Library Worklife

Volume 1 • No. 2

Salaries & Pay Equity

Rural Library Compensation, The Vermont Initiative

By Jessamyn West

”Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.” -Walter Cronkite

The first librarian job I applied for in Vermont was part-time, and advertised as paying $12/hour. They were hoping to get someone with a Master’s Degree but were prepared to be reasonable. This was in 2002. When I asked the Trustees if there would be any money available for professional development, I could see that I was talking myself right out of a job. The library closest to me in Vermont pays $8/hour and is open 16 hours a week. It’s a lovely library, but I can’t afford to work there.

The state of Vermont is a rural state, one with a staunch commitment to libraries as a public good. It has almost 200 public libraries, employing just under 300 people as librarians and library workers. In 2002, forty-five of these employees had their MLS. Vermont’s libraries cost roughly $12 million to operate in 2001, 99% of which was provided by local sources. In many cases, library staff’s salaries are the first or second largest expense of running a rural public library.

Salary increases in these situations do not just involve asking for a larger share of the budgetary pie, but requesting and justifying a raise in the town’s tax rate, or cutting of other town services. In a survey of rural librarians done by Rural Libraries journal in 2000, librarians were asked, “Why have librarians historically been underpaid? The number one reason given was "The community lacks funds" followed closely by "The public does not value librarians."

The Vermont Library Association set out to try to address both of these issues. The VLA Personnel Committee recently prepared a report that contains not just salary surveys and compensation guidelines, but real-world strategies for positioning the library as “worth it” and contributing to the quality of life for everyone in Vermont. The report’s emphasis is on public library directors, but the tools discussed can be easily applied to all levels of library workers. In Vermont, half of all public libraries have one full-time staff equivalent, or less, so “library director” can often mean “sole library staffer.” The how-to guide is presented as a tool for librarians and trustees to use together for overall library compensation.

While I encourage everyone to read the full 15-page report, I will summarize a few of the sections that are of particular relevance to staff salaries.

Job Description Comparisons—the guide recommends that librarians ensure pay equity with other town positions by comparing the librarian’s actual responsibilities—and not the perceived responsibilities of the job—with other town employees. The report offers a good list of starting places to find comparison data. Included in this list should be such standard characteristics as:

Knowledge and skill required to do the job
Impact of the work the job accomplishes
Supervisory scope of the position
Budgetary responsibilities of the position

Benefits—benefits of a job are not just limited to health insurance and sick leave. Legally required benefits include Social Security, unemployment compensation and worker’s compensation. When working towards increased compensation, make sure all types of remuneration are being considered. Be sure to balance to benefits of having an educated up-to-date staff against the money saved by not extending professional development funding. Other benefits to consider:

Time Off
Vacations/Holidays
Bereavement Leave
Lunch and Breaks
Continuing Education
Mileage Reimbursement
Non-medical Insurance such as disability/dental/optical

Raises—unless the town wants to be burdened with frequent turnover, employee retention needs to be considered. This hinges on quality-of-life issues while on the job, but also the financial ability of an employee to be able to retain the job. If salaries do not increase and cost of living does, employees lose money each year they work for the same pay. Other pay-adjustment items to consider are:

Cost of Living Adjustment should be considered annually. Raises based on merit need to be above COLA.
Continuing education is a necessity in for libraries with small staff. Significant educational milestones such as state certification or a higher degree in librarianship need to be properly compensated.
Bonuses reward staff for exceptional performance. Bonuses are appropriate when staff have risen to meet major challenges.
Most importantly, make sure that library staff is paid for every hour they work—or paid for enough hours to get the work done. By law, staff should not volunteer hours to get their paid work completed.

Action Plan—Once staff and the trustees have looked at compensation considerations, they need to take their plan the town. Make sure to stress the library’s recent accomplishments and not get too caught up in what the library has been doing historically. The report suggests a combined approach, which I have included verbatim.

Promote—the library and services—How important is your town library?

Prioritize—your needs and the benefits you want, it is not just about money, be creative!

Recruit—community involvement and solicit experts to assist in your effort.

Listen—to community needs and desires.

Research & Document—Find statistics and data to support your position.

Awareness—Share information with your staff, volunteers & community.

Public libraries are central to the community, keep up the momentum, and include the support staff too!

An action plan that begins well before the Town Meeting day or other funding opportunity has a better chance of being seen as an all-around PR/literacy/reading campaign and not just a request for funds.

I now have a job in the second or third largest public library in the state, in a grant-funded outreach position. I have a salary and benefits, and a union, though no money for professional development. Now that ALA has implemented a Library Support Worker membership level, I can stay current with my membership, though I still attend conferences and serve on ALA Council fully at my own expense. Every budgetary item in a town [or city, or state] budget is fraught with compromise and consternation. VLA’s guide gives sound advice on how to lobby for increased salaries and compensation by highlighting libraries’ and librarians’ strengths and by giving librarians the tools to get started working for better salaries NOW.

Resources

Vermont Public Library Statistics
http://dol.state.vt.us/GOPHER_ROOT5/LIBRARIES/stats/PLSTATS.HTML

Increasing Public Library Compensation: a How-to Guide for Vermont Libraries
http://www.vermontlibraries.org/betterpay.pdf

“Characterizing the Role of the Rural Librarian: A Survey.” in Rural Libraries Journal
http://library.clarion.edu/Rural/Characterizing.pdf

Jessamyn West is the outreach librarian at the Rutland Free Library in Rutland Vermont. She is an At Large member of ALA Council and maintains the website librarian.net.