preschool literacy initiative

public librarian recruitment

certification

Foreword

I want to thank the Recruitment of Public Librarians Committee for their hard work this past year. PLA became aware of the shortage of new public librarians during the 1999 ALA Midwinter meetings when library directors from around the country were bemoaning the fact that they could not find librarians to fill vacant positions. This became an immediate concern to the PLA Board as it is our mission to enhance "the development and effectiveness of public librarians and public library services...". It is almost impossible to improve and maintain good public libraries without maintaining a good supply of librarians interested specifically in public library work.

Based on these concerns, the PLA Board asked the Recruitment of Public Librarians Committee:

"To develop a plan to recruit individuals to the library profession, to foster the pursuit of an MLS focusing on public librarianship, and to present that plan to the PLA Board at Midwinter 2000."

So I now have the pleasure of thanking the committee for their work and for getting their report to us at Midwinter 2000. This just proves that if you want a job done well, give it to a public librarian.

Christine Lind Hage
Past President, PLA

Introduction

"Why is there a shortage of MLS librarians going into the field of public librarianship, and what can be done about it?"

This is the question tackled by the PLA Committee on the Recruitment of Public Librarians. The committee researched, surveyed and discussed recruitment issues, held two meetings at ALA and communicated on the issue via email. After one year of study, the Committee reached the following general conclusions:

• It can be documented that there are fewer MLS librarians going into the public library field and the reasons are varied;

• It is possible to recruit librarians to the public library field through efforts at the local level, at library schools, and though our state and national associations.

This report is an identification and analysis of the current situation, and the recommendations of the committee.

Christie P. Brandau, Chair
PLA Recruitment of Public Librarians Committee

PLA Committee on Recruitment of Public Librarians

Christie P. Brandau, Chair State Library of Iowa Des Moines, IA	Carmen L. Martinez Los Angeles Public Library Los Angeles, CA
Susan G Calbreath Gwinnett County Public Library Lawrenceville, GA	Rosemary A. Mesh Brooklyn Public Library Brooklyn, NY
Jan E. Hayes North Suburban Library System Wheeling, IL	Mariam Pollack North Suburban Library System Wheeling, IL
Antoinette C. Hoffacker Chester County Library Exton, PA	Betsy Stunz-Hall Tucson Pima Public Library Tucson, AZ
Joseph James School of Library and Information Science University of Washington Seattle, WA	David C. Tucker Dekalb County Public Library Decatur, GA
Carol French Johnson Cedar Falls and Waterloo Public Libraries Cedar Falls, IA	K. Lynn Wheeler Baltimore County Public Library Towson, MD

Chapter 1 - Salaries and Recruitment

The ability of public libraries to attract and retain professional staff is dependent on many factors including salary, locality of work site, working conditions, opportunities for personal growth, and many more. But, of these different measures, salary and starting salary are key quantitative gauges of the economic health and direction of the profession of public librarian. The analysis of employment and compensation data is a complex discipline that requires the integration of many areas of knowledge including financial budgeting, program analysis, labor statistics, and demographics, among many others. Often our understanding is limited by the incomplete and fragmentary nature of our information, but increasingly we are able to derive insight form some of the excellent surveys of public libraries in the United States.

Three helpful resources that can be used for the analysis of public libraries and salary data for librarians include the annual Statistical Report of the Public LibraRy Data Service published by the Public Library Association of the American Library Association, the annual fiscal year report of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) on Public Libraries in the United States, and information from the Bureau of Census.

Are librarians losing ground with respect to salary as a percent of total costs within libraries?

The annual NCES report on Public Libraries in the United States contains valuable information about services, budgets and employment for public libraries. A review of the three most recent years, 1994 through 1996, revealed several important features in the allocation of resources for salaries for the nation's public libraries.

