WILL UNWOUND #693: “What is a Paraprofessional?”
February 29, 2012Today Library Journal announced the 2012 winner of the Library Paralibrarian of the Year award: Linda Dahlquist.
When L.J. started this award several years ago, I was pleasantly surprised because it was the first time that I knew of a major library entity recognizing the importance of a non-professional library worker.
Anyone who has ever directed a library knows how important the “non-professionals” are. A sour circulation clerk can cause all kinds of public relations grief. So you quickly put your library school arrogance away and realize that a friendly, personable, and competent circulation clerk is just as important to your own success as an administrator as a friendly, personable, competent “professional” reference librarian. Likewise, an unreliable, alcoholic janitor can create havoc in the maintenance of your library building. So you quickly put your white collar bias aside and realize that a dependable, sober, and skilled janitor is every bit as important to your longevity as a director as a sober, skilled, and dependable cataloger.
I understand the clerical, tradesman, professional, tech, and administrative subdivisions within the library work force. Each type of worker has a job to do and as an administrator you understand that one type of worker is not inherently more important than the other. Yes, each type has a different training and experience background and each has its own pay grade level based on market forces, but you really can’t say that one type of worker is more important than the other.
But what exactly is a “paraprofessional?” Are they clerical; clerical/professional; advanced clerical; junior professional or something else altogether? The term “para” to me has always seemed like a synonym for “sorta.” So is a “paraprofessional” a “sorta professional?” If so isn’t that a little ambiguous like “sorta competent” or “sorta knowledgeable” or “sorta educated?” I’ve known a lot of paraprofessionals who in fact were more professional than a lot of professionals I’ve worked with, but because they were “paras” they didn’t make as much money. Is that what the term “para” means…”cheaper”?
If you read the Paralibrarian of the Year article in Library Journal, you will see that this year’s winner does a very wide variety of tasks. Most impressively she initiated a highly successful roving reference service: Dalquist says, “I take reference to the people! Some are a bit too intimidated to approach the reference desk, so I hang out by the front entrance to catch them as they come in the door.”
According to L.J., that’s not all that she does: In addition to her work as a reference assistant alongside five librarians, Dahlquist assists with children’s services. What she likes best, however, is the roving reference work that she instigated. She also develops displays, maintains a Job Search Information Center, serves as the NSBRL meeting room coordinator, is a member of several VCPL committees, and is the NSBRL representative to VCPL’s IT department. Dahlquist also participates in VCPL public strategic planning sessions, which include citizens, librarians, paralibrarians, and county and VCPL administrators.
But it gets even more impressive. According to L.J.: “Dahlquist created colorful, inventive, and relevant displays to merchandise effectively library resources on sustainability, vegetarianism, health, exercise, and more to citizens. She has also shaped relationships within VCPL and in the community. Programs resulted from a partnership she created with the Humane Society. The library established programs with a local farmer’s market to offer food preparation tutorials.”
I’m tired just thinking of all these accomplishments. Kudos to L.J. for honoring such a special person.
I only have one question today: Shouldn’t Linda Dahlquist be receiving the Professional Librarian of the Year Award rather than the Paralibrarian of the Year Award?
The answer to your parting question is simple, Will: Does she have the MLS?
I don’t have a clue. I’m judging from her duties not her degrees.
I was being sarcastic. This isn’t a new debate, and often it becomes a debate about the value of the MLS versus the skills/duties of the practitioner.
But it is a good question. I don’t know what degrees she has. Does it matter if the public doesn’t care?
Definitely not, a librarian by definition should be someone who has qualified as such…. if she is a library technician then paraprofessional is appropriate.
Greg, but her duties as described by L.J. seem very professional, don’t they?
The person sounds very proactive, creative and energetic. I wonder how many of the duties are actually required and how many were undertaken as labors of love. If the latter, then good for her but it does not entitle her to be called a librarian. Suffer the MLS and get properly credited for the good works.
Right on…theoretically does 5 years of reference experience = 1 MLS degree?
Someone with that kind of experience and ability should talk to the director about the possibility of promotion to librarian. Upon completing the MLIS. A nurse practitioner may be examining patients and prescribing meds but s/he doesn’t get promoted to physician.
It’s all about the degree. And people who complain about that a) don’t really understand everything that librarianship is and b) wouldn’t feel the same way about their doctor, lawyer, kid’s teacher, etc.
Amy, this is exactly my point in the first comment above.
Ellen, I agree. Your advice is sound. This very talented person should talk to the director about what she needs to do to be promoted.
This is a very crucial issue to me — I’m a retired teacher librarian (TL) in California where “professionals” work only in our secondary schools but are not employed in our elementary schools. A “para” has been employed in them for many years now. Both of us are being cut and nearly to zero for next year. I have long tried to get each group to support the other, but divisions such as these keep cropping up. The “paras” are called librarians in their respective schools. TLs say, they are not librarians, they are aides (we officially call our paras “Library Aides” – a misnomer according to every other school district as this is their term for student helpers).
I am with you Will, if she does a fabulous job, which many of our paras do, she should be called a librarian and get the corresponding award. But as you an see already by your first two commentators, most will not agree.
I want us all to unite to fight to keep our school libraries open! And of course our public libraries which are also threatened. Thank you for this post.
Joan…thanks for bringing up the plight of the schools. I put in a lot of volunteer hours at my grandson’s elementary school library. I love the work and the children have become very confident and comfortable with me. I really feel like they depend upon me. Most people have no idea how important school librarians are to developing readers.
