averting the adjunct crisis - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

averting the adjunct crisis

A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF PART-TIME LIBRARIANSHIP IN THE UNITED STATES

Zara T. Wilkinson

Paul Robeson Library

Rutgers University-Camden

z

ara.wilkinson@camden.rutgers.eduSlide2

Part-time librarianship

Personal experiences

Job Stress and the Librarian

Lack of recent research on part-time work in libraries

Research-based articles in 1980s and 1990s gave way to anecdotal articles/blogs in 2000sSlide3

Part-time librarianship“When I entered library school in 2001, I did so with the

impression that jobs would be plentiful after graduation. I was wrong—incredibly wrong! [. . .] many libraries chiseled their staff down to a bare minimum; others cancelled searches for previously advertised positions. Those libraries able to continue their hiring process sometimes had more than 200

interested applicants

.”

Johnston, J. (2004). A permanent alternative: Temporary, part-time library work.

LISCareer.com

.Slide4

Part-time librarianship“It’s

the age of running lean and mean, and libraries are not exempt. Costly benefits, loss of head count through attrition, and the decline of face-to-face reference can make fulltime positions seem hard to find.”

Collins

, S., &

Brungard

, A. (2006). The art of part-time.

Library Journal

. Slide5

Part-time librarianship“I still found it difficult to find a full-time job as a librarian with

little actual library experience. But eventually, I found that libraries were willing to take a chance and hire me to work on-call or part-time.”

Wamsley

, L. H. (2008). The adventures of a part-time librarian.

OLA Quarterly

,

14

(3), 5–34.Slide6

Part-time librarianshipWilkinson, Z. (2015). A human resources dilemma? Emergent themes in the experiences of part-time librarians.

Journal of Library Administration, 55(5), 343-361.Wilkinson, Z. (2016). A review of advertisements for part-time library positions in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Library Management, 37(1/2), 68-80.Slide7

Experiences of part-time librariansSurvey distributed to NMRT-L, email list of the American Library Association's New Members Round Table

Mix of multiple choice and short answer responsesRespondents were required have graduate with an ALA-accredited Master's degree between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2012 AND to have held at least one part-time position in a library after graduationPart-time positions could be professional or paraprofessionalSlide8

Experiences of part-time librarians73 responses

Represented academic, public, school, and special librariesMajority were from academic (half of those from community colleges), public, or both55% had worked multiple part-time positions concurrentlySlide9

Experiences of part-time librarians“I have worked two jobs since graduating with my MLIS in order to

make ends meet.”“I was unable to obtain a full-time job from 2008–April 2012. I worked up to 3 library jobs in addition to jobs outside the field.”“So I work a full-time non-library job to pay the bills and a

part-time library

job to gain some experience

.”Slide10

Experiences of part-time librariansReasons why they worked

part-time:only work available (33)need to gain experience/be more competitive (16)location/inability to move (7)financial (7)convenience/family obligations (6)Slide11

Experiences of part-time librariansReasons why they worked

part-time:only work available (33)need to gain experience/be more competitive (16)location/inability to move (7)financial (7)convenience/family obligations (6)Slide12

Experiences of part-time librariansWhen asked to describe their positions...

"I started as a [paraprofessional] processor. . . working 24 hours a week and was then shifted into a copy cataloging position at 40 hours per week to finish out the fiscal year. I then kept that cataloging position at 24 hours per week until I picked up a professional 28-hour reference and instruction position at a community college and supplemented

that with

12 hours in cataloging."Slide13

Experiences of part-time librariansWhen asked to describe their positions...

"At the same time: 1 public library on-call position that averages about 7–14 hours per week (reference, teens, collection development) 1 community college adjunct position that averages about 7 hours per week (reference, instruction) 1 public university contract position that averages 20–32 hours per week (reference, instruction, collection

development) all

ongoing."Slide14

Experiences of part-time librariansAdvantages of part-time work:

flexibilityimpact on family lifegaining a variety of experiencesnone?Slide15

Experiences of part-time librariansDisadvantages of part-time work:

comparatively low salarylack of benefits (health insurance, sick leave, vacation time, retirement accounts)lack of prestige/statusstresslong commutesfewer responsibilities/opportunities for growthSlide16

Library positionsCollected advertisements for part-time positions in Pennsylvania and New Jersey over the course of one year: period of January

1, 2013 to December 31, 2013Only professional librarian positions (requiring ALA-accredited Master’s degree)Part-time = 35 hours a week or fewerExamined advertised duties, hours, salary, and experience requirementsSlide17

Library positions56 advertisements collected

46% were located in Pennsylvania and 54% in New Jersey52% were found on job aggregators Simpleyhired.com and Indeed.com; 32% on job boards maintained by LIS graduate programs; 9% on professional email lists; and 7% on state library association job boardsCollected during every month of the year, with the highest amounts advertised in September or October Slide18

Library positionsType of library

48% in academic libraries43% in public libraries7% in special libraries2% in school librariesType of position

91% were in public services, mostly reference

7% were in management

2% in technical servicesSlide19

Library positionsBreakdown of required hours:16-20

hours: 25%11-15 hours: 11%21-25 hours: 9%26-20 hours: 9%No hours listed: 36%62% specified that evening and weekend hours were required or might be required

73%

did

not list an hourly wage or annual salarySlide20

Library positionsExperience required:

48% were entry-level (no library experience)7% required one year7% required two years5% required three years2% over three years~30% required library experience but did not specify a number of yearsSlide21

Averting the adjunct crisis?“Why couldn’t they, I posed, just force library administrators to fill open full-time faculty slots with two or three part-time librarians. Then we’d have librarians that work 20 hours or less each week for reference duty, to lead some instruction sessions, to develop the

collection … The future academic library might consist of a core of full-time administrators and department heads leading a much larger number of itinerant librarians who carry multiple part-time positions at several area institutions. If they can do it to faculty, then why not us?”

Bell, S. (2005), “Is the

itinerant

academic librarian in our future

?”Slide22

averting the adjunct crisis

A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF PART-TIME LIBRARIANSHIP IN THE UNITED STATES

Zara T. Wilkinson

Paul Robeson Library

Rutgers University-Camden

z

ara.wilkinson@camden.rutgers.edu