The reports for these years show strong and steady growth in spending on public libraries throughout the nation from year to year. In fact, from 1994 to 1995, and from 1995 to 1996, public library budgets grew by 5.99% and 6.3% respectively. But while total expenditures in dollars for all staff (separate expenditures for librarians were not published) also increased for those years by 5.5% and 5.48%, slightly less in each respective year, a closer examination of the figures also revealed a troubling decline of resources allocated to staff as a percent of total budget. From 1994 to 1995 staffing costs as a percent of budget dropped from 65.2% to 64.9% and similar drop from 64.9% to 64.4% occurred form 1995 to 1996. This data shows an even darker trend, since during this same time period, public libraries hired additional staff, which resulted in an even smaller average employee gain in compensation. Thus, the average FTE (Full Time Equivalent) employee's compensation for the years 1995 and 1996 increased by only 2.64% and 3.83% respectively over prior years.

While public libraries prospered during the years 1994-96, these numbers suggest that staff received a significantly lower share of the gains. Thus, it appears that the significant annual increases in total budget, noted above, have not been shared with staff on a proportionate basis.

A review of the Statistical Report of the Public LibraRy Data Service, published by PLA, suggests that this trend to lower staff allocations as a percent of total budgets, may have continued through 1998. Based on calculations of the percent of total expenditures that were allocated to a combination of costs for average salaries and employee benefits, most categories of libraries in this PLA study reported that staff costs dropped to about 63% of total budget. While this information is drawn from a different universe and must be used with caution, it shows the trend of staff allocations as a percent of budget is continuing downward.

How do librarian salaries compare with other professionals?

An unpublished study of 1990 Census data prepared for this report compared librarian salaries to primary and secondary teacher salaries in New York City, for persons with master's degrees who were employed by local government. The analysis was based on a review of Census Public Use Microdata or PUMS, which is available from the Bureau of Census for the entire nation.

This study revealed that a higher percentage of those in the library field significantly fell into lower salary ranges than their comparably credentialed colleagues in education. In this study of census data, only 1.9% of librarians earned over $50,000 as compared to 12.0% of teachers. In both groups the subjects were employed by local government and held master's degrees. Again for those persons in this study, the largest segment of librarians, 44.1% fell into the $20,000 to $30,000 range salary, while the largest segment of teachers, 34.6%, fell into the next higher $40,000 to $50,000 range. In this analysis, librarian salaries consistently and dramatically lagged behind teachers with comparable education.

While this study is limited by the age of the data (I 990) and the narrowness of the area of analysis (NYC), it nonetheless underscores a troubling inequity with respect to compensation for public librarians. Additional, multi-year and national analyses should be performed to examine the relative performance of librarians as compared to other professions. Finally, the Bureau of the Census is developing a new product called the American Community Survey, which will update census data every year and allow this type of analysis on a current basis.

What evidence is there that low salaries are a deterrent to attracting and retaining librarians in the profession?

Increasingly, evidence is mounting that suggests that low salaries, both at the entry level, medium, and high end level of the profession are causing many librarians to seek employment outside of the public library sector. Many journal articles spoke eloquently to this issue, including the following:

"Working Cheap - Librarians do it for love" - David Bryant, Library Journal, November 1, 1997
"Low salary deters W. VA applicants" - American Libraries, May 1997
"Seeking greener pastures" -Amanda Ferguson, School Library Journal, February 1999

The PLA's Statistical Report for Public Libraries for 1998 suggests that great variations exist within major classes of public libraries based on size of population served. A review of these classes indicates that while most medium and large size public library systems offer median beginning salaries in the $26,000 to $28,000 range, they offer a wide variation in high end salaries for library directors. The emergence of a vanguard of library systems that are offering realistic and highly competitive beginning salaries suggests an intent to recognize the profession's high standards of quality and skill. San Jose Public Library System's average salary of $42,162 for all classes of employees is easily surpassed by its salary of $47,144 for beginning librarians. And San Jose isn't alone in this strategy, as it is joined by Atlanta-Fulton, San Francisco, Seattle Public and Alameda County Public Libraries in offering beginning librarian salaries that are 25-30% above most other systems.

Are current resources to analyze the profession adequate?