Though not a degreed librarian, she is a professional not just para not just support staff. I would advocate for our profession to adopt librarian more freely, since patrons think we all are librarians. So a not a library assistant but a librarian assistance. So my first response would be yes but with a caveat that some balance experience and education must be considered. I spent my career as both so maybe my view is biased.
Dar…I definitely agree that we should be more flexible in defining professionalism.
Well put! I agree 100% I too feel that many people in the library professional without the degree do professional work and should be recognized for that fact.
Why not just “Librarian of the Year”? To the public, that’s what she is.
Very good point!
A paraprofessional by definition is a skilled worker who assists a professional. Because the award winner did not have a MLS (so not a by the book librarian) she was classified as a paraprofessional.
This is an impressive lady, who deserved this award for her accomplishments. I wonder why she hasn’t gotten the degree?
The reality where I am is that library paraprofessionals, in schools especially, are replacing professionals because they can be hired at lower salaries. I don’t know if changing what we call people is really going to make a difference; it seems whoever will work for less money is more likely to get and keep the position.
Oh, I read the article on why she didn’t pursue the degree. She ‘took some courses but preferred working directly with people.’
The MLS gives a great deal of knowledge that experience does not. That said, experience is invaluable as well. My supervisor does not have an MLS, and yet she is incredible on reader’s advisory. Reference sources and services, not so much. She would classify herself as a paralibrarian.
I agree, Cristy. Money has a lot to do with this whole issue.
Oh, an additional question. What is the criteria and expectation from a “Librarian of the Year?” Is it different than a “Paralibrarian of the Year?”
Good question. My point Christy is that the work this woman is doing is definitely classified as professional in every library I ever worked in.
That is the problem. As long as libraries are able to foist professional duties on staff members who lack an MLS and who are willing to work for a lower pay scale than would be required for a professional librarian, the degree will continue to be devalued until it is worthless. We may well have reached that point.
MIchelle, this may be one of the most insightful comments ever made in Will Unwound. In the four years of our great recession, how many professional jobs have been given to “paraprofessionals?” In some cases, I have a feeling that there was a “crash and burn” result. In other cases there may have been a seamless transition. Where does that leave us as a profession? The irony, of course, is that the laptop MLS schools are cranking out new grads in big numbers despite the lack of job openings.
I have to say I hate, in capital letters, H-A-T-E the world paraprofessional.
I absolutely abhor it and the negative connotations that word and its older cousin the word unprofessional, meaning not professional in the sense that one doesn’t have the appropriate degree, have.
In relation, I also loath the attitude that some people have if you are described as an paraprofessional or unprofessional (sans degree version); that sneering attitude delivered by some individuals who think if you don’t have the appropriate education you’re simply beneath their level and not worth your proverbial salt and thus not to be taken seriously.
In fact I so dislike the word paraprofessional that it was one of the reasons that factored into my decision to finish my Associates Degree, get my Bachelors Degree and go on to get my MLIS – doing two thirds of that in my forties.
And wouldn’t you know it? I was nominated for that award in 2010!
In fact I was a runner up for the Library Journal 2010 Paraprofessional award – pasted below is the link to prove it. My name is at the very bottom of the page under the category “Three to Watch:”
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6719424.html
And I can’t express how thankful I am for a number of reasons, but certainly not least of those reasons is the respect aspect of it – that I will finally after 21 years and counting in the public library field have my MLIS in March.
To translate that please don’t call me a paraprofessional – after March 18 please do call me a librarian; that would be great! However, that word paraprofessional…I’d like to see it retired.
And by the way, as my entire comment so far is slightly off topic, I’ll step back on the topic path for a moment and say… I don’t like the word paralibrarian either. It seems to me a new designation is needed for people that work full time in public libraries who aren’t librarians or circulation clerks but who do a tremendous amount of work of many kinds especially as the field is changing so much due to the evolving technology.
Linda, great comment. On a personal note, your comments are consistently comprehensive and insightful. In my book you are and have been for quite some time a professional.
Thanks!
March, eh Linda? First of all, congratulations. Second, I say it’s party time at the tavern!
Sounds good to me! Thanks.
Seriously, Will? “Does it matter if the public doesn’t care?” Yikes! What if we applied that philosophy to everything? Half the public doesn’t give a crap about privacy issues in the library. So should we abandon our efforts to maintain patron privacy?
The public doesn’t care about lots of stuff. It’s left to professionals to maintain standards and take care of the details. That’s our job.
The public doesn’t care about intellectual freedom, either, unless it directly affects them. Most people think the ALA Banned Books list is an overreaction and a propagandist move to promote some left-wing liberal agenda. So, should we just let the public decide what books can and cannot be in the library?
This is not preschool, where everyone gets a prize whether they “won” or not. You want the “prize” – the title? Then do the work and get the degree. That’s how life works.
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates never earned college degrees. Neither did Hemingway.
I’m not sure how that applies. Did/do they claim to be professional librarians or medical doctors or lawyers? There are some fields that don’t have a certification/degree process.
So, is it just librarianship that you feel doesn’t require a degree? Or would you apply it to any field? Paralegals do a lot of the same work as a lawyer. Should a really good paralegal be able to call him/herself a lawyer?
