[WEB4LIB] RE: outsourcing/consultants for library computer progr amming

[Kevil, L H.]

Good points, Dan, as usual. There is always money available for what the
administration wants. And, yes, many technical people do not like user
contact. But there are some who do, and our library policies cut them out.
Just this morning my library had a meeting in which the question of the
professional degree required for hiring was discussed. Basically if you do
not have an ALA-accredited library master's degree, you cannot be hired as a
librarian. Exceptions are for foreign library and information studies
degrees only. Graduates of Berkeley's former library school will have to
have their degrees approved on an exceptional basis. People with Master's
degrees in MIS or IT or CS, no matter their libreary experience, need not
apply. 

IMHO this kind of exclusionary credentialism does libraries no good. Nor
does it do any good to hire technical people into a secondary (and
necessarily inferior) job classification hierarchy. Technical people need to
be considered librarians just like anyone else. The work they do is very
important and their career paths need to be as open as everyone else's.
Libraries appear to be clinging to an outmoded definition of what a
librarian is and does. Is there any reason a technical person with good
library experience should never be considered to become Head of Technical
Services or even to give bibliographic instruction?

Hunter

L. Hunter Kevil
Collection Development Librarian
176 Elmer Ellis Library
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO 65201

KevilL at missouri.edu
573-884-8760 voice
573-882-6034 facsimile
-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Lester [mailto:dan at riverofdata.com]
Sent: Monday, April 02, 2001 10:43 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [WEB4LIB] RE: outsourcing/consultants for library computer
programming



Sunday, April 01, 2001, 1:38:02 PM, you wrote:

LBA> I agree with you when you say ".. the next steps in delivering
libraries
LBA> thorugh the web have to do with integrating and customizing systems. To
LBA> accomplish these steps, we
LBA> need programmers..."  The problem is the pay programmers can command is
way
LBA> out of line with what libraries are able to pay.  My observation has
been
LBA> that library salaries for technical staff are easily 1/3 less than what
LBA> those folks can earn in the business world.

The problem isn't what libraries are able to pay, it is what they're
willing to pay.  Money can be found if it is a high enough priority.
However, most library administrators aren't happy when they have to pay
"a mere techie" more than they make themselves, particularly if that
techie is half the age of the administrator.  So, they try to make do
with librarians posing as techies or programmers, or student help
(which may be quite good, but also quite temporary).  The other part
of the problem is that most libraries don't need to have a full time
"programmer" or "software engineer" or whatever, and most of those
people don't want to spend half of their lives doing boring stuff like
installing PCs and holding users' hands.

cheers

dan




-- 
Dan Lester, Data Wrangler  dan at RiverOfData.com
3577 East Pecan, Boise, Idaho  83716-7115 USA
www.riverofdata.com  www.postcard.org  www.gailndan.com