A great deal of work remains to fully analyze employment and resources that prevail in public libraries and to educate policy makers and legislatures. This short review has looked at and analyzed some useful documents. However, each of these studies or surveys, as published has limitations either in the way the data was presented or its complete- ness. Access to the underlying data would have allowed analysis of questions that could not be anticipated in the original document. In some cases, prior editions were not easily available or are out of print. A great limitation to access is the failure of some organizations to put publications and data on their web sites, including our own PLA and ALA. Puffing documents, studies, surveys, and data on the Internet give the widest possible audience the most access for the greatest good to all.

Sources of quantitative library and public library salary data.
ALA Survey of Librarian Salaries - 1998, 1991, and 1985 PLA - Statistical Report for Public Libraries, Published since 1988
Special Library Association - http://www.sla.org/research/
NCES Survey of Public Libraries - 1996, 1995, 1994 US Census for 1990 -http://wvvw.uscensus.gov
US Bureau of Labor Statistics - National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates -- http://stats.bis.gov/oes/national.oes-nat.htm

Chapter 2: Other Issues in Recruitment

Although adequate salaries are vital in retaining and recruiting librarians to the field, other issues also need to be examined.

• Inadequate understanding of the library profession

Librarians many times fail to communicate to prospective librarians the fun, fulfillment, and challenge of public librarianship. We lack a good passionate answer to "What do librarians do?" We need to develop an enthusiastic, succinct way to explain to others what we do, why we do it, and why it is dramatically important to society. There is not a common one- line definition for the profession. Doctors can say, "I cure the sick; I save lives." Lawyers can say, "I serve justice; I free the innocent." Perhaps librarians can say "I connect people with information."

Educational requirements of library professionals are not generally well known. To the public, anyone who works in the library is a librarian. Potential recruits may not realize the complexity or the varied nature of the profession.

Many young job-seekers want the chance to work with new and emerging technologies and may not realize that libraries are often in the forefront of new technology. Also, many today view the Internet as their tool to finding a job. The Internet has changed the way employers advertise and recruit and the way job seekers show their interest in and apply for positions.

• Inflexibility in library jobs

Libraries must follow business and industry in creating more flexible organizations. Self-directed teams and cross training are ways to utilize the abilities of all library staff. Library administrators and trustees should be well acquainted with the various ways to empower staff to do the needed job.

Providing paid continuing education opportunities, with time off during work hours, is key to keeping current staff and recruiting new staff. in addition, flexible time schedules and family friendly personnel policies are important to today's worker.

Another concern of library staff members is that they "have no where to go" within the organization and feel they must seek other employment to get ahead. An established career path within the local public library could help.

• As a field, public librarianship is not always encouraged in library school

Many times library educators do not encourage the field of public librarianship simply because they are unaware of the available opportunities. Few mentorship programs or internships are currently provided by public libraries, and scholarships for public librarians are few. We cannot expect library educators to be cheerleaders for public librarianship without the help of those currently in the field. Providing information about public librarianship and arranging for experience in the field for students is a step in the right direction.

• Few minorities in libraries

It is estimated that in the year 2000, one third of the population will be comprised of ethnic minorities. Serving a diverse clientele requires a diversified staff. Recruiters need to tap this source and librarians need to reach out and mentor minority staff. Librarians need to develop a plan with clear objectives and secure commitment to increase diversity in the profession.

• No umbrella recruitment plan for the profession

There is currently no one organized effort in place to create and distribute marketing material about our profession. ALA currently has a number of recruitment efforts taking place in various divisions, but no coordination or overall plan has been established.

Conclusion

If there are to be an adequate number of public librarians in the 21 St century, each librarian must not only work at delivering excellent customer service and being good at getting what their customers need, but must become professional recruiters and mentors of future librarians. In the words of Margaret Myers, "We must each use our knowledge, our competence, our commitment to service, our enthusiasm, and our vision for the future to promote our profession actively and strategically." Most librarians didn't become librarians because that's what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most came to the profession on their way to other professions, in other words, accidentally. For the profession to continue to grow, a plan for marketing the field of public librarianship must be developed. We need a plan with clear objectives, an organized effort for developing and distributing marketing materials about public librarianship and a vision for the profession for the 21st century. Otherwise, we will be left without a pool to fill job openings made available by the graying of the profession.

