The emergence of the paraprofessional in academic libraries: Perceptions and realities

College and Research Libraries

Volumn 53, Issue 2, 1992, Pages 99-112

  Oberg, Larry R ^a  

^a ALBION COLLEGE   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0009176950     PISSN: 00100870     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.5860/crl_53_02_99     Document Type: Article

References (54)

1. The fact that "the productivity tools which automation has made possible have reduced the skill level required to do certain types of library work," is noted in "Changing Staffing Patterns in Academic Libraries," Library Issues: Briefings for Faculty and Administrators 7:2 (Sept. 1986).
2. Patricia Glass Schuman notes that "networking does tend to move tasks formerly considered professional downward-particularly in the areas of circulation, cataloging, acquisitions, and interlibrary loan." See Schuman, "Library Networks: A Means, Not an End," Library Journal 112:34 (Feb. 1, 1987).
3. The fact that "the standardization which the national cataloging systems has made possible permits many libraries to use paraprofessional and clerical staff to handle work which formerly required the skills of a professional catalog librarian," is noted in "Changing Staffing Patterns," p.2.
4. Kathleen M. Heim, "Librarians for the New Millennium," in Librarians for the Neto Millennium, ed. William E. Moen and Kathleen M. Heim (Chicago: Office for Library Personnel Resources, American Library Association, 1988), p.1-10.
5. In a discussion of the "technological imperative," Allen B. Veaner suggests that the application of a technology drives very complex, but routine, mental work downward in the hierarchy of tasks. No longer essential to the performance of these tasks, professionals cease to be production workers. Their work then becomes abstract and predominately intellectual, comprehending new and challenging responsibilities. See Veaner, "Librarians: The Next Generation," Library Journal 109:624 (Apr. 1, 1984).
6. For a comparison of the status of library paraprofessionals with their counterparts in law and medicine, see Kathleen M. Heim and Debbie Wolcott, with the assistance of Ed McCormack, "Staff Utilization in Libraries: The Historical and Environmental Context for Renewed Attention to Education, Role Definition, and Articulation with Special Consideration of Medicine and Law," Louisiana library Association Bulletin 52:149-57 (Spring 1990).
7. See also John Levett, "Paraprofessional Workers in Four Fields: A Comparative Study," The Australian Library Journal 30:47-54 (May 1981).
8. Ralph M. Edwards points out that "many people who are supposed to be functioning as librarians have always avoided professional responsibility by immersing themselves in routine clerical work. Uninformed management attitudes and techniques in libraries have frequently abetted this dereliction of professional function."
9. See Ralph M. Edwards, "The Management of Libraries and the Professional Functions of Librarians," Library Quarterly 45:150 (Apr. 1975).
10. Levett, "Paraprofessional Workers in Four Fields," p.48.
11. In 1990, Mark E. Mentges (University of California, Berkeley) and I conducted an as yet unpublished survey of all ARL reference libraries and a random sample of almost 400 Carnegie classification libraries nationally. Of the responding Carnegie classification libraries, 61 percent regularly assign to paraprofessionals Library of Congress input copy cataloging and approximately 20 percent assign original cataloging, including description, subject analysis, and classification. Online database searching is regularly performed by paraprofessionals in 21 percent of these libraries; 46 percent assign substantial administrative responsibility to paraprofessionals in circulation, 30 percent in interlibrary loan, 33 percent in periodicals, 27 percent in acquisitions, and 22 percent in cataloging. Sixty-six percent of these libraries regularly schedule paraprofessionals to work at the reference/information desks.
12. Thirty percent of the library directors in all libraries responding to my survey report that they have at least some paraprofessionals in their employ who earn a salary comparable to or higher than entry-level librarians. This figure rises to 87 percent in large research institutions and declines to 14 percent in liberal arts colleges.
13. In a survey of Albion College faculty, Oberg, Schleiter, and Van Houten found that "77% [of their respondents] could not identify by name all five Albion College librarians although the campus community is quite small and the nature of professional employment clearly outlined on the questionnaire. Further, 40% identified as librarians one or more members of the support staff. These were most often staff with whom they have frequent contact-circulation, interlibrary loan, and periodicals department employees, for example." Larry R. Oberg, Mary Kay Schleiter, and Michael Van Houten, "Faculty Perceptions of Librarians at Albion College: Status, Role, Contribution, and Contacts," College & Research Libraries 50:225 (Mar. 1989).
14. In a survey of the image of the librarian, Joan C. Durrance suggests that "the profession that fails to distinguish between librarians and other staff (who have not had the benefit of a professional education) is culpable for any opinions that the public may form about librarians' ability." Durrance, "Librarians: The Invisible Professionals," in The Bowker Annual Library and Book Trade Almanac, 35th ed., (New York: Bowker, 1990), p.96.
15. Allen B. Veaner, personal communication, Sept. 28, 1990.
16. Association of College and Research Libraries, Academic Status Committee, "Standards for Faculty Status for College and University Librarians," in Academic Status: Statements and Resources (Chicago: American Library Association, 1988), p.9-10.
17. Allen B. Veaner, Academic Librarianship in a Transformational A0ge: Program, Politics, and Personnel (Boston: Hall, 1990), p.439.
18. Miller notes that "Secretaries and faculty members may have conflicts, but the secretary would not dream of aspiring to be a faculty member, nor would the faculty see a rivalry in the relationship. In other words, their respective roles are clearly delineated and few inherent conflicts arise." Rush G. Miller, "Support Staffs in Academic Libraries: The Dilemma and the Challenge," Journal of Educational Media and Library Sciences 25:357 (1988).
19. The two Charles C. Williamson reports, the original unpublished manuscript and the published report, have been reissued as Training for Library Work (1921) and Training for Library Service (1923), (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1971), 2v.
20. Charles Holborn Held, The Status of Library Technicians in the United States: A Dissertation (Detroit: Wayne State University, Graduate Division, 1969).
21. It was not until 1969 that the American Library Association published its Criteria for Programs to Prepare Library Technical Assistants: Statement of Policy.
22. For a discussion of the postsecondary educational programs for library technicians, see Ian M. Johnson, "The Development of Library Technicians: A Review of Experience in Selected Countries," International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) General Conference, 1990, Booklet 3. (The Hague: IFLA, 1990; Bethesda, Md.: ERIC Document Reproduction Service, ED 329 284, 1991), p. 53-61.
23. Orvin Lee Shiflett, Origins of American Academic Librarianship (Norwood, NJ.: Ablex, 1982).
24. Sarah K. Vann, Training for Librarianship before 1923 (Chicago: American Library Association, 1961).
25. Charles W. Evans, "The Evolution of Paraprofessional Library Employees" in Advances in Librarianship 99:64-97 (New York: Academic, 1979).
26. Edward B. Martinez, "In the Beginning, There Was Support Staff," Library Mosaics 1:6-8 (Sept./Oct. 1989).
27. Charlotte Mugnier, The Paraprofessional and the Professional fob Structure (Chicago: American Library Association, 1980).
28. American Library Association, Library Education and Personnel Utilization: A Statement of Policy by the Council of the American Library Association, June 30, 1970 (Chicago, 1976).
29. The LEPU document, originally entitled Library Education and Manpower, was revised and edited in 1976 by the Office for Library Personnel Resources' (OLPR) Advisory Committee to remove sexist terminology.
30. Richard M. Dougherty, "Personnel Needs for Librarianship's Uncertain Future," in Herbert Poole, ed., Academic Libraries by the Year 2000: Essays Honoring Jerrold Orne (New York: Bowker, 1977), p.112.
31. Allen B. Veaner, "Continuity or Discontinuity-A Persistent Personnel Issue in Academic Librarianship," Advances in Library Administration & Organization 1:3 (1982). In the original published source, the author notes, the word perquisites was inadvertently transposed into prerequisites.
32. Beverly P. Lynch and Jo Ann Verdin, "Job Satisfaction in Libraries: Relationships of the Work Itself, Age, Sex, Occupational Group, Tenure, Supervisory Level, Career Commitment, and Library Department," Library Quarterly 53:442 (Oct. 1983).
33. Beverly P. Lynch and Jo Ann Verdin, "Job Satisfaction in Libraries: A Replication," Library Quarterly 57:199 (Apr. 1987).
34. Patricia A. Kreitz and Annegret Ogden, "Job Responsibilities and Job Satisfaction at the University of California Libraries," College & Research Libraries 51:307 (July 1990).
35. "Research and Action Agenda for Support Professionals in Libraries," Application for World Book-ALA Goal Awards, unpublished manuscript, 1990.
36. American Library Association, Public Information Office, ACRL Task Force Recommends Increased Paraprofessional Participation (Chicago: American Library Association, 1990).
37. Association of College and Research Libraries, Academic Librarians: Partners in Higher Education: The 1989-90 Annual Report (Chicago: American Library Association, 1990), p.9.
38. The definition of paraprofessionals that I wrote for my 1990 survey-based to a large extent upon ALA and IPEDS definitions-follows: "The term paraprofessional designates library positions with entrance-level requirements that are distinctly different from those of librarians. Paraprofessionals are assigned high-level support responsibilities in positions whose tasks are specific to libraries. They commonly perform their duties with some supervision by a librarian. The term is often applied to personnel classified as library assistants, associates, technicians, and technical assistants. Examples of paraprofessional position titles include: head of circulation, interlibrary loan assistant, acquisitions coordinator, catalog assistant, periodicals supervisor, reference assistant, etc. The following members of the support staff should not be included as paraprofessionals: secretaries, typists, bookkeepers, and others whose positions require primarily office-related skills; student library assistants, photographers, photocopy room and mailroom employees, audiovisual technicians, etc.; or professionals who may not hold a master's degree in librarianship, for example: systems analysts and other computer specialists, library business officers, library personnel officers, etc."
39. For a survey of definitions of paraprofessionals see "Support Staff by Any Other Name," Library Mosaics 1:10-12 (Sept./Oct. 1989).
40. Criteria for Programs to Prepare Library/Media Technical Assistants (Chicago: American Library Association, 1979). The revised statement was adopted by the American Library Association Council on June 2, 1979.
41. The other elements of staff development that Miller considers important are participation in decision making, orientation programs, workshops and other in-house programs, formal and not-so-formal courses, and job swapping. See Rush G. Miller, "A Model for Support Staff Development in Academic Libraries," unpublished paper, 1988, p.4-5. Miller is dean of libraries, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403-0175.
42. In my survey, the percentage of Carnegie classification respondents that use certain comparison criteria in the determination of paraprofessional salaries is: other campus support staff salaries, 83 percent; equivalent salaries at other institutions, 41 percent-librarians' salaries at the same institution, 14 percent; other government employees' salaries, 22 percent; and salaries established through collective bargaining negotiations, 24 percent.
43. Michael Gorman, "The Organization of Academic Libraries in the Light of Automation," in Advances in Library Automation and Networking," 1:158 (1987).
44. Michael Gorman, "The Academic Library in the Year 2001: Dream or Nightmare or Something in Between?" Journal of Academic Librarianship 17:8 (Mar. 1991).
45. Herbert S. White, "Professional Librarians and Professionals in Libraries," Library Journal 116:74 (Jan. 1991).
46. Mark E. Mentges, "Library Paraprofessionals in Academic Libraries-Where to Now?" Library Mosaics 2:15 (Mar./Apr. 1991).
47. A paraprofessional colleague from California wrote me after reading a typescript version of this article: "Not to be too critical of your concept of high-level librarianship, but from my observations here at... and other libraries I have visited or have contacts at, I really feel that perhaps only 10-20% of the professionals are operating at the teaching and research level you envision. In looking at the overall picture, paraprofessionals might not be the group in doubt, but librarians may be the endangered species. The closing of Columbia's library school, and the real possibility of Berkeley's closing, send a chilling message. Certainly, to the campus administrations, library education seems to be expendable. Isn't this the fault of the profession for failing to be perceived as an integral part of scholarship? I am afraid the caretaker role too many librarians perform might be all too prevalent in academic settings
48. Sheila S. Intner, "The Education of Copy Catalogers," Technicalities 11:6 (Mar. 1991).
49. Rush G. Miller, "Support Staff in Academic Libraries: The Dilemma and the Challenge," Journal of Educational Media and Library Science 25:364 (1988).
50. Melvil Dewey, "The Profession," American Library Journal 1:5 (Sept. 30, 1876). Dewey wrote that "the time has at last come when a librarian may, without assumption, speak of his occupation as a profession."
51. Pierce Butler, An Introduction to Library Science (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Pr., 1933), pp.xi-xii.
52. An as yet unpublished national survey of the "status of academic status" conducted in 1990 by Charles B. Lowry, Larry R. Oberg, Irene B. Hoadley, and Rush G. Miller reveals that 67 percent of all academic libraries in the United States grant (some form of) faculty status to their librarians; 7 percent grant academic status; 24 percent grant professional /administrative status, and 2 percent impose civil service classifications.
53. Veaner, "Continuity or Discontinuity," p. 1-20.
54. Veaner, "Continuity or Discontinuity," Ibid.,p.2.