Amy, I think a MLS degree is a valid entrypoint into the library profession. I loved my MLS degree program. But all my years of experience working in libraries, convinced me that a certain level and depth of library experience coupled with an academic degree should also be seen as a qualifier. We’re not doing open heart surgery on the reference counter. I came to believe that a diversity of approaches would strengthen our profession. I think I need to write a post about this. But yes, in most cases an MLS degree should be the gateway into librarianship but there is a narrow gate for others with experience, expertise, and desire.
I put it to the regents of Unwinders University. Shall we admit Ms. Dahlquist to our TMLS (True Master of Library Science) program? (The one where your experience plus reading Will Unwound for a year gets you the degree.)
By the way, how’s our accreditation coming along?
TMLS = Tavern Master of Library Science
So what would you do about a person who functions at a really high level of commitment and great work but has only a high school degree? Is that person also a librarian? If so, why even have a masters level program for librarianship? Does it have any value?
This is what is so troubling about this whole discussion. The devaluing on the MLIS. Librarians are expected to do more and more every year with less and less. Pay is stagnant and lower than just about any other profession that requires an advanced degree. Benefits are disappearing. As others have pointed out, jobs are disappearing.
I have no doubt that there are some individuals who could function quite well as librarians without actually getting the degree. But does that mean they should be considered librarians without the degree? The answer has to be no, or we might as well all just pack up and hand our jobs over to anyone willing to do our jobs for less.
I’m sure others have pointed this out, but it bears repeating: there is a difference between being professional and being A Professional. Can’t we respect professional behavior while also respecting the professional degree?
Amy, I guess the troubling question is this: can a person with a solid liberal arts undergraduate education gain the knowledge from the school of hard knocks that a person with a solid liberal arts undergraduate education gets at your average library school?
In my career, I worked with a high school library grad out who did a pretty good of running a branch in a small, rural town. Not sure what this means.
I feel so strongly about this issue that I wrote my own post not too long ago…being a professional has nothing to do with credentials. Being a professional has to do with the attitude that you bring to your work and the way you conduct yourself. You can’t earn that in any academic program. It comes from within. I understand the distinctions that are made in a traditional library hierarchy (not saying I agree with all of them) and other professions, too, but anybody can and should be a professional–and treated accordingly–in the workplace.
byn, I have been impressed in your blog with your “call them as I see them” candor on sacrosanct library issues. Let me, therefore, ask you this question: were you at all surprised at the level of duties that this “paralibrarian” of the year is performing?
I’m not at all surprised that she is capable of performing this level of work. I am surprised that she is *allowed* to perform this level of work. My experience has been that most organizations are very careful about not assigning “librarian” duties to nonlibrarians.
I am participating in an extremely intense, 4-day train-the-trainer workshop, and I wish I had time to participate more fully in this discussion since it is such a good one.
I have an MLS and work in a paraprofessional position — as do two other paraprofessionals in my library. And although we DO have our MLS, we are still classified as paraprofessionals. When people ask what line of work I’m in, the simplest answer is “I’m a librarian who’s not a librarian.” So, no–having an MLS does not automatically make you a professional librarian. It’s combination of having an MLS as well as a librarian position. I agree with you, Will. She should be recognized as a librarian because she clearly goes above and beyond the standard paraprofessional parameters. But those “librarian” positions are few and far between, and as we can see by the previous comments, they are viciously guarded for the hallowed few who hold the sacred MLS.
Tina, thanks for expressing a very honest comment from a very unique point of view.
Are lawyers considered “vicious” for reserving the title of attorney for those who have the sacred JD and pass the bar? Are doctors considered “vicious” for reserving the title of physician for those who have the sacred MD and are licensed to practice? How about architects? Engineers? Teachers? Barbers, who must also be licensed in my state, if not yours?
How come librarians are condemned for protecting professional standards when no other profession is? Is it because the lower ranks are populated mostly by women and one woman objectively outranking another is an affront to unspoken gender taboos?
Would a lawyer be classed as a paraprofessional with a JD? Would a doctor be a paraprofessional if he worked as a nurse? No. But it has become common for those with an MLS to be given paraprofessional positions with the distinct indication that they are NOT to be classified as librarians.
I don’t condemn librarians for protecting professional standards. But I have my MLS and I’m here to tell you that my bachelor’s degree was much more challenging–and I graduated with honors from a top ten library school. An MLS is not a challenging degree and I’m not ashamed to say that. I fully believe the knowledge required to practice as a professional librarian can easily be obtained by someone who has worked in the field for a number of years without a graduate education. I won’t back down from that opinion. I don’t believe you can compare librarians to lawyers, doctors, engineers. I love my chosen career, don’t misunderstand me. But providing someone with information is not the same as holding their life, their freedom or their safety in my hands.
Only in librarianship are we accused of bad faith for policing our professional boundaries. A paralegal is not an attorney and it is not a slur upon their dedication or professionalism to withhold the attorney job title until they have completed the JD and passed the bar. Likewise with nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants.
But when librarians insist on reserving the librarian job title for someone who has attained an MLS, well, you’d think it was a condescending attack on our coworkers, as though we were demanding that pages work in leg irons and chain gangs and that clerks take a vow of celibacy, poverty, hair shirts, and 16 hour days.
It is bad enough that the public believes that the librarian’s duties consist solely of shelving & checking out books and maybe throwing in a story hour. I once had a patron who was convinced that we were all volunteers. Must we confirm this mis-impression by making no distinctions between level of skill, training, and, most importantly, responsibility, within our workplaces?
Actually, Betty, I think it comes down to an “equal pay for equal work” issue.
If you are going to assign professional tasks to someone, shouldn’t you also pay him or her a professional wage?
Will, in short, there is tremendous economic pressure to run libraries with people whom you don’t have to pay for the professional degree. They may have the MLS, but as city and county governments have shown, that doesn’t mean you have to pay them for it.
Personnel is about 80 percent of a library system’s operating costs. Deprofessionalization — getting less highly paid people to do the same work as was done before — is a way to cope with changing patron expectations and sharply reduced funding. You don’t have to have someone with an MLS to show how to attach a photo to an email, and employing 20-hour-per-week parapros with prorated or no benefits stretches a tight budget. Library directors and governing boards and agencies are finally figuring this out, and my speculations aren’t theoretical — I know of any number of libraries that are doing exactly this. Ms. Dahlquist is indeed doing things that in the past a professional might have done, but Ms. Dahlquist’s employer doesn’t have to pay her for an MLS at a professional pay grade. They’re getting a great deal.
With, in a recent year, 7200 new MLS/MLIS degrees chasing professional positions numbering in the mere hundreds, there are many with the degree willing to work parapro, to get at least a foot in the library door at any cost.
For governing agencies with little money, it’s a buyer’s market. With the glut of MLS holders, they can be picky and they can drive a hard bargain.
In looking again at my comment, I am struck by how harsh it is.
Are library directors deliberately scheming to get professional level work out of MLS holders while paying them as library aides or assistants? I doubt it.
But library directors serve several masters. Above all, they have to keep the library operating on whatever funds are given them. Many, I am sure, would like to pay their employees more, but they also have to keep the doors open.
So when five professional-level MLS folks retire, the temptation right now is to leave those positions vacant and to distribute the work the five once did to people who are paid less, or eliminate the job descriptions entirely. This, specifically, is what I am seeing being done in some of the public library systems where I live. In public libraries, reference is in much reduced circumstances and in some systems both acquisition and cataloging have been outsourced. Do you really need MLS people?
The library director is a steward of his or her institution and the taxpayers it serves. The professional standing of some or his or her employees is perhaps rightfully far down the list of priorities.
It’s a typo a day in Biblioterra. But, hey, unlike the case in almost all other online forums, we Unwinders correct ours. Most commenters in other places don’t care a fig.
Make that “professional standing of some of his or her employees…”
I don’t know if this is still the case, but 25 years ago Pennsylvania had a level of certification entitled “Provisional Librarian” for someone with a Bachelors Degree and a certain number of Library Science credits. I know that at the library where I worked, staff members who already had a Bachelors Degree were encouraged to take the additional courses, which they could do through a community college Library Technical Assistant program, in order to get the certification. Libraries that served smaller populations could be headed by a staff member with a Provisional Librarian certification and qualify for state aid if they met other criteria relating to collection size, open hours, etc. This seems like a reasonable approach for getting qualified staff into smaller, rural libraries. It does not, however, make them “Professional Librarians”.
Michelle, I like the way you are thinking through this. I think it’s important to use some imagination born of experience and create some additional entryways into library work. As for the term “professional librarians,” are we hoping that the term “professional” will result in better pay or greater respect?
I’m not sure. Both would be nice.
I certainly didn’t go into this profession expecting to get rich. Most of the libraries at which I’ve worked have had less than stellar pay scales for all levels of employment. However, the lousy salaries were usually balanced by pleasant working conditions, decent amounts of paid vacation/sick leave/personal time, good medical benefits, and a pension. Now, unfortunately, the benefits are eroding and the working conditions aren’t always so pleasant. All you are left with are the lousy salaries and that’s if you can even find a full time professional position. Many people, myself included, cannot and either end up taking a job for which they are overqualified or piecing together two or more part time positions.
The deprofessionalization that Joe mentions above is clearly a factor here. The icing on the cake is when we start calling the people who are filling these positions librarians.
I am concerned that many of the above comments seem to be playing fast and loose with what “professional” means. It is commonly understood to mean a person who has achieved the credentials to practice in an officially-sanctioned and regulated occupation, and whose performance upholds the standards of practice, including ethical norms, for that occupation.
It is no wonder that the debate over professional librarians has been going on for decades, because only a tiny fraction of librarian positions have a statutory requirement for an MLS, and I am not aware of any equivalent for librarians of the licensing exams required by most of the recognized professions.
It is not exactly a license, but in New York State, you cannot be hired in a public library as a librarian unless you have obtained a public librarian’s certificate from the state. To earn it, you must show that you’ve completed specific coursework. The school media library specialist position is similarly regulated.
Some of my contractors who are building my new house have licenses; some do not. Is it proper then to refer to those with licenses as “professional plumbers?”
Bet they advertise themselves as such already.
Yes.
Go out into rural areas & see how many MLS holders are running libraries. Not many. And if it weren’t for those non-professionals who are doing the exact same job as many professional librarians do (& sometimes more), those libraries would not be open. Is it better to have a closed library rather than pay someone less money to keep it open for their community since no professional would come within ten miles of the place
Most MLS grads I know say later that their library classes did not prepare them for working in a public library setting. They’d learn a lot more shadowing those non-professionals for a semester. Theory is fine & good & sometimes even necessary but practice is far more important.
No doubt I say that since neither of my two degrees are in library science & my twenty years on the job & many, many hours of library continuing ed classes do not accord me professional status among many. But gee, I have yet to be asked by a patron, “are you a real librarian?” And yes, I do want my doctor or attorney to have the proper education & training but really, what we do at the library isn’t quite on the same level. We may figuratively save lives but it doesn’t take a MLS to achieve that.
Sorry–this is a subject that hits a little too close to home.
Carol Ann…thanks for bringing up the theory/practice conundrum. It’s an important distinction, one that I am sensitive about too but from the opposite angle. Everybody says that you should never go to graduate library school unless you have actually worked in a library because you need to know exactly what you are getting into. Well, I never worked in a library before library school and to me it was a great advantage because I could approach my coursework from a different angle than most of my classmates. I saw things they didn’t see. They often dismissed my views with the rejoinder that I had no real world experience, but I really felt I had the advantage of a fresh perspective in formulating my theories about the role and purpose of a library. My MLS program was excellent and gave me the background I needed to succeed both as a library practitioner and a library commentator. Well and good. What I learned grudgingly over the decades of working in libraries, however, was that some non MLS holders had not just a passion and a skill for library work but also a fresh perspective not molded by library school theory. Over time I began to appreciate this “unschooled” point of view more and more and so I began to wonder if there were not some alternative entryway into the profession without the degree. It took years of pride and arrogance to get to this point but I finally did. On the other hand I am absolutely not belittling the importance of library school education. Without it, libraries really have no future. It is our foundation, but it is not everything. Diversity of backgrounds strengthen a staff.
CarolAnn, We are in the same boat. I used to say I was not a REAL librarian but I play one in “mytown”. The state librarian told me I was a real librarian and I shouldn’t say that anymore. I sit on a statewide steering committee, am a member of our state library association and a national library association. To get my MLS would take a lot of time, effort, and money, and would do me absolutely no good as my little library could never afford to pay me for my schooling or pay a “masters” salary. So I continue to take as many courses and webinars as possible, read blogs like this and others to stay abreast of current events. All of you may say I am not a real librarian, but my library users and others in town call me a librarian and that is good enough for me. I don’t need those letters behind my name to prove it.
So long tavern, it’s been nice.
I think there are 2 issues here.
One is library administrations wanting professional work for pre-, (para- whatever you call it) pay.
The next is what one of my professors called “keeping the mayor’s cousin out of the librarian positions.” The degree can do that.
The next paraprofessional ( I don’t use that term in a sneering way. I defer to the non-degree circ manager in all things circ) that wants to take a librarian position might actually be the mayor’s cousin or some other connected person who just wants a little something to do in retirement or while the kids are at school.
Lorna…excellent point. As a former city manager, I will agree that this is a serious and real issue. Standards and credentials protect against corruption.
I’m with those above who say that if we do not hold firm to reserving the title Librarian for those with the degree, we might as well just give up any claim to being a profession. Librarianship is not a trade. You do not obtain the title through apprenticeship. Many people who work with us in “paraprofessional” roles are valued members of our organizations. Sometimes they bring unique skills that have little to do with librarianship. Other times they acquire some of the skills and knowledge of a librarian over time. But who is to judge when the knowledge gained on the job equals an accredited degree? Five years working a reference desk doesn’t mean you know everything a librarian is expected to know. It means you know how to do reference at this one library in this one community.
I’ve worked in one library where there were faculty librarians and there were positions considered “professional and scientific”. People in either position are considered professionals, but only those with an MLS are professional librarians. How professional any one person was varied greatly.
I really see this as two distinct problems:
1) We view libraries as being staffed by librarians and “everyone else” and then define those other roles as something less than librarians. We need job classifications that allow hiring professionals who are not librarians when the job does not call for the specific skills and knowledge of a librarian.
2) Some exceptional people in “library assistant” classifications have no desire to commit to the time and effort to obtain the degree, but love and wish to do a librarian’s job. Because they are exceptional, libraries want to use them to the best of their abilities and these employees sometimes go above and beyond on their own initiative. This leads to people working out of classification and the very real problem of librarians and library assistants doing very similar jobs for vastly different pay. Better minds than mine have tried to find the solution to this problem.
met, I really think you have nailed the problem that really bugs me. For a variety of reasons non-degreed employees often end up with job duties that are basically on a professional level. If that is the case, shouldn’t they be given equal pay for equal work.
In addition to the “credential” matters and all the rest, another aspect of librarianship that makes it different is that the field is tied to a physical location and collection that belongs to “X” — a school district, a community, a corporation, ….
Outside the profession, and probably even within the profession, it is hard to envision a librarian without that collection. Not so with doctor, lawyer, C.P.A., or even the barber.
Several years ago, a colleague was librarian for a special library situated in a subdivision of a large corporation. That subdivision’s purpose was to determine the corporation’s business strategy for the next 20 years. When that strategy was finalized, the subdivision downsized and the library was dispersed. But the librarian’s skill at sussing out pertinent information and getting it to the decision makers was so valued in the overall corporation that a new position was created to retain that professional skill.
So back to Will — what distinctly librarian professional skills did you bring to your City Administrator tour of duty?
Stan, can I answer by saying I will write a blog post about that next week? Thanks for the idea!
By the way, Stan, I can’t imagine doing a 20 year strategic plan. With the rapid changes in technology how could you even do a 2 year strategic plan?
Will,
The company in question is the Omaha based railroad that does not belong to Warren Buffett . They were looking at long term trends in every field of endeavor that would interface with rail transport — ag, regional manufacturing, cross-continent movement of goods, etc. The decision they reached was to focus on long haul, massive unit train & get out of the short haul small load business.
I think they also came to some conclusions about how big a potential customer had to be to even be worth their while.