Chapter 3 - Recommendations

Recruitment must be approached in a concerted, systematic manner. A long-term view is necessary and any solution must include continuity and sustainability. No single strategy or model will solve recruitment woes. For this reason, recommendations have been organized into long term strategies and short term wins for both the Public Library Association (PLA) and the American Library Association (ALA), and suggestions for local libraries.

Long Term Strategies - PLA

1. Develop long-term strategies for a recruitment initiative supported by goals and objectives.
2. Create a structure for a recruitment initiative which includes financial and staff support.
3. Appoint a PLA staff member to oversee the recruitment initiative to ensure that there is a contact person for recruitment information.
4. Establish a long-term PLA Committee to support and guide the recruitment initiative and to act as liaison to the membership on this issue.
   • Commission this committee to develop a model of local salary determination for public library staff. This model would include salaries of comparable positions in the local community such as business, schools, etc.
5. Hire professional marketing consultants to:
   • Market the library profession to young adults Create high quality promotional materials to use for targeted potential candidates
   • Develop a national campaign using TV, newspapers, and magazines, which explains the nature of the profession and promotes a positive image of information professionals.
6. Form partnerships with library schools and library educators to recruit new librarians
   • Establish a list of contact people in public libraries who would be willing to sponsor students for internships or mentorships.
   • Identify library school programs which deliver courses using a combination of distance learning and adjunct professors.
   • Identify and highlight online library degree programs such as "Project Leep" at the University of Illinois.
   • Recruit library students from groups such as nontraditional workers, older workers, minorities, temporary workers, immigrants, disabled persons, welfare recipients, high school and college students.
7. Identify models of successful mentoring and internship programs currently being done in public libraries and promote them. From these models:
   • Establish a means to select and train mentors who have personal qualities for mentoring and are committed to the program.
   • Establish guidelines for mentoring and internship programs.
8. Create a new kind of planning process in which libraries could reinvent themselves from the inside out: an opportunity to confront stagnant mentalities and challenge assumptions. Using this planning process, library staff and trustees could consider alternatives in how a library is organized and staffed. (Environmental Scans and Appreciative Inquiry are ways to begin.)

Short Wins for PLA

1. Develop awareness of the issues and expertise in recruitment strategies at the local level.
   • Create PLA Recruitment WebPages.
     1. List sources of college internships and scholarships; provide links to sources.
     2. Highlight "best practices" for mentoring and recruitment activities and provide online access and information.
     3. Publish success stories
     4. Collect and make available recruitment materials. 5) Link recruitment tools, occupational guides, etc.
   • Collect and make available materials / workshops I examples of good retention practices.
   • Create a shiny, new brochure extolling the virtues of the library profession.
2. Develop and promote workshops/training/conference programs on recruitment.
3. Solicit and publish articles on recruitment issues in Public Libraries.
4. Call attention to the critical impact of low salaries on libraries to trustees through news items, publications, trustee workshops and personal stories.

Long-Term Strategies -ALA

1. Coordinate recruitment efforts across ALA divisions
2. Develop aggressive marketing program to recruit for all types of libraries.
3. Create a Renumeration Task Force to develop strategies to increase salaries and benefits.
4. Identify ways to increase private-sector support for the recruitment and education of information professionals.
5. Jointly sponsor with ALISE national legislation designed to enhance opportunities for inner city and rural residents to complete MLS degree programs and doctoral fellowships.
6. Explore the idea of an ALA accredited undergraduate library degree in library science in addition to the ALA accredited graduate degree.
7. Create leadership development programs for directors and managers to encourage them to rethink how are libraries are staffed.
   • Encourage embracing new ways of thinking in terms of using the library and working in the library.
   • Encourage equity in promotion and professional development. According to Joan Howland, "The culture of libraries is instructed to reward the strengths most whites bring to the work environment as native English speakers who are products of the American education system."
8. Commission a benefits consulting firm to benchmark library / information positions with that of other professions.

