How many librarians does it take to change a light bulb? 4 to discuss
Edison s life, 3 to contest whether he invented it in the first place, 3
to debate the merits of screw to bayonet fit, 2 to look into the energy
efficient options&.. you get my drift. Here is a huge debate, involving
our professional association, on rubbish salaries and what have we
decided, and what are we doing?
How about some press releases? Graduate Librarians expected to live on
a quarter of the salary of a toilet cleaner at National Gallery - - and
I get given a brush says toilet cleaner .
OK I m being facetious (!) but make it a genuine comparison and list
expenses involved in buying a house/food/heat etc. and send it to the
papers. Others have done this. (I remember recently wondering whether I
should re skill as a train driver, their derisory pay being better than
our derisory pay) One paper may bite even if they get a retired
bookseller to tell us we don t know what we re doing (where could that
idea have come from??) at least it opens the debate to a wider audience.
In reality most people don t want to rubbish libraries; they think
rubbishing them makes them look like barbarians. So there may be some
support. And there is an election in view&..
Generally, employers will be under budgetary constraints, if they can
get the right quality of staff for less money they ll do it. If someone
is unemployed and the salary is better than the benefits they are being
offered, they ll take the job. Employers won t care about a professional
body savaging their ankles; they will care about broader public opinion.
I don t think this would be CILIP acting as a TU, I think it would be
opening a legitimate debate about the recruitment and retention problems
faced by the profession to a wider audience. After all in local Govt we
are always being told that we should involve all stakeholders.
Paul Clarke
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