College and Research Libraries A Staff Librarian Views T h e Problem of Status By J A N E F O R G O T S O N ? C R T 1 H E P R O F E S S O R loves librarians like his grandmother—there's always a little room for them behind the stove." Heine would doubtless approve this par- aphrase if he could visit many colleges and universities in the United States to- day, for probably a majority of college li- brarians find themselves occupying on the campus the social and professional status of poor relation. Status is the position an individual oc- cupies with relation to a social group or organization. Each status carries with it a set of rights and duties, or a role to be performed. Status, then, represents the relative value assigned by the group to the role, and hence the rewards to be given for the performance of the role. T h e individual staff librarian may ex- perience the vague discomfort engen- dered by his status as a poor relation without being aware of the precise na- ture of his problem nor its wide scope. For clarification he may turn to the li- brary literature. It has much to tell him about the academic world's evaluation of his role on many college campuses. On the majority of college campuses, most of the librarians are not granted the social acceptance which the teaching faculty member would accord to another professor. T h e librarian's official status may be quite nebulous. Where his of- ficial status is clear, his actual status is nevertheless frequently ambiguous, with students and faculty alike regarding him as some kind of super-clerk or adminis- trative aide. In matters of retirement and sick leave, he is apt to be on the same footing as the professorate. In matters of vacation and salary, there is considerable difference in the treat- Miss Forgotson was formerly Supervising Science and Technology Librarian, Los An- geles State College. ment accorded him as contrasted with the teaching faculty. In medium-sized universities and colleges, his annual sal- ary for twelve months is generally lower than salaries paid to instructors for nine months, according to the most recent survey. In leading universities, the ma- jority make no effort to establish com- parable salary scales for librarians and teaching faculty. Where there are dif- ferentials, library salaries are "not neces- sarily inferior," but in a majority of cases no cognizance is taken of the longer work period required of librarians, or adjustments are made only on an indi- vidual basis.1 Sabbatical leaves for librarians are rel- atively rare. Provisions regarding tenure vary. Participation in group insurance or hospital plans are frequently on the same basis as faculty. Minor forms of recogni- tion are often granted, such as member- ship in faculty clubs, attendance at fac- ulty meetings, membership on faculty committees, and marching in academic processions. In perhaps 30 to 40 per cent of college libraries, all professional li- brarians enjoy full faculty status. From another viewpoint, in 60 to 70 per cent they do not. These facts have led one wit to conclude that while the library, in the language of college presidents, is the "heart of the institution," the librarian is certainly not the main artery. In psychological terms, this means that 1 Robert B. Downs, " T h e Current Status of Univer- sity Library Staffs," CRL, X V I I I ( 1 9 5 7 ) , 377. J U L Y 1 9 6 1 275 there is a conflict in the collective mind of the academic community as to the role played by the librarian, and hence the rewards to be accorded for its perform- ance. While this conflict is not healthy for either college or library, the primary victim is the staff librarian. A clear sense of identity is essential to a feeling of be- longing. T h e resultant integration of the individual into the group is generally recognized not only as a condition of j o b satisfaction, but as a factor in the opti- mum functioning of the organization. T h e pressing need of college librarians for a clear identity led McEwen, as long ago as 1942, to write: "Primarily they want status, any satisfactory status. T h e y are concerned about it because their sit- uation makes difficult any wide recogni- tion of their specialized functions, marks them off as a minority group separated from the satisfactions of group-belonging- ness, places them in overlapping areas of functions which are not clearly defined."2 And as recently as 1957, Downs declared the firm conviction "that the morale, sound development, and all-round effec- tiveness of professional university librar- ians are related directly to the place as- signed them in the institutional hier- archy." 3 Staff librarians can cheerfully echo the call for a clarified status. Without a satis- factory identity, the effort and expendi- ture involved in four years' undergrad- uate, and at least one year's graduate study seem futile and wasted, since lack of intellectual acceptance means rejec- tion by their environment of the contri- bution they are able to make. T h e y are hampered professionally by isolation from the body politic, of which the li- brary is an organ. As human beings, they need the feeling of belonging and the stimulus of many intelligent minds. Without these things they lose their in- centive to grow and develop, and their 2 Robert W . McEwen, " T h e Status of College Librar- ians." CRL, I I I ( 1 9 4 2 ) , 259. 3 Downs, op. cit., 375. wish to contribute. T h u s they want and need a public definition of their contri- bution and their role, and the status which should accompany this. W i t h regard to official classification, where does today's college librarian stand in his seeking for identity? T h e multi- plicity of statuses accorded librarians around the country indicates the general confusion as to their role in an educa- tional institution and points up the need for defining it. In his survey of 115 lead- ing American universities Downs dis- closed three prevailing patterns: (1) academic or faculty status; (2) separate professional group, called either adminis- trative or professional; (3) civil service or other classified service plan. T h i s sur- vey revealed that in 35 institutions pro- fessional librarians enjoy faculty status with titles. In approximately 27 they en- joy academic status without titles ("aca- demic" being subject to various defini- tions). In 43 they are regarded as belong- ing to a separate professional group. In 11 institutions they fall under civil serv- ice or some other similar classified scheme. T h u s in approximately 80 insti- tutions out of 115, the majority of li- brarians do not enjoy faculty status, al- though in a considerable number, 45, it is the practice to grant faculty titles to selected members of the staff and to clas- sify the remainder in some other fashion. In his report of a questionnaire sur- vey covering 49 medium-sized universi- ties and colleges in 1953, Muller found that in only 19 of the libraries did all the librarians have faculty rank. In 7 not a single librarian had faculty rank; in 14 only the head librarian had faculty rank; in 9 some librarians had faculty rank. In 30 institutions out of 49, there- fore, the majority of the staff did not have faculty rank.4 An interesting sidelight on these sur- veys is the fact that even the granting 4 Robert H. Muller, " F a c u l t y Rank for Library Staff Members in Medium-Sized Universities and Colleges," American Association of University Professors' Bul- letin, X X I X ( 1 9 5 3 ) , 424. 276 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S of faculty status does not necessarily bring with it better salaries or improved standing. As a matter of fact, the terms "faculty status" and "academic status" are frequently meaningless unless imple- mented by equivalent faculty titles. For example, at a nationally known research institution, where librarians have been granted "faculty status," their salaries, vacation and other privileges bear no re- lationship to the teaching faculty's. T h e i r prerogatives are limited to partici- pation in the teacher retirement plan and attendance at general faculty meet- ings once or twice yearly. T h e i r place in the scheme of things is clearly indicated by the Christmas letter sent out one year: "Christmas greetings and a happy New Year to all employees of Whiffles College. For whether you may be custo- dians, stenographers, clerks or librarians, you are all members of the great Whif- fles College team, (signed) T h e Chan- cellor." In other institutions assigning faculty status, other small prerogatives may be added without tending to equalize sal- aries or produce any real improvement in the social or professional status of the librarian. T o the staff librarian, faculty status without privileges is indeed worse than meaningless because of the resent- ment it generates at being placed in an anomalous situation insulting to the in- telligence. Faculty privileges without status, on the other hand, are apt to convey material benefits without the psychological ones which help to pro- vide the most favorable climate for de- velopment. Not all staff librarians would agree upon the desirability of achieving faculty status. Most would agree that their pres- ent status is not satisfactory, and that a more equitable status is greatly to be de- sired. But higher status, like charity, be- gins at home. It begins in the mind of the staff librarian. In many cases librari- ans lack proper academic preparation; academic instincts; willingness to assume committee work, to write for publica- tion, etc. Some old-school anti-intellectu- alism persists, whereby emphasis is placed on clerical routines and the quality of the whispering voice. Moreover, McEwen's definition of college librarians as a mi- nority group5 calls to mind the existence in staff circles of an interesting phenome- non common to such groups, namely self dislike and abnegation. Librarians can not infrequently be heard belittling the work they do. T h e y also disparage their academic preparation in such terms as: "So much of library school is a lot of busy work." "Yes, they give you a Master's degree nowadays, but it's really the same as the old Bachelor's degree." Standards vary in library schools, just as they vary in other departments of study. Neverthe- less, the Master's program of library schools must pass