Short Wins - ALA

1. Provide recognition for best practices in recruitment.
2. Use ALA awards monies for research in recruitment / retention issues.
3. Solicit articles on recruitment for American Libraries and other professional publications.
4. Link the ALA website to the proposed PLA Recruitment website.
5. Research and publicize best practices of recruitment in other organizations.

Suggestions for local libraries

1. On the local level, each library professional must work at being a professional recruiter.
2. Restructure library jobs within the local library. According to Marilyn Gel Mason, "Supply / demand problem can be solved by increasing the supply in ways that are more carefully crafted, more strategic, than would result simply letting the market force work."
3. Define career paths for library workers at all levels, incorporating a wide range of responsibilities.
4. Other things to consider in recruitment and retention of public librarians:
   • A quality organization attracts quality people
   • Competitive wages and benefits need to be maintained
   • Family friendly personnel policies are important
   • Develop flexible hours and work schedules for staff
   • Established a "career path" within the library
   • Build a reputation for treating employees well

Appendix

1. Bibliography

Arthur, Gwen. "The "graying" of librarianship: implications for academic library managers." Wilson Select. http://gilligan.prod.oclc.org. 9 p. Journal of Academic Librarianship. 1998. vol. 24.

Berger, Carol. "The Changing Nature of Library Executive Recruitment." Public Libraries. Nov/Dec98. p. 354. 5 p.

Bosseau, Don L; Martin, Susan K. "The Accidental Profession." Journal of Academic Librarianship. May 95. vol. 21. no. 3. p. 198. 2 p.

De la Pena McCook, Kathleen. "Diversity deferred: Where are the minority librarians?." Library Journal. Nov. 1, 1993. vol. 118. no. 18. p. 35. 4 p.

Fialkoff, Francine; St. Lifer, Evan. "Early Recruitment Yields High Results." Library Journal. Nov. 1, 1993. vol. 118. no. 18. p. 8. 2 p.

Gerhardt, Lillian N. "What Do You Do?." School Library Journal online. http://www.slj.com. Jul. 1998. p. 5.

Glick, Andrea. "Minority Recruitment. ALA puts its money where its mouth is." School Library Journal. Jul 97. vol. 43. no. 7. p. 13. 2/3 p.

Gomez, Martin. "Public Librarians for the 21st Century." http://www.ala.org/congress/gomez.html. June 1999.

Mason, Marilyn Gell. "MLS May the Market Force be with You." http://www.ala.org/ congress/mason.html. March 30, 1999.

McCormick, Edith. "Queens Launches Program to Recruit Diverse Workforce". American Libraries. Feb. 1998. vol. 29. p. 16. 2 p.

Mouton, Evet; Johnson Keia. "Recruitment and the Future of Libraries: Two Teens' Perspective." LLA Bulletin. Fall 1993. vol. 56. p. II9. 3 p.

Posek, James G.; Grunenwaid, Joseph P. "An Analysis of the Use and Effectiveness of Various Recruitment Sources at Public Libraries." Public Libraries Quarterly. 1995. vol. 10. no. 3. p. 45.12 p.

Smith, Duncan. "What is the Shelf Life of the MLS". http://www.ala.org/congress/ smith.html. June 1999.

Spivack, Jane F.; MacDonald, Sara J.; Heacox, Stephanie A. "A Survey of Recruiting Activities in the Field of Library/Information Science." BowkerAnnual. R.R. Bowker Inc. c. 1986. pp. 285-9.

Wheeler, Maurice B.; Hanson, Jaqueline. "Improving Diversity: Recruiting Students to the Library Profession." Journal of Library Administration. vol. 21. no. 3-4. p. 137. 9 p.

White, Herbert S. "What is a Professional in our Field?." Library Journal. Feb. 15, 1998. vol. 123. no. 3. p II7. 2 p.

II. Survey

The following survey was sent to the Directors, ULC, and State Librarians Listservs.

