Oregon position (again)

[Silvia Muller]

I'm playing catch up after returning from a self-imposed vacation and
caught the drift of this Oregon Library Network Manager position issue. The
discussion regarding salaries for library networking professionals has
happened on the LITA listserv and sort of petered out without coming to
fruition. Who writes these job descriptions? If the pundits are correct and
the future of libraries lies with the technolgy-driven then why are the
technology-driven positions almost always entry level and/or underpaid?
Wouldn't it make more sense to try and attract the *best* candidates
possible with a reasonable salary rather than watch the cream of the
library and education crop skimmed off by better paying companies?

If a library asks for web authoring, Novell networking, Mac, PC, etc. etc.
paying $32K and a commercial venture looking for similar skills is paying
$45K does the library get committed, talented hires? Do they get people who
will leave for greener pastures after they gain a little bit of experience
and a toe-hold in the field? Do they get the people who would not have been
hired by said commercial ventures because their skills were somewhat less
solid?

Sorry to blast in such a fashion, but as a recent M.L.S. I'm getting a
little bit fustrated with this job market. And fyi, they've also posted
this opening to the Lab Manager listserv - so you've really got to wonder
about who's going to be running the "libraries of the future".

So can I repeat my question? Who's writing these job descriptions and
what's the logic behind them?

Silvia Muller
Lab Manager
Graduate School of Education
Rutgers University
silvia at rci.rutgers.edu