the inspection of the college deans, and a great many library schools are accredited by an appropriate scholastic agency. It may therefore be as- sumed that many of the librarians fram- ing such remarks are merely accepting the inferior evaluation placed upon them by the majority group, and by their ac- ceptance, are tending to reinforce it. T h e staff librarian must conceive of himself as an intellectual person with a valuable function to perform, and accept the chal- lenges of such a role, if he wants others to visualize him in the same light. Higher status must also begin in the mind of the chief librarian. He too should conceive of himself and his staff primarily as intellectual workers. He must free his staff from clerical duties and encourage them to spend time on projects leading to growth and develop- ment. He must guard against bestowing the highest prestige and rewards on those who are neither scholars nor ex- perts in human relations, but techni- cians concerned with the manipulation of budgets, purchase of equipment, plans for new buildings, etc. If the chief con- tribution of librarians is to be adminis- 5 McEwen, op. cit., 257. J U L Y 1 9 6 1 277 trative, then college librarians can hardly lay claim to being academic, nor can many of them be administrators. Another contribution which the chief librarian can make toward improved status inside his own library is the clear delineation of responsibility and author- ity assigned each position. Generally this is best accomplished through written j o b descriptions. T h i s is the initial step to- ward achieving identity for the staff li- brarian. Moreover, it usually results in an intellectual upgrading of each posi- tion as clerical work is squeezed out and the granting of much-needed authority makes possible a significant improve- ment in the fulfillment of responsibility. These things in turn provide a valuable psychological boost. Such j o b descrip- tions are also extremely useful in defin- ing the contributions of librarians to the college. A subtle barrier to recognition of col- lege librarians as worthy members of the educational community is social hier- archism within the library. If association within the library is obviously restricted to hierachic lines, this conveys to the teaching faculty the idea that the ma- jority of the staff are not fit to associate socially and intellectually with the ad- ministrators. Since the library adminis- trators are generally accepted as the equals of the teaching faculty, how then can the majority of the library staff be fit to associate with the professorate? How can these same librarians be of such stature as to contribute anything substantial to the educational program? It is a case of the college community viewing the staff librarians through the chief librarian's eyes, for he it is who sets the pattern. Social hierarchism is com- mon in most organizations, whether they be industrial, religious, cultural, mili- tary, or educational. It is not necessarily harmful. Yet in the already disadvan- tageous context of the college situation, it cannot but reinforce the inferior sta- tus according to staff librarians. Numerous top library administrators in the college field, over a period of many years, have made serious and productive efforts toward improving the status of college librarians. T o those far-seeing and generous individuals, college staff li- brarians everywhere must accord the most sincere respect. But still other head librarians, in the words of Muller, "may have a tendency to be satisfied with the status quo." Muller infers a relationship between the failure of college librarians to secure faculty status and the attitude of the chief librarian.6 Complacency is a human failing to- ward which staff librarians cannot be un- sympathetic. But in addition to the inertial component involved in the main- tenance of the status quo, other less ac- ceptable motives may be observed from time to time on the part of library ad- ministrators. At some colleges chief li- brarians may gain in self esteem by be- ing the only librarians accepted by deans and teaching faculty on a basis of equality. At the same time, an autocratic chief librarian may prefer maintenance of the status quo as a tool to keep abso- lute control over the library. So complete may be the isolation of the staff librar- ians from the rest of the campus, and so lacking may they be in personal weight, that bad administrative conditions may be indefinitely perpetuated within the library, and a continuous, and somewhat mysterious, arrival and departure of pro- fessional librarians may be observed. T h e r e is yet another form of personal prestige to be gained by the chief li- brarian in maintaining the status quo. T h e problem of better status for staff librarians is a difficult one to solve on any campus. Aside from the effort and mind-searching which it might require of faculty and college administrators, it also touches upon the delicate problem of jealousy of prerogatives. By "sitting on the lid" a chief librarian may profit by his thoughtfulness in not injecting 8 Muller, op. cit., 426. 278 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S these disturbing forces into the orderly world of the academic faculty. Many of these chief librarians, while skeptical of faculty rank for others, insist upon academic rank for themselves. Carlson feels: "Certainly we have reached a point . . . where a chief librar- ian can no longer with easy conscience accept faculty rank and academic status for himself, leaving his staff in a vague kind of academic no-man's-land between the faculty and the clerical staff."7 Cer- tainly staff librarians have reason to won- der at a chief librarian who makes no constructive efforts to integrate his group into the body politic, and to question whether or not he is fulfilling his func- tions as a chief executive to the best of his ability. When the staff librarian speaks of im- proved status, it is with reference to the teaching faculty. It would appear nat- ural for the teaching faculty to be in- clined to resist improvement in the staff librarian's status, for the same motives which resulted in the bestowal of this status. T o some extent this may be due to an understandable desire to be the ex- clusive possessors of academic prestige. T h i s prestige is all the dearer because in the past it has often had to take the place of bread and butter. T h e r e may be a reluctance to see a group of "outsiders" acquire the material benefits the teach- ing profession has won the hard way, by the simple expedient of acquiring "fac- ulty status." T o some extent, the faculty attitude may be due to a not-always-ill- founded conception of the librarian as a nonacademic or unintellectual being. It has been observed, however, that in many colleges, non-intellectual workers such as athletic coaches, extension staff, editors, student counselors, etc., are quite fre- quently accorded full academic status and prerogatives.8 It would seem possi- 7 William H. Carlson, " T h e Trend Toward Academic Recognition of College Librarians," CRL, X V I ( 1 9 5 5 ) , 29. 8 Robert M. Fierson and Howard Rovelstadt, " T h e Case for Faculty Status for Librarians," The Status of ble, therefore, that the faculty attitude is based partly on the feeling that, aca- demic or non-academic, the staff librarian does not perform very weighty or useful functions. T h e impact of the librarian both in the library and in the total col- lege program is intangible. Perhaps the only method of determining the exact value of librarians would be to remove them from the library for a few months. T h i s is akin to a method known in en- gineering as "destructive testing." It is fairly obvious that where the fac- ulty do not value the intellectual caliber of the staff librarians, they will not make the maximum use of the library facilities. By not making the maximum use of li- brary facilities, they reinforce their eval- uation of librarians as adjuncts of no great value. One significant aspect of the faculty-librarian relationship is the mechanism of book selection and pur- chase. College libraries apparently fall into three categories with regard to their role in book selection: (1) self-effacing li- braries, in which the entire function of selection is in the hands of the faculty; (2) libraries in which materials are selected by the faculty with the aid and advice of the library; and (3) libraries in which the materials are selected by the library with the aid and advice of the faculty. Those in the first and last group are not very numerous, and apparently the most widespread pattern is that of the middle group.9 In this group the princi- pal responsibility and authority rest with the teaching faculty. It is not known what correlation exists between the pat- tern of book selection and the status of librarians. But one thing appears ob- vious. Book selection in libraries out- side the college field has always been re- garded as one of the major intellectual functions of librarianship. In pattern (2) above, the book selection function of li- American College and University Librarians ( " A C R L Monography," No. 22 [Chicago: ALA,. 1 9 5 8 ] ) , p. 50. 9 Harry Bach, "Acquisition Policy in the American Academic L i b r a r y , " CRL, X V I I I ( 1 9 5 7 ) , 446. J U L Y 1 9 6 1 279 brarians has been watered down to "aid and advice" which is frequently minor and ineffectual. It would seem that any program to improve the status of staff librarians should take into account the pattern of book selection on the campus and, if necessary, include an effort to bring a more equitable share of the re- sponsibility and authority into the hands of the library. T h i s does not mean that the professor and the librarian should become as two dogs fighting over the same bone. Rather they should share the function because it is to their mutual interest. T h e faculty members are not alone in their doubt as to the librarian's role. T h e librarians themselves are confused, and so are the college administrators. T h e in- tangible nature of the librarian's services and the difficulties of measuring his ac- complishments have been mentioned. Downs and Pierson and Rovelstadt de- scribe the instructional nature of the li- brarian's work. Pierson and Rovelstadt go so far as to make the statement, " N o reputable and well-administered higher educational institution can be found which would maintain that its librarians, regardless of the status it assigns them, do not make a significant contribution to the teaching and research program."1 0 Probably a number of staff librarians could be found who would not be willing to subscribe to the idea that under pre- sent conditions they make "significant contributions." But perhaps most could be brought to agree that under condi- tions of proper integration and accept- ance the implications of this statement would be basically true. I n a survey of colleges conducted in 1948, with 50 responding, Gelfand re- ported that 50 per cent of the librarians regarded the library as an instructional department, and 34 per cent as a com- bination instructional/administrative de- partment. Thirty-eight per cent of the 1 0 Pierson, op. cit., 50. faculty regarded it as instructional, and 20 per cent as a combination instruc- tional/administrative department. T h i r t y per cent of the administrators regarded it as an instructional department, and 26 per cent as a combination instruc- tional/administrative department. Most of the remainder in each case regarded it as administrative, with a few being un- certain.11 T h u s the majority in each case ascribed a considerable educational role to the library. Yet there was a difference of opinion on the part of librarians, faculty, and administrators, and among librarians, among faculty, and among ad- ministrators. Obviously the status of li- brarians cannot be subject to clarification until their role is defined to the college community at large. According to the Downs survey, "An overwhelming majorty of university li- brary administrators . . . have apparently come to the conclusion that close identi- fication with the teaching faculty is most likely to accomplish our aims." 1 2 Never- theless, granting of faculty status should always be equated with proper academic preparation, activities, and attitudes. T h i s means that at the present time, for many librarians, it is not a valid status. Short of such a far goal, it appears pos- sible for almost any college to adopt a positive program to bring the staff li- brarian out of his poor relation's nook behind the stove, and set him in an en- vironment conducive to personal and professional development. First must come the contribution of the librarian himself: (1) In addition to a Master's degree in library science, every librarian should commit himself to a continuous program for acquiring knowl- edge in an appropriate area or areas. He must know the inside of books as well as the outside. He must be willing to par- ticipate in his professional organization, write for publication, and engage in com- 1 1 Morris A. Gelfand, " T h e College Librarian in the Academic Community," CRL, X ( 1 9 4 9 ) , 132. 1 2 Downs, op. cit., 384. 280 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S mittee work. (2) T h e librarian must guard against accepting the demoralizing and interior picture of himself as an un- intellectual person which is stereotyped into the minds of the college community at large. He is constantly invoking his social intelligence, logical intelligence, and informational background in the performance of his duties. Next must come the adoption of a dy- namic attitude by the administrators of the library: (1) T h e y should set up a program for the construction of j o b de- scriptions. These j o b descriptions, among other things, should eliminate clerical work. (2) T h e y should attempt to arrange for the staff librarians to participate sub- stantially in book acquisition, where this is not already the case. (3) T h e y should call upon the president of the college to make good his oft-repeated assertion that the library is the heart of the institution by drawing up a statement of the li- brary's function and relationship to the college and its program, and the role and educational qualifications of librarians. (4) T h e y should adopt, with due modifi- cations, a program similar to that under- taken at Stephens College, whereby ar- rangements are made for appropriate li- brarians to attend certain classes, meet the faculty and the students. If possible, arrangements should also be made for librarians to attend certain appropriate departmental faculty meetings. In this manner, librarians and teaching faculty can come to know each other. (5) Through press release to the school pa- per at appropriate times, the library ad- ministrators should publicize the specific services of the library, and the role and training of specific librarians. (6) Na- tional Library Week should, for them at least, be turned into "College Librarians' Week," with an open house and displays and exhibits revealing the college librar- ian's training and the nature of his work as related to the college. (7) T h e library administrators, in their personal rela- tionships with their staff, should indicate to the academic public their own high evaluation of their librarians. (8) Courses should be offered by the library for gen- eral orientation of freshmen and more