Now, how would you like to be a power company exec. where it can take a whole career to get a new power plant built?
I value my MLS degree not for the practical skills I learned on the job, but for the preparation to be a professional in the library field. At the time (early 70s) there were some library workers who were in library school because it was required for their jobs. They felt that they already knew what it was to be a librarian and it was what they learned on the job and their experience. I came in with minor library experience and enjoyed (and still enjoy) learning about the profession, reading the journals, and going to meetings where I learn what other libraries and librarians are doing. It’s not about past experience but about how you learn and are open to new ideas in the profession. The MLS (with it’s intensive reading and writing) that did that for me and I believe that should be valued.
Sorry, I hate when others do it, and I did it: it’s should be its!
Alice, your library school experience sounds a lot like mine. I loved library school and it really shaped my approach to libraries. I consider myself most fortunate to have had that opportunity.
No Will, because she doesn’t qualify. She should however sign up for an MLIS program on-line and get the degree.
Do you agree that she is doing professional level work, John?
I might get into trouble here — IMHO it just isn’t as simple as “do you have an MLIS or not?” and “if you don’t, go get one.”
For the record, I have an MLIS, as well as several other graduate degrees. An MLIS is a master’s degree, not a doctorate level degree, It is not the same as a JD, or a PhD, or an MD or …. It doesn’t take the same number of years to get, it doesn’t require the same intensity or level of rigor, it doesn’t require formal internships. I don’t think we can compare it to being a doctor or laywer..
Over the years, I’ve worked with various “senior paraprofessionals” with many years of library experience who did reference work just as capably as the “professionals” did, ran storytimes just as capably, and sometimes were MUCH better than the newbie MLIS graduates. They did everything we did except collection development, because that was reserved for the MLIS holders.
I’ve also been a regional coordinator trainer to help bring workshops and training in reference, family programming, working with children etc. to people without the MLIS who ran tiny rural branch libraries in the middle of God Knows Where, because those tiny towns can’t afford an MLIS holder or it would be the rare MLIS holder who would go there for what they can afford to offer.
I am a much better librarian now than I was when I got my MLIS in 1991 – and that is from years of experience, not from having had seminars in “neutral questioning theory” and an introduction to cataloging class (and no, I am not slamming catalogers).
It’s easy for those of us who have it to say “go get the degree” but if you are a full time, older employee, maybe with a limited income, it just isn’t that easy to cough up the money and the time unless you have a lot of support from your administrators, both in terms of time off and maybe financial support or incentives.
Where I work now we have a very capable “paraprofessional” who has an MLIS, but can’t find a FT professional position anywhere in our area right now, and who can’t simply relocate (for family reasons). So we have a person with the MLIS degree, but who was hired in a position of lesser pay and doesn’t get to do some of the “professional perks” because that’s not in the job description.
I understand and agree with the complaint that there is a desire to “dumb down” the profession, to hire people without an MLIS into positions to save money. This should of course be fought against. However, I think that when people have, over years, learned the exact same knowledge and skills sets AND MORE on the job that they would have gotten with the MLIS, that they should be rewarded. They should be upgraded to the professional position, with the increased salary and stature.
As a profession, I would encourage us to be supportive of rewarding those skilled library workers who have gained on the job knowledge and insights, and who have clearly shown “above and beyond” dedication over years. Perhaps ALA and other library associations might look into how the library profession as a whole can support these skilled and motivated folks in getting their “union card” – because IMHO that is exactly what an MLIS is, a union card. I am not dissing my fellow librarians, nor am I saying that a Master’s degree does not represent an achievement, I just think we need to realize that there ARE other ways of getting the KSA besides an MLIS.
Shirl, this comment is both eloquent and fair. It is based on experience. Your years of experience have taught you the same lessons that I learned about the relative value of experience vs. formal education. I also appreciate your sensitivity to the fact that many great library workers simply don’t have the time or resources to pursue an MLS. Thanks for your insights, but what in the heck is neutral questioning theory???
LOL – it’s the fancy graduate school lingo for asking open ended questions. Does that completely answer your question?
Sort of!
Great discussion! I started reading the comments having one point of view and now have another.
I’d love to see as a topic for future discussion: why do school librarians need an education degree? Honestly, I don’t see the point. Yes, I think a few educational classes are necessary but couldn’t these be a part of your masters? Isn’t most of your time spent running the library, not teaching instructional classes? That’s what I observed when I volunteered at a school library.
jg…I love your comment because I volunteer regularly at my grandson’s elementary school library and I totally agree with your point of view. I will start doing some posts on school libraries. thanks for the motivation.
This is interesting to me, because I now work in an academic library, but in a previous life (in the late Jurassic) I was a secondary school teacher, and went through a teaching credential program/certification.
One of the things I see happen on a fairly regular basis in higher ed are instructors who have a Master’s degree in whatever subject, but no training or experience in pedagogy/teaching. They may know a lot about their subjects, but beans about actual theory and best practice in teaching, and often are, frankly, kinda mediocre teachers as a result, unless they follwo up with later studies and workshops in instructional skills and theory.
In some ways, I see the field of education as parallel to the library field: everyone else in the world secretly thinks they know how to do it without having any formal training (of whatever type) in that specific discipline. Many of the things we complain about (no respect, hiring people without formal education to do our work) also applies very much to teaching as well.
