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I want to be in the Spotlight!
The Elusiveness of Loyalty
By Honora Eskridge
I have loyalty issues. I admit it. I am one of those crazy old-timers who actually thinks about being loyal to my employer. Perhaps I feel this way because I was brought up to have no sense of entitlement, being taught that if you want something in life, most of the time you have to work for it, and if someone gives you something, you should be grateful. At the same time, in my family, we all took care of each other. MORE
If You’re Wondering Whether Library Staff are Important, See the (NLWD) Stars
National Library Workers Day (April 15) is fast approaching! It’s not too late to nominate your favorite library employee as a NLWD Star—www.ala-apa.org/about/nlwdstarsform.html. By submitting Stars, dozens of library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups have already shown the world how library workers are crucial to their respective communities. MORE
ALA-APA Names Thirty Leaders as Its Angels
CHICAGO— Thirty library leaders will be honored as ALA-APA Angels at the American Library Association Annual Conference in June. The ALA-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) is celebrating five years of service, and honoring some of the many people and organizations that have helped it grow and flourish in its missions of providing certification and supporting better salaries. MORE
Libraries Might Lose A Day A Week
By Jason Schultz, Palm Beach Post (Florida): April 4, 2008.
A plan by county officials to reduce staffing costs has led to a staffing shortage in the Martin County (FL) Library System. MORE
Library is looking for increase to avoid criticism
John Weeks, Telegram & Gazette (Massachusetts): April 4, 2008.
The Bigelow Free Public Library (MA) hopes to provide small salary increases for its staff while staving off potential censure by the Massachusetts State Library. MORE
Pay Day Like It’s 1997
County library facing shorter hours, program cutbacks
By Roseann Keegan, Reno Gazette-Journal (Nevada): March 21, 2008.
Support your local library
By Barbara Wilson, letter to the editor, Record-Courier (Douglas Co., Nevada): March 28, 2008.
In the face of a projected $380,000 county deficit, some Douglas County officials propose to reduce staff hours, delay merit increases and shorten hours at several branches of the Douglas County Library System. Library Director Linda Deacy said she is asking full-time employees to voluntarily reduce their hours to avoid lay-offs. “This essentially takes us back to a 1997 staffing level,” she said. MORE
I want to write about Career Advancement!
What Having the Wrong Job Taught Me
By Emily Rogers
Let’s face it: even if your job is perfect for you right now, that won’t always be the case. At some point you will—and should—outgrow your current responsibilities. Within your own library you might not see a good opportunity to move up. For personal reasons, you might decide to relocate. You might find that a new administration, within your library or larger institution or government, changes your job responsibilities for the worse or even renders your position no longer necessary. MORE
I want to write about HR Law & Regulation!
FMLA: How it Can Benefit You
By Laura Blessing
The delicate balance of work and family obligations may be easily disturbed by the onset of serious health issues. But employees should realize that existing legislation can protect employees when personal or family health conditions take them away from work. Knowledge of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) will help you determine eligibility and take advantage of its provisions if the need arises. MORE
I want to write about HR Practice!
Where Do We Go From Here?
Understanding and Conducting the Exit Interview
From The Employee’s Perspective—A Case for the Future
Part II
By Julius E. Rhodes, SPHR
In the first of this two-part series (LW vol. 4, no.2) we discussed the role of the employer in arranging an optimum exit interview. Ideally, the exit interview provides an employer valuable insight into the workings of the organization that will allow him or her to improve the overall operating environment of the organization and to create potential positive changes for the remaining employees. But less evident are the advantages to the departing employee. Why should a departing employee want to engage in the process if they will not reap any of the potential organizational benefits? MORE
I
want to write about Recruitment!
HR-ology: Onboarding
by Sally Weldin, Senior Human Resources Specialist
Reprinted with permission from the Management Association of Illinois’s Web site, www.hrsource.org. The article was posted on March 20, 2008.
The HR buzzword of the millennium, onboarding, is an employee retention tool which is a systematic and comprehensive approach to orienting a new employee to help him get “on board.” It gets newly hired employees up to speed with the culture, processes, expectations, policies and day-to-day operations of the organization, as well as making them feel welcome and immediately valued. MORE
I
want to write about Salaries and Pay Equity!
By Michael McGorty
Reprinted with permission from Michael McGrorty's blog, On the Job—http://librarydust.typepad.com/on_the_job, from February 6, 2008.
As a child I often would lie awake in the darkness of my bedroom, listening to my parents talk about the day’s events. My father was a school teacher and my mother was a theatrical wardrobe worker. In their jobs they had only one thing in common: both of them were members of unions. Even so, their unions were also very different—Dad’s was a public employee association and Mom’s was a private-sector entertainment union. MORE
I
want to write about Statistics!
2007 ALA-APA Non-MLS Salary Survey Examines Librarian Titles
By Betsy Simpson
In libraries across the nation, many non-MLS library employees hold the title of “librarian.” By including a new category for non-MLS Librarians in the ALA-APA Salary Survey, ALA-APA acknowledges this trend. This hiring phenomenon may be attributed to any number of factors, including the size and nature of recruitment pools, budgetary considerations and evolving needs within libraries. Because this is the first year that the ALA-APA Salary Survey collected data on these employees, it is impossible to determine if this trend is growing. On a somewhat controversial note, some survey respondents voiced reservations about including the new category, citing the American Library Association’s policy that the appropriate degree for librarians is the MLS (American Library Association 2007). Significantly, the Salary Survey results suggest that the majority of these positions do not require any advanced degree. MORE
I
want to write about Support Staff!
They Need Us, They Just Don’t Know It Yet:
Spotlight on Elizabeth Stearns, Assistant Director of the Waukegan Public Library
By Veronica Chawla
Elizabeth Stearns is an Assistant Director of the Waukegan Public Library. She has created and overseen such innovative programming as the Ray Bradbury Storytelling Festival, Books on the Corner and Sígame, an award-winning Hispanic Outreach program. As the Waukegan Public Library goes through this exciting time, including being named the North Suburban Library System’s 2007 Library of the Year, we are pleased that she was able to take time out of her busy schedule to talk to us about her position and place within the library. MORE
I
want to write about Work/Life!
Ergonomics: A Simple Solution to That Pain in Your Neck
By Lori Reed
Library workers are no strangers to repetitive tasks: checking media in and out, shelving, cataloging and typing. It's no wonder that repetitive stress injuries (RSIs) are the most common work related injury in the United States. But awareness of ergonomics can minimize your risk of developing an RSI. MORE
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Editors: Jenifer Grady, Jamie Bragg
Index of all articles from volume 1, no. 1, though volume 5, no. 4.
Former Capitol Hill Staff Director Stephanie Vance offers pertinent - and seasonal - advocacy advice.
http://www.advocacyguru.com/
tipsheet.htm#mar12
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