Library Worklife

Volume 3, No. 11 • November 2006

ALA-APA News

Nominees Sought for $5,000 Award for Improving Library Workers’ Salaries and Status

The American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) is seeking nominees, both individuals and organizations, that have made a positive change in the salaries or status of librarians and/or support staff. The Award Jury is looking forward to receiving the stories of champions who have had a local, regional or national impact. The winner will receive a $5,000 award, thanks to the SirsiDynix Corporation. Each nominee must have three nominations using the electronic application form at www.ala-apa.org/salaries/sirsidynixnominationform.html. The deadline is Friday, December 1, 2006.

Nominations will be reviewed by the Award Jury, chaired by Barbara J. Ford of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in January 2007 in Seattle, WA, and the winner(s) will be honored at the Annual Conference in June 2007 in Washington, DC. Members of the 2005 Jury said that the nominations were “incredible experiences to share of triumph over seemingly insurmountable odds to achieve higher salaries. Their stories inspired us."

In 2006, the winners were AFSCME Local 1526 of the Boston Public Library and James Fish, Director of the Baltimore County (Md.) Public Library, and Eileen Muller, President of the Brooklyn Library Guild, Local 1482, was given an honorable mention. AFSCME Local 1526 “did an outstanding job in their last contract negotiations to win upgrades for all 76 library support staff in the 26 of the 27 branches of the city public library system.” Fish campaigned for “a new pay program that resulted in a 7.34% pay adjustment to all staff, annual merit steps of 5%, and the base starting salary for librarians increased by 13.4%.” In 2005, the first year, Maurice Freedman and Dorothy Morgan were chosen, Freedman, former ALA President, for raising awareness of salary inequities within librarianship and Dorothy for advocating on behalf of support staff nationwide. Morgan is the Business Manager, Liverpool Public Library (NY) and former President of the ALA Library Support Staff Interest Round Table (LSSIRT, 2000-2001).

The Award Jury encourages the library community to nominate those who are actively working on every level to secure equitable pay for people in librarianship. Please submt three strong letters of support as only the first three received will be reviewed. Self-nominations are permitted. Supporting documents may be emailed to ALA-APA, faxed to 312-280-5013 or mailed to SirsiDynix Award, ALA-APA, 50 East Huron, Chicago, IL 60611.

The recipient of the award does not have to be an ALA member or a current or past library staff member. The requirement is that the award recipient’s achievement(s) has been notable. Officers of the ALA or the ALA-Allied Professional Association are not eligible for the award, nor are members of the Jury or the ALA-APA Standing Committee on the Salaries and Status of Library Workers. Employees of the SirsiDynix Corporation are also not eligible for this award. The SirsiDynix Corporation is a leading provider of information technology to libraries and consortia worldwide.

For more information, contact jgrady@ala.org.

2006-2007 Jury

Barbara J. Ford, Chair, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Peter McDonald, Syracuse University
John Jessee, Jacksonville (FL) Public Library

Minneapolis Mayor Reveals Plans to Shut, Open Branches

By Kevin Giles, The Star Tribune [Minneapolis, MN], October 25, 2006

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak is eager to reform the Minneapolis Library system budget, but library officials are unsure that his plan will provide thorough or lasting solutions to a long-running funding problem.

The mayor’s plan will shut down three branches and reduce hours at the Central Library, saving $1.1 million. Rybak says these funds will allow him to re-open two other branches that have been closed for repairs and will allow all branches to be open five days a week. Many branches now are open only three days a week.

But Library Director Kit Hadley considers Rybak’s plan short-sighted, and she worries that the budget will not be able to sustain the reopened branches and increased hours. She believes the plan will "worsen the library’s long-term financial picture."

"Not to mention what it does to real human beings," adds Hadley. She argues that it would be "cruel" to hire librarians when the board has no assurance that the next year’s budget can sustain the new positions. Should the plan fail, says Hadley, it might undermine morale in a district that has already suffered layoffs of 30% of the library staff.

Mayor Rybak admits that his solution is short-term. He and a new library advisory group are exploring long-term initiatives that will complement his short-term reform.