When I was getting my MLIS, the Library credential program was actually an option as part of getting the MLIS. I didn’t pursue it because I already had a teaching credential. The funny and ironic part is, if I wanted to be a school librarian, I couldn’t because I don’t have specifically a library teaching credential, even though I have a lot of teaching experience (including K-12) and lots of professional library experience.
Sometimes, I think, ya either have to laugh or scream at the typical bureaucracy and checklist approaches to things that don’t take into account the whole individual – which I think we also see too often in our field.
So, I am agreeing with you somewhat and not agree with you somewhat: I think that the ed foundation classes would be very useful for K-12 librarians. (Heck, I think they should be required of anyone who wants to work as an education professional all the way up the line). It seems to me to make most sense to just build those couses into the MLS for those folks who want to work in education, though,
I am married to a professor, and it is scary how accurate your comment is. Academia just throws experts into their field with no teaching experience whatsoever. Some colleges have started making some band-aid efforts with teaching workshops and centers for their professors, but those are usually optional. Of course at the college level, subject expertise is extremely important, but I think requiring one educational theory course and one practical course on teaching methods would go a long way in improving college-level teaching. My husband had to learn by the seat of his pants, and I think his first year of teaching was awful – almost enough to make him quit. I am proud to say that he has actively done a lot to improve his teaching, and his ratings are great except for the comments that he is a hard grader.
I almost think the opposite is true with teacher education. They get a lot of info on educational theory, often to at the expense of learning enough about the topic they are teaching. There should also be a course for education majors on the politics of the job, dealing effectively with parents, developing efficient data collection and reporting techniques, working with social service agencies, and so forth. This is another profession where what you are taught in school is very different from the reality.
While paraprofessionals may be just as good or even better than some professionals especially in dealing directly with patrons, I think that the MLS does add to the professional’s understanding of the library and how it functions. I have some wonderful parapros working under me, but they neither want nor enjoy doing my job when I’m absent. Supervising other workers, defending some of the principles of librarianship such as intellectual freedom and patron privacy, and enforcing policy with belligerent or angry patrons are generally beyond the scopes of their jobs, but occasionally crop up when I’m not available to handle them. These are some of the extra responsibilities which professionals are expected to be able to handle on a routine basis. Personally, my bachelor’s degree was much more challenging than my master’s, yet only the work towards my MLS even began to deal with some of the fundamental philosophical issues of the profession.
By the way, I’m a professional in a medium-sized public library which requires me to help with much of the clerical work especially on weekends when I’m the supervisor in charge. If paraprofessionals do some professional work, does it also lessen the worth of the degree to have professionals doing some of the clerical work?
Wow, Margaret, you have dropped a nice bomb with that last paragraph: the classic question of whether a professional should do non-professional work. I shall have to do a post about that. Thanks for the idea and a great comment.
This is a really tough question, and I don’t think there’s a “one size fits all” answer.
When I was a page, patrons would regularly call me “the librarian,” much to the chagrin of my MLS-holding co-workers. That makes sense to me. I put away the books for eight years, so yeah, I knew the Dewey Decimal System, but I didn’t know how to perform a reference interview.
I’m glad I have my MLS. I enjoyed being able to debate theory in class – debates about filters or no filters and how to promote patron privacy. But I think that someone without the degree could still get the same benefits I did by being proactive – attending workshops on reference, readers’ advisory, collection development; reading blogs and professional journals; going to conferences and getting new ideas.
I don’t mean to demean my own degree, but just having the degree doesn’t make a good librarian. Yes, I want the job to remain professional. No, I don’t think “just anybody” can do it. You need customer service skills, reference interview skills, computer skills, teaching skills, and a desire to follow a question through. A decent memory doesn’t hurt either. Does the degree really convey these skills? It certainly helps, but I think someone who has developed them in an non-traditional manner should still be called a “librarian.”
Thank you, Mary.
Mary, this is a very fair assessment of the whole issue. Thanks for your candor and your insights.
Thank you for this cogent summary!
This subject is quite close to home for me too. As CarolAnn stated above, lots of small town and rural libraries have non-MLIS people working in and running them. I have a BA and a Library Tech Diploma. Getting my MLIS was not possible when I lived 100 miles from the nearest library school and had a family to care for. Now I am over 50 and it doesn’t make sense to go back to school so late in the game. But I work at a small-town library where I do the work of a librarian: collection development, budget management for collections, marketing and promotion, cataloguing, public and private sector fundraising, as well as events and programming for adults. From where I stand, I see the ‘big picture’ of library work pretty welI. This is my career: I call myself a librarian because that’s what I do, and I do it quite well, thank you very much. Frankly, a few years of academic theory doesn’t prepare one as well for public library work as being here, working every day with users and meeting the needs of a community. MLIS’s can look down their noses all they want, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
A boss in a different career gave me some excellent advice many years ago. He suggested that I never look at what someone else has or doesn’t have, just that my needs are met or that I pursue my goals until they were met. He said this because he knew he was asking me to do salary administration for a company that paid a boatload of people three and four times my salary. What they had or didn’t have didn’t reflect on me a bit, because I was very well paid for what I could do.
Please know, there are many of us in MLS programs who do not ‘look down our noses’ at those without the degree. I respect my supervisor who has been in my library for nearly 30 years now, and is incredibly good.
My supervisor does not have an MLS. She has a library certificate from 20 years ago.
Norma, those who look down their noses at non-MLS holders will never be successful.
