentages of librarians, other professionals and support staff who are covered by collective bargaining agreements... The 2005 Survey of Librarian Salaries read, “Which of your library’s employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement?” We did not define “other professionals.” This question was asked to update data collected in the supplement to the1997 Librarian Salary Survey. The 1997 study found some or all support and professional staff were covered by a collective bargaining agreement in 34.3% of the 891 libraries that responded. In the 2005 survey, 2040 public and academic libraries responded and at least one category of staff was covered in 35.8% (732) of libraries. MORE
I want to write about Support Staff!
Second Annual Conference within a Conference for Library Support Staff at ALA Annual
Also called the Empowerment Conference, the Conference Within a Conference will be held Saturday and Sunday, June 24 and 25, 2006 in New Orleans, LA, during the 2006 American Library Association Annual Conference. The theme is “Taking Charge in a Sea of Change.” MORE
Read Jennifer Kutzik’s reflections from the first Conference in Chicago, IL, in 2005:
Unos in Chicago: 2005 ALA Annual Conference Filled with Firsts
By Jennifer Kutzik
[This article was originally published in Library Mosaics, volume 16, no. 5, September/October 2005. Reprinted with permission from the publisher.]
A trip to Chicago in June can be full of untold surprises or as predictable as lightning bugs on a sultry summer night. For many attendees of the ALA Annual Conference of 2005, the Windy City proved to be filled with firsts. MORE
University of California Library Technicians Receive 8.6% Raise
A University of California press release dated February 16, 2006, states that clerical workers, which includes library assistants and technicians, “will receive wage increases of approximately 12% over the next three years, contingent upon state funding.UC’s library assistants and other clerical employees will receive additional market equity increases for the first two years of the agreement to help address salary lags.” MORE
I want to write about Work/Life!
Job Burnout As a Library Management Issue
By Casey Schacher
Professional burnout has long been a problem for organizations, yet it wasn’t until recent decades that the condition, often associated with extreme incidents, referred to as “going postal,” has been given serious recognition. Nevertheless, more and more people are beginning to realize the impact of chronic workplace stress on both employees and their workplaces. Just as workers experience severe mental, emotional, and physical consequences of job burnout, management has witnessed its effects on organizational morale, productivity, prosperity and stability. Libraries are no exception to this. In fact, the nature of librarianship as a helping profession caught up in rapid change and fiscal instability may promote chronic career anxiety. MORE
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