Hi, my name is Sue Calbreath. I am the Staff Development and Training Coordinator for the Gwinneft County Public Library in Georgia. Currently, I am serving as a member of the PLA Recruitment of Librarians Committee. The charge of the committee is "To develop a written plan to recruit good people into the field of public librarianship."

Since 1996 there has been a continuing decline in library school graduates entering the field of public librarianship. In 1996, 28% of all library school graduates went into public librarianship. In 1997 the percentage declined to 23% and 1998 estimates show a drop to 20%. This is a concern for public libraries as the graying of the profession is becoming an issue and some libraries are reporting that as many as 40% of their staff plan to retire within the next 4-5 years.

My assignment is to investigate what recruiting efforts are being made at the state and local level. Please take a few minutes to answer the following questions and return your answers to me by June 18, 1999.

1. Do you now have a recruitment effort in place?
Yes ___
No ___

If yes, what are you currently doing to attract MLS graduates to your public libraries? (videos, pamphlets, flyers, posters, visiting SLIS schools, etc.) If possible, please send samples of videos, flyers, pamphlets or other recruiting materials that you use.

If no, are you making plans to address this issue? If so, how do you plan to recruit?

2. If you don't have a formal effort in place or a plan, what recruitment ideas do you have for recruiting good people into the field of public librarianship that you would like to share with the committee?

Ill. Survey Results

The survey was sent to the Directors, ULC, and State Librarians Listservs.

	# of replies
# of replies	34
Recruitment effort in place	Yes 34 No 16 ULC Survey 1

(Most recipients addressed recruitment as being recruitment for librarians at your library rather than recruitment into the field of librarianship.) of replies

What are you doing now:
Ad in local newspapers	12
National publications	2
Tuition reimbursement	2
Staff Scholarships	2
Library Press	13
Interview at ALA	2
Announcements to Library Schools	10
Encourage staff to get their MLS	1
Contacting colleagues	3
Work/study program for staff	1
Internship	2
Internet	5
Speaking engagements (conf., school fairs)	1
Formal efforts: flyers, brochures, scholarships	6

Ideas for future recruitment efforts:

• Scholarships-local level
• Work with library schools to make their brochures more public library oriented.
• Develop generic flyers about each class of librarian that can be sent out upon request.
• Develop mailing lists to be used to mail brochures and flyers.
• Develop a packet of information about your community and your library system, high-lighting all of their positive attributes. Have this available for recruitment trips and to send to potential candidates.
• Contact local library schools and attend their job fairs or alert the Dean of upcoming vacancies, especially for entry level positions.
• Bring Distance Learning opportunities to your area. Share potential candidates in large metro areas. Let colleagues know when you have openings.
• List openings on job clearinghouses for different states. Network when at meetings and conferences.
• Find recruitments from within and help with funds.
• Recruit culturally diverse employees and undergraduates to go into the field of librarianship to serve our ever-changing communities.
• Internships.

ULC STAFFING SURVEY

Includes information on supply, demand, and recruiting.

70 ULC Libraries returned the survey. The complete survey will be sent to the ULC Member Libraries after ALA.

How do you recruit?	Rate effectiveness 1-5 (5 highest)
National Ads	90%	2.8	20% reporting gave 4 or 5
Internet	84%	3.2	41%
ALA Conf. Placement	66%	2.7	26%
Local Ads	93%	3.2	43%
Staff Referral	63%	2.8	21%
Library School Visits	42%	2.7	20%
In House Incentives	31%	3.4	48%

Didn't ask about internships. 75% reported giving time or tuition reimbursement to employees. Average six a year. Loose to School Libraries.

Asked about adding new positions 22% increase in children's positions by 2005.

Average out that 50-55% of eligible retirees will actually retire.

The average first year salary was $30,000. Felt that was pretty competitive.

New York libraries are recruiting Canadian librarians. Salaries are better in the States. Comments from Joey Rodger, President ULC

Survey library schools and see why MLS students are choosing public libraries and build on why they are going into library schools. She suggested FSU/Dean supporter of public libraries. We have to realize some issues are not amenable to influence.