I think that anyone doing work at a certain level should be paid what everyone else doing that work is paid. The description sounds like professional work and she should be paid for that. And while I hate the term paraprofessional (I always used Library Technical Assistant which I think is a bit better) I don’t think librarian is appropriate either. Whenever I hear someone without an MLS being called librarian I cringe a bit. Not because they aren’t doing the current job to that level but because to me the term means you also have knowledge in a wider variety of areas. The very best public library children’s librarian I know has the title librarian, is paid at that level, and has no degree. She is fantastic at what she does—creative, thoughtful, energizing, etc. But she knows nothing about collection development, cataloging, resources other than the materials in her dept. Hopefully the degree goes along with a broader knowledge base.
Just read this after typing my response to Mick (below.) This is exactly the point I’m trying to make using my own example. As well as mentioning that I hope I’m not throwing away thousands of dollars of education!
Seems to me this is one of those fights over definitions where our preferred definition is the one that puts us in the best light. It’s also one of those “I put my pants on the same way you do so you’re no better than me” tiffs that crop up any time someone is perceived as in a batter strategic position.
First off, the word “profession” has many meanings. One of the dictionary definitions is that a “profession” is an occupation that relies on a recognized body of academic knowledge learned, usually, through formalized study in an institution of higher learning. In this sense, the MLS holder is a professional; the clerical employee is not.
The second definition is the idea that you are “professional” in your work because you take it seriously and have a good attitude. Here your clerical staff can be very professional where Mick, MLS holder that he is, likes to take Fridays and Mondays off, is frequently late, and hits on the patrons. He is decidedly unprofessional in his conduct.
And, of course, there is the idea that you are a professional simply if you get paid for doing it, hence a “professional fund raiser” as opposed to one who volunteers for free. All these definitions work. You’ll choose the one that gives you the most advantage.
The hext issue is the perceived class issue. I have not met a liberal arts B.A. degree holder yet who does not believe he or she is “as good as” a professional librarian. The difference is what they do about it. Today many para-professionals simply want the title and the money because, not knowing what they don’t know, they already believe they are “as good as” or better than a librarian. I went through the same thing as a library clerk. I saw my boss made twice as much money as I did. My solution was not to whine about it, but to go to library school so that I, too, could make $5.00 an hour instead of $2.25.
Face it, librarianship does not have the best reputation as an official “profession.” Isn’t that why you need a second masters degree in academia to get your faculty status? They want you to get a REAL masters, not just an MLS. So the MLS librarian is really between a rock and a hard place. Academia does not believe the MLS holder is a real professional, and neither do the para-pros. It’s not an enviable position to be in.
My advice to both groups? Stop whining and suck it up. It’s a tedious useless argument and I’m really quite sick of hearing it.
Here’s a liberal arts B.A. degree holder who didn’t think she could be “as good as” a professional librarian with just a B.A, Mick.
I liked doing research. I loved libraries. I applied to a program. I started volunteering. I got hired for $8 an hour at my current job. Even now, two years later, I’m not as good as an MLS. I know nothing about cataloging or archive work, and haven’t a clue about collection development.
I love what I’m doing, and I hope to have my MLS in a year or so. But I haven’t worked hard enough yet to be “as good as.” Maybe this woman who won the award has, but I sure haven’t. When I have the degree, and I have quality experience and expertise from having worked where I’m at (as in my past professions), I’ll be “as good as.”
You and I made the same decision. My career certainly sputtered for a couple of years, but I had no idea at the time how rewarding it would turn out to be (I don’t mean $ wise). In hindsight I’m really glad I did it. Good luck with your career.
Thanks, Mick.
As a paraprofessional, I would just like to say that I would prefer the title “assistant librarian”. This would explain to the public (and other staff) that we are not actually librarians, yet we do assist librarians in their jobs. I have worked for many years in the public library system and have long listened to the debate about the MLS. I chose not to go back to school for my own reasons, but this does not mean I don’t value those who did. Having said that, I have spent a lot of time training new graduates in the realities of working in a library. I like to think they bring new knowledge and I can share experience. However, I don’t believe this qualifies me to become a manager, cataloger, or reference librarian in an academic library. I do believe that I perform my job in a professional and competent manner, though. I think assistant librarian is a better definition of what I actually do, and means more to most people than library tech, clerk, or library assistant. Just my two cents worth from a happy paraprofessional.
pw…yes, I agree. Assistant librarian conveys more meaning than paraprofessional. I think that is probably something that everyone on this comment board can agree upon today. Thanks for achieving the impossible!
Great question and great comments! And for the record, I feel that yes, if someone is doing the work (whatever the work) they should paid for it.
Which leads to the bigger question that this all rests on, and which isn’t being asked in relation to the MLS or job requirements/pay: what IS a professional (degree holding) librarian? Can anyone here give a 30-second “elevator speech” answer to that which is inclusive, clear and not esoteric in the extreme? I haven’t heard such a description yet.
The issue is that librarianship has been historically tied to the building and the books and the reference desk; only librarians (para or pro) knew that was not really the case. Now that what we do is even less defined by physical parameters, it becomes even more difficult to define professional standards. It’s not about whether non-MLS holding employees can do the work or not, or should get paid for it if they do; the question is, what does a professional librarian DO?
Without being able to answer that comprehensively in a way that defines the role as a profession, it’s pointless to argue the value of the degree (none) or whether paraprofessionals should be recognized as professionals if they are doing the same work as the degreed employees (they should). If the degree is doing nothing more than proffering a degree, then it is not a useful valuation for judging “professional work.” IMHO.