I want to be in the Spotlight!

Carpe Diem! Librarian’s Quick Thinking Seizes Increased Salaries for Library Workers

Interview with Camilla Reid, Winner of the 2007-2008 SirsiDynix‑ALA‑APA Award for Improving Salaries

By Casey Schacher

Mounting a pay equity campaign often requires years of research, planning and negotiation. Yet librarian Camilla Reid, winner of the fourth annual SirsiDynix‑ALA‑APA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Promoting Salaries and Status for Library Workers, demonstrates how quick thinking, initiative and communication can expedite the pay equity process. MORE

Programs for the People

ALA-APA Announces Programs, Meetings for Annual Conference 2008

ALA-APA is excited to offer nine programs on a wide range of topics at ALA’s 2008 Annual Conference in Anaheim, California. MORE

Our view: Library officials have read the book on budget politics

Editorial, The Capital (Annapolis, MD): May 29, 2008

Pasadena, Severn (MD) libraries could close

By Erin Cox, The Capital (Annapolis, MD): May 28, 2008

Libraries, fire stations face cuts to fund schools

By Scott Daugherty, The Maryland Gazette: May 21, 2008

Libraries, new fire stations face cuts

By Scott Daugherty, The Capital (Annapolis, MD): May 20, 2008

Anne Arundel County Library employees urge citizens to oppose a proposed 8% budget cut that jeopardizes library employee health care benefits. MORE

Library backers gird for battle;
Budget cuts called disaster for city's children, downtown

By Lynne Klaft, Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA): May 29, 2008

Library director agrees to stay

By Brandon Butler, Sentinel & Enterprise (Fitchburg, MA): May 22, 2008

Library director told she can't quit; Wong holds firm on deep cuts

By Matthew Bruun, Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA): May 22, 2008

Mayor Lisa Wong’s planned 68 percent cut to the Fitchburg Public Library’s budget would force the library to lay off three-quarters of its employees. MORE

Martin Library Hours, Days Cut Amid Budget Woes

By Jason Schultz, Palm Beach Post (FL): May 29, 2008

A hiring freeze in the Martin County Library System has resulted in a reduction in branch hours. MORE

I want to write about Career Advancement!

What Do You Wish You Had Learned In Library School?

By Merinda Kaye Hensley

Many graduates are surprised to find that graduate school has not fully prepared them for work in academic libraries. Every year new graduates leave the classroom for the workforce, and every year experienced academic librarians field the same questions from new hires. MORE

I want to write about Certification!

Certified Public Library Administrator Program Celebrates Four New Graduates, Eight New Candidates, Two Course Renewals

CHICAGO – Four more public librarians now carry the designation of Certified Public Library Administrator (CPLA).  The CPLA Certification Review Committee (CRC) also approved eight new candidates and renewed two program courses during its Spring 2008 review. CPLA now has 99 candidates and seven graduates representing public libraries of all sizes across the nation. MORE

I want to write about HR Law & Regulation!

Employee's Anti-Retaliation Claim Fails

By Kelly Hayden, JD, Assistant General Counsel

Reprinted with permission from the Management Association of Illinois’s Web site, www.hrsource.org. The article was posted on May 21, 2008.

Employers have long been aware that if an employee cannot return to work after the conclusion of the 12 weeks allotted under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the employee no longer has any rights under that Act. What if the employee has a workers' compensation injury? Is it retaliation to terminate the employee once family medical leave (FML) expires? Is it permissible to run FML concurrently with workers' compensation leave? These questions were addressed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (covering Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin) in a recent opinion. MORE

I want to write about HR Practice!

A Brief Introduction to Performance Management

By Julia Huprich

Performance management is a system designed to identify the ways to achieve organizational goals through constant assessment and feedback leading to improvement of employee performance. Performance management, unlike the performance appraisal or annual evaluation process, is an ongoing assessment of employees in a manner geared to match their goals to the organizational goals. It also makes strong use of goal-setting and metrics to identify progress and areas of individual strengths. MORE

I want to write about Salaries and Pay Equity!

Ask a Working Woman Invites You to Respond to a Survey about Women's Issues in the Workplace

Dear Friend,

Women are the majority of voters in America - what matters to women ought to matter to politicians.

Working America and the AFL-CIO are conducting a nationwide survey of what it's like to be a working woman. If you're a working woman, your opinion matters greatly. Please take a moment to complete the Ask A Working Woman survey and share your thoughts and experiences:
http://www.askaworkingwoman.org. MORE

I want to write about Statistics!

2007 ALA-APA Non-MLS Salary Survey Examines Librarian Titles

By Betsy Simpson

The presence of a new category for non-MLS librarians in the ALA-APA Salary Survey: Non-MLS – Public and Academic is an acknowledgement that there are significant numbers of library employees occupying librarian lines who do not hold the standard degree for the field. This hiring phenomenon may be indicative of a number of factors, such as the size and nature of recruitment pools, budgetary considerations and evolving needs within libraries. If this is a growing trend it is not confirmable solely by reviewing the survey because this is the first year the data have been collected. MORE

I want to write about Support Staff!

“Customer Service is our Main Priority”:

Spotlight on Library Journal’s One of "Three to Watch" 2007, Paraprofessional Linda Janok

Linda is a library assistant with the San Mateo (CA) Public Library. She was named one of Library Journal's "Three to Watch" among library support staff nominated for the 2007 Paraprofessional of the Year award. She is in charge of two thriving branches and has lead projects including retagging the system's collection, training the staff on new technology, and renovating her branches. MORE

I want to write about Work/Life!

Strategies for Balancing Career and Family

By Jamal Cromity

It is intriguing to learn about the family lives of some of our favorite television personalities. What makes them particularly fascinating is that they seem to have such spectacular careers. Recently, after watching an awesome special on Martin Luther King, I found out that Soledad O’Brien, the host of the show and CNN anchor, has four children. I was stunned. How in the world does she do it all? But on second thought, how do any of us with family and career “do it”? MORE

Employees Surveyed Express Support for Wellness Initiatives, Ambivalence about Execution

By Jamie Bragg

The fourth and final installment of Library Worklife’s analysis of the 2007 Library Workplace Wellness online survey summarizes qualitative feedback and comments given by users as part of the questionnaire-based survey. MORE

Editors: Jenifer Grady, Jamie Bragg

Index of all articles from volume 1, no. 1, though volume 5, no. 5.

Caregiving Survey

http://tinyurl.com/
6frp61

from the Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship