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.
librarian: a specialist in the care or management of a library (Merriam-Webster dictionary)
Examples of public librarians include, but are not limited to:
- the director, who has the overall responsibility for managing the library;
- the children’s librarian, who manages programs, collections and services for children;
- the reference librarian, who answers reference questions and organizes and develops the reference collection;
- the technical services librarian, who catalogs materials and manages the library database.
Examples of the work librarians do (taken from A Manual for Vermont Library Trustees, 12/07):
- Helping the public locate items, find answers, and use technology in the library.
- Selecting and weeding books and other library materials.
- Developing procedures for circulation, patron registration, and daily library functions.
- Developing and running programs for all ages.
Working to develop long range plans for the library. - Promoting public library use throughout the community.
- Developing the library’s annual budget; then tracking and spending funds as allocated.
- Recruiting, hiring, supervising, evaluating, and training staff and volunteers.
- Keeping the board informed about local, state and national library activities.
Having the MLS or DOL certification is NOT necessary – performing professional duties like those listed above is. Because many of Vermont’s libraries are small, librarians may be employed part time.
Please consider your staff members, and send us the e-mail addresses of those you feel meet our definition of librarian. Remember to include your own! We will use these addresses to invite Vermont public librarians to respond to our online survey.
MAKE SURE TO SEND E-MAIL ADDRESSES BY 9/30/08 TO: scott.schaffer@uvm.edu
Questions? Comments? Please contact Amy C. Grasmick, chair of the VLA Personnel Committee: kimball_acg@hotmail.com, 728-5073