Public library staff pay

As public libraries enter the budget writing season, the Personnel Committee of the Vermont Library Association urges library directors to take a hard look at staff salaries. Here are some points to keep in mind:

* Qualified library directors should be paid at least $40,300 annually, or $19.38 per hour, as recommended by the Vermont Library Association Executive Board.
* If the library does not pay for medical insurance, offer compensatory leave or a lump sum payment instead.
* At a minimum, increase staff wages by the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) as set by the Social Security Administration annually in October. There will be no increase to social security payments in 2010. However, now is a good time to “catch up” if you have missed COLA in previous years.
* Consider whether your library has experienced increased usage this year. More visits, more items borrowed, more usage of resources, more programs — all mean more work for the staff. Even if job descriptions haven’t expanded, the workload may have.

Check the attached budget memo for more details. Share the information with library trustees as you build the annual budget. To study appropriate compensation, view the Personnel Committee’s 2009 revision of “Increasing Public Library Compensation: A How-To Guide for Vermont Libraries” at https://vermontlibraries.org//publibcompensation2009.pdf

For further information about or assistance with the above or any other personnel questions, please contact the committee chair:

Rubi Simon
Burnham Memorial Library
898 Main Street (Rte. 2A)
Colchester, VT 05446
802-879-7576
rsimon@burnham.lib.vt.us

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Public Library Salaries

As public libraries enter the budget writing season, the Personnel Committee of the Vermont Library Association urges library directors to take a hard look at staff salaries. Here are three points to keep in mind:

* Qualified library directors should be making at least $40,300 annually, or $19.38 per hour, as recommended by the Vermont Library Association Executive Board.
* If the library does not pay for medical insurance, offer compensatory leave or a lump sum payment instead.
* At a minimum, increase staff wages by the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) as set by the Social Security Administration annually in October. The increase for 2009 is 5.8%.

Check the budget memo below for more details. Share the information with library trustees as you build the annual budget.Read more

Salary Increases for VT Public Librarians

In October 2008, the Executive Board of the Vermont Library Association approved the following recommended minimum starting salary:

For a public library director with the Vermont Department of Libraries “Certificate of Public Librarianship,” the recommended minimum starting salary is $40,300, with a complete benefits package. For directors who work less than full time, the hourly wage is $19.38, with a pro-rated benefits package.

“Increasing Public Library Compensation: A How-To Guide for Vermont Libraries” is available at https://vermontlibraries.org//compensation5.07.pdf.

The Personnel Committee of the Vermont Library Association can help you review and study your library salaries and job descriptions. Contact committee chair Amy C. Grasmick at kimball_acg@hotmail.com or (802) 728-5073 for more information.

VT Public Library Salary Survey

In response to many inquiries and requests, the Personnel Committee of the Vermont Library Association is surveying public librarians in the state about their wages and benefits. We ask that you help us identify those individuals we need to survey.Read more

When law enforcement comes a’knocking

Dear colleagues,

“It will never happen here!”

Isn’t it human nature to believe that tragedies happen “out there,” in the world, and not in our own communities? Sadly, many communities have cause to know that tragedies do indeed happen at home. My own community, Randolph and neighboring Braintree, has just suffered the agony of the disappearance and murder of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett.

I am writing this because “It will never happen here!” also happened at my library.

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Personnel Committee Meeting

The Personnel Committee is meeting

Monday, May 12th, 10am-noon at the Midstate Regional Library in Berlin 

to begin planning its next project: a survey of Vermont public librarians’ wages and benefits. The Committee welcomes volunteers to help draft, administer, and analyze the survey.

 Contact Chair Amy C. Grasmick for more information:

Kimball Public Library
kimball_acg@hotmail.com
728-5073 

VLA Public Librarians’ Salary Survey

The Personnel Committee of the Vermont Library Association recently published its new report, “Salaries and Benefits: A Survey of Vermont Academic Librarians.”

In response to numerous inquiries, the Committee invites interested librarians to participate in writing, administering, analyzing, and reporting the results of a survey of Vermont public librarians’ salaries and benefits.

Please contact me by March 31st if you want to come on board.

Amy C. Grasmick
Chair, VLA Personnel Committee
Director, Kimball Public Library

67 North Main Street
Randolph, VT 05060

kimball_acg@hotmail.com
728-5073