intensive and specialized instruction in the use of the library facilities at a higher level. (10) T h e library staff should be encouraged to do research and write for publication. T h e y should be allowed time for this on the job, in view of their year-round employment and restriction to the library routine. (11) T o make pos- sible continued education of the staff, staff members interested in taking courses should be allowed three hours' time off weekly to devote to this purpose. What is required for the adoption of such a program? First, a group of librar- ians who are willing to accept the re- sponsibilities, as well as the privileges of higher status. Second, a group of ad- ministrators interested in the welfare of the library profession and of the librar- ians who form their staff. If the adminis- trators are concerned principally with maintaining personal prestige and con- trol, they will not be interested in im- proving the status of their librarians. T h e problem is aggravated in small colleges by the fact that promotional opportuni- ties for the lower brackets are few. Hence the staff librarians are expected to leave after a couple of years. T h i s situation militates against any dynamic action on the part of the chief librarian, particu- larly if his own situation is agreeable. T h e academic community stands to gain considerably by improvement of the librarian's status. Closer liaison is a necessity for the librarian's morale, growth, and development. It would en- able the librarian better to understand the problems, objectives, methods, and programs of the teaching and research staff. It would thus result in a more ef- fective total performance. Perhaps this is what Downs meant when he declared: "Just as we can judge the college or uni- versity in terms of its library, so we can (Continued on page 306) J U L Y 1 9 6 1 281 in acquisition and processing with an es- timated worth of gifts received. Since those figures represent the prices and sal- aries during the years, it is advisable to estimate also the budget required to build a comparable collection in 1960. T o do this it is necessary to arrive at the cost of ordering, receiving, and catalog- ing as well as the average price of books acquired during 1959/60 fiscal year. T h e cost of adding a volume to the existing collection is estimated as $9.63: Average price (after discounts) $6.24 per volume Cost of ordering and receiving 1.31 per volume Cost of cataloging (and end-processing 1.99 per volume Cost of material (cards, glue, etc.) .09 per volume T O T A L $9.63 per volume T h e above figures were the same for both libraries. Using these figures it is calculated that in order to replace the collection of 55,- 328 volumes in 1960 it would have been necessary to spend $532,808.64: Estimated cost of books (55,- 328 volumes @ $6.24 $345,246.72 Estimated salaries4 and mate- rials @ $3.39 a volume 187,561.92 TOTAL $ 5 3 2 , 8 0 8 . 6 4 T h e amount of $532,808.64 needed to build a collection in one year is $71,- 181.36 more than was actually spent to acquire the collection during the last eighteen years (actually spent by both libraries: $461,627.28.) Neither of the estimates takes into ac- count the value of a physical plant or the cost of setting up an efficient operation. It is virtually impossible to estimate how much it would cost to train the staff nor how long it would take to accomplish the training. 4 T h e staff includes two professional librarians, four clerical personnel and 20 hours of student assistants a week. A Staff Librarian Views the Problem (Continued from page 281) judge the library in terms of its staff. . . . If the professional library personnel are in some nondescript category, without clearly defined status, with no institu- tional understanding of the contribu- tions which they can make to the educa- tional program, and placed outside, or made ineligible for, the usual academic perquisites and prerogatives, we can be . . . certain that the library is inferior, falling far below its potentialities. . . . T h e institution can pay its money and take its choice."13 It does not seem feasible to advocate a blanket acceptance of college librarians as academic faculty members at this time. 1 3 Robert B . Downs, " A r e College and University Li- brarians A c a d e m i c ? " CRL, X V ( 1 9 5 4 ) . 10. T h e identity which most staff librarians would presently aim for is rather "any satisfactory status." That is, a status rec- ognizing the close link between librarians and teaching faculty, a niche symbolizing honestly the education and achievements of the librarian as an intellectual person contributing substantially toward the total college program. It is a transitional stage looking forward to the day when the college librarian will in all cases, be- yond a doubt, be as thoroughly qualified and esteemed as his colleague in the teaching ranks. It is a status which ex- presses a positive idea, fruitful for the entire college world, saying "We, the academic community, base our evalua- tion of you, the librarian, on what you are, rather than on what you are not." 306 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S