Rybak says the budget woes began in 2000, when the citizens of Minneapolis voted for a property tax that would raise funds to build the $125 million Central Library. Rybak says the tax was unrealistic because it did not consider operating costs after construction.

The situation is has come to a crisis, says Rybak: "the city cannot support the Central Library and the library system together."

"Prohibitive" Personnel Costs May Dampen County Takeover of Federated Libraries

By Scott Williams, Milwaukee Journal Sentinal [WI], October 31, 2006

Waukesha County had planned to take over all public libraries in the region, but a recent report suggests that resulting personnel costs would be "prohibitive."

The 16 public libraries of the Waukesha County Federated Library System are currently autonomous. Waukesha Mayor Larry Nelson’s administration hoped that placing the libraries under county control would improve community access by merging smaller neighborhood libraries. The county also hoped the takeover would expand the funding base for facility construction.

In 2005 the county hired consulting firm Himmel & Wilson to evaluate the feasibility of the takeover. But after a year of analysis the firm concluded that a county takeover would come at a considerable cost to county taxpayers.

Currently, employees of smaller libraries earn less than their counterparts in libraries serving larger populations. If the libraries were placed under county control, all library workers would become county employees, and the county cannot pay different wages to workers in the same position. According to Wilson, the resulting raise in pay for workers at small libraries would overwhelm the current library budget, and the deficit would be passed to taxpayers.

Says Wilson, "The numbers simply look prohibitive."

County Supervisor Kenneth Hesso originally supported the takeover, but the results of Himmel & Wilson’s report have encouraged him to explore alternatives. One alternative is grouping the individual libraries into several districts, a more moderate reform than total county control. Hesso believes that this reform would encourage intra-district libraries to pool resources and to discuss district-level issues within the larger federated structure.

Denver Public Library Asks Mayor for $3.3 Million

By George Merritt, The Denver Post [CO], September 6, 2006

Denver Public Library officials seek a budget increase of $3.3 million. The library’s request is more than twice the amount recommended by Mayor John Hickenlooper’s office, $1.4 million.

The library is eager to restore its budget, which has been reduced by $6 million between 2002 and 2005. The cuts have deeply impacted personnel. Staff has been reduced by 12%, from 460 full-time positions in 2002 to 416 in 2005. Library hours have suffered as well, with an 11% decrease in hours between 2002 and 2005.

It is no accident that the library is receiving its first budget increase in half a decade. Denver is enjoying its largest budget surplus in years, and the library is committed to reclaiming its former funding. Most of the budget increase, says City Librarian Shirley Amore, will be used to extend library hours.

But city officals observe that the library faces great competition for funding. Departments across the city are clamoring to restore their own budgets. "There is all this pent-up demand to restore some of the cuts from previous years," says Margaret Brown, manager of budget and finance.

Brown says the administration is working with libraries to deliver "the package that has the most impact" for the community.

Law Librarians Included in Settlement Reached in Monroe County Wage Dispute

By David Pierce, The Pocono Record [Stroudsburg, PA], October 19, 2006

In an October 19 article, the Pocono Record announced that a state arbitrator ended the year-long wage dispute between Monroe County and Teamsters Local 229. The resulting settlement provides an 11% pay increase for law librarians and other Monroe County court employees.

The salary adjustment affects 79 Monroe County employees. In addition to law librarians, the bargaining unit included court reporters, courthouse administrative assistants, domestic relations investigators and clerical staff, as well as clerical staff for magisterial district judges and the probation office.

Negotiations between the county and Teamsters Local 229 began in November 2005, but the following February the union rejected Monroe County’s offer and requested outside arbitration.

The case was assigned to Philadelphia attorney and Pennsylvania Labor Board member Ralph Colefish.

The 11% salary increase will be distributed over three years. The first raise of 3% will be applied retroactively to January 2006. The next raise of four percent will go into effect at the beginning of 2007, and salaries will be raised an additional four percent in 2008.

The settlement does not affect the 79 employees’ health benefits or annual longevity bonuses, according to Monroe County Commissioners Chairwoman Donna Asure.

Asure is confident that the wage increase will not negatively impact local taxes or next year’s budget.

“We fully expect it to just be part of doing business next year,” Asure said.

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