College and Research Libraries ROBERT H. MULLER Principles Governing the Employment of Nonprofessional Personnel in University Libraries The work of academic libraries may be divided into two classifications: (1) that requiring professional qualifications, and (2) that requiring lesser skills or competences. Sound personnel practices must govern the relationship between the library and its nonprofessional staff if worker morale is to remain high. The essential role of the nonprofes- sional appointee must be clear to him and to his colleagues if he is to be expected to fulfill his assignment with dignity. Some conditions of nonprofessional appointment are enumerated which are conducive to favorable employment climate. · T ms PAPER is another in the series of statements drafted by a member of the Committee on Academic Status of the University Libraries Section of ACRL and approved by the committee as pre- liminary reports to elicit comment. Read- ers' reactions are invited and may be sent to the author or to the chairman of the committee. Following possible revi- sion and final approval by the commit- tee, it is expected that all statements will be submitted to ACRL for endorse- ment and publication in monographic form. By far the highest proportion of the staff of a university library (in some cases 75 per cent) consists of nonprofes- sional personnel. The term "nonprofes- ·current members of the Committee on Academic Status are R: B. Downs, Wil- liam H. ]esse, Robert H. Muller, David C. Weber and Lewis C. Branscomb, chairman. Dr. Muller is Associate Director of Librar- ies in the University of Michigan. sional" is unfortunate since it fails to convey a clear notion of the important responsibilities carried by nonprofes- sionals and may imply a lack of recog- nition or appreciation. It should, there- fore, be stressed that a university library could not operate efficiently without such a supporting staff. Duties assigned to nonprofessionals include typing; fil- ing; searching; checking; recording; shelving; labeling; bookkeeping; mend- ing; answering simple information ques- tions at public desks; operating printing, photographic, and other machinery; han- dling supplies; preparing materials for binding; keeping statistics; collecting fines, etc. The borderline between what is nonprofessional and what is profes- sional among library duties has become more sharply defined in re~ent years due in part to the shortage of library school graduates and the need to oper- ate libraries as efficiently and econom- ically as possible. It is recognized as a sound principle /225 226 I College & Research Libraries • May, 1965 of library management that professional librarians should not be employed for the performance of nonprofessional tasks except in emergencies or unusual cir- cumstances. The application of this prin- ciple requires that a competent nonpro- fessional staff of sufficient size be em- ployed and retained by all libraries. If a library is unable to attract competent nonprofessional employees or if the turnover among such employees is ex- cessively high, there is a risk that librar- ians will be forced into the performance of nonprofessional tasks to an excessive extent and thus provide library service that is economically indefensible and detrimental to the wider public accept- ance of librarians as a professional group. Failure to provide adequate and stable nonprofessional staffing to assist the pro- fessional library staff also results in a lowering of the attractiveness of librar- ianship as a career and thus makes re- cruiting efforts to the profession increas- ingly difficult. At institutions where regulations gov- erning non-academic employees are not under the jurisdiction of or subject to the influence of the library administra- tion, it will of course be necessary to comply with existing regulations. In cases where the library administration is in a position to bring influence to bear upon the conditions governing the em- ployment of the nonprofessional staff of the library, the best possible conditions governing the employment of nonpro- fessional personnel should be main- tained. The following list represents an attempt to enumerate important condi- tions contributing to a favorable employ- ment" situation: 1. Compensation, length of the work week, and fringe benefits should be the same as those governing non-academic employment elsewhere on a given cam- pus. In a tight local labor market it is necessary to offer better-than-average salaries and fringe benefits in order to attract the best possible nonprofessional employees to the library and retain them. 2. A personnel classification and pay plan assuring equal pay for equal work should provide a sufficient number of classes to allow for differences in the complexity of work. 3. Merit increases should be provided within grade. 4. Fringe benefits should include group hospitalization insurance, a retirement plan, sick-leave allowance, and a dis- ability plan. 5. Continuing employment should be preceded by a probationary period of reasonable ·length. Continuing employ- ment, however, would not be as perma- nent as or on a par with faculty tenure, but would mean that employment would normally be terminated only in case of proven unsatisfactory performance or insufficiency of institutional funds. 6. Minimum vacation allowance should be one day per month. If possible, vaca- tion allowance should increase after a specified length of service in order to indue;e employees to continue their work in the library for as long as possible. In addition to these basic conditions, and perhaps more important than any one of them, is the goal of giving each employee a genuine sense of identifica- tion with the team effort of the library by encouraging him to make suggestions concerning the improvement of proce- dures and policies and to provide appro- priate incentives and rewards for such efforts. Through the furtherance of the sense of self-esteem of the nonprofes- sional group of the library team and the encouragement of free communication among all members of a library staff, morale can be strengthened and quality of performance improved. Given such conditions, the nonprofes- sional staff of a library may be expected to develop a deep sense of loyalty to the employing library, a high degree of service-mindedness, and a respect for the mission of libraries as indispensable social institutions. • •