LIS 771 Lisa Butler

Deprofessionalism Midterm Spring 2021

Defending Librarians

“Aren't libraries a thing of the past? Doesn’t the internet, Google, and e-books make libraries
irrelevant?” These are questions people ask librarians or library students. Normally, the answer
is some version of a scripted library advocacy line or a part of a marketing brochure. However, a
closer look at the attitude prompting the question reveals something different. In general, the
public views libraries as places to study and store books. They are extraneous buildings and do
not necessarily add to the value of a community. In many ways libraries are viewed the same
way that art and music are viewed in schools, unimportant and unnecessary. This sentiment is
why most librarians will defend their value with a scripted library advocacy line. But the
underlying issue of value remains and needs to be addressed.
Value is placed in things and ideas that are known, understood, and considered worthy. What
does the average person know or think they know about libraries? Many movies and television
programs often show libraries as dusty old buildings filled with leather bound books, loving
cared for by a lonely older woman who shushes anyone talking among the stacks. Another
similar image is of librarians only reading and shelving books all day. This image does not put
libraries and library workers in a positive light. The blogger EveryLibrary tries to address the
issue of image in the article “What does a Librarian do?” Among colorful photos of different
librarians, the author discusses real, day-to-day life in a library. These tasks range from working
at a reference desk answering questions, assisting students, and tackling projects. Librarians
provide community enrichment through events and programs while working on bigger projects
like removing the barrier of fines in poverty laden areas or providing meals in the summer for
people living in food deserts. “At the end of the day, what librarians do is all about assisting
others and assisting the community.” (4)
Assisting others and assisting the community are valuable ideas, but in the corporate world,
these activities do not translate to revenue or profits and are therefore not perceived as worthy
efforts. When looking at the bottom line and trying to make cuts in a budget, activities that do
not produce get cut. Reading music and drawing pictures are not questions on a standardized
test, so those classes do not produce knowledge. Reading books and putting things in order do
not create revenue so libraries are not important. The best advocacy campaigns available will
not change this until the activities of a librarian are seen as priceless.
This leads to the next question, why aren’t librarians and the work they do seen as priceless?
The short answer is the same as why teachers and the work they do are not seen as priceless,
gender. The library profession is a female dominated profession with about 60% of library
directors being women according to a survey The American Library Association (ALA) did in
1999. (5) The same study looked at the difference in salary between men and women. On
average, men garnered a higher salary than women. Although there may be many varied
LIS 771 Lisa Butler
Deprofessionalism Midterm Spring 2021

reasons for this difference, one reason is ambition. Sheryl Sandberg, in the book Lean In, states
that leaders need to be ambitious, but ambition alone creates a gap between the number of
male leaders and the number of female leaders. (6) According to Sandberg, society encourages
men to work hard and climb the corporate ladder and, despite the feminist movement, women
are not. (6) Combine this societal expectation with what types of work are valued and another
discrepancy is found in the salaries of librarians in general.

In May 2019, the average salary for a librarian was $59,500 (7) while the average salary of a
manager was $123,030 (8). This difference in salaries demonstrates a difference in worth
between a manager and a librarian and, one could argue, the difference between an MBA and a
MLIS. When the issue is seen from this point of view, the argument for hiring librarians with an
MBA to work in management positions instead of a librarian with a MLIS makes good financial
sense for the librarian. It also makes sense for the head of an organization, like a library, to
possess an MBA since, according to Crowley, a good executive with a business background can
manage any organization. (9) But is a library “just another organization?” or is it a specialized
organization in the same way schools are specialized organizations.

The debate on which degree, MBA or MLIS, is more appropriate for the head of a library does
not take place within the school system. Teachers have specialized degrees for either the
subject or age or type of student being taught. The leadership in most schools have worked
their way up from the classroom to the administrator's office. However, the debate rages on in
libraries because libraries are not viewed as a school or as an organization. It is somewhere
between; a specialized organization that focuses on providing access to information for all
people. A business degree will provide some of the skills, but not the specialized skills needed
by librarians. Which leads to the question, what is special about librarians?
According to Dictionary.com a librarian is, “a profession concerned with acquiring and
organizing collections of books and related materials in libraries and servicing readers and
others with these resources.” (2) This sounds vaguely like the image of a librarian presented at
the beginning of this paper. Today’s librarian does more than collect books. According to The
American Library Association’s Core Values of Librarianship, “access, confidentiality/privacy,
democracy, diversity, education and lifelong learning, intellectual freedom, preservation, the
public good, professionalism, service, social responsibility, and sustainability” are part of the
foundation of modern librarianship. (1) All of these values are worthy of further exploration,
but it is interesting that ALA values professionalism while debating the merits of a MLIS over an
MBA for their highest leadership role.
“The American Library Association (ALA) supports the provision of library services by
professionally qualified personnel who have been educated in graduate programs within
institutions of higher education. It is of vital importance that there be professional education
available to meet the social needs and goals of library services. ALA Policy Manual B.7.1
Graduate Programs in Library and Information Studies" (1)
LIS 771 Lisa Butler
Deprofessionalism Midterm Spring 2021

As the foremost professional organization for librarians, ALA helps set the standard for
librarians. So, it was an unexpected degradation of librarians when in 2017, ALA changed its
search criteria for an executive director from requiring an MLS to recommending one. For this
reason, the debate was put before the membership and voted on during the 2018 ALA
elections. However, professionalism prevailed, and Mary Ghikas was appointed as executive
director until 2020 when Tracie D. Hall was appointed. Both women have degrees in library
science and experience in libraries. (10), (11) This change of direction in hiring committee and
back again highlights the struggles of professionalism that exists in libraries.
The issue of professionalism in libraries is not new. Schacher asked the question, “what makes a
librarian position a professional position in the first place?” Part of his answer is that through
the establishment of formal education programs, the creation of organizations, and the
development of industry standards, a professional culture is built. (12) This solution is in place
through ALA and the graduate programs it endorses. Convincing the public that this
professional culture exists is the next logical step. Freedman argues this point eloquently in his
article Why Librarians? when he used the example of his son searching the internet compared
to a librarian. His son will be able to search for anything on the internet, but he won’t know if
the information is reliable or not whereas a librarian has the skills to evaluate that information.
Another example of this is contained in cataloging. Anyone can scan an ISBN number and match
it to an ISBN number in OCLC, but only a librarian has the skills to create the OCLC record. These
are the skills that need to be emphasized when focusing on professional from the viewpoint of
formal education programs.
Which brings back one of the original points, that of valuing the work of a librarian. The skills
needed to create the OCLC record are highly technical, but not often talked about. It is not
often that someone needs to figure out how to organize a record collection when several of the
artists have changed their names several times. Most people think organizing a library is like
organizing their personal collections and do not realize the full scope or depth of organization
of a library. A library is not just organizing the handful of materials in their building, but all the
materials found in all the libraries connected to their building through the internet. This is just
one part of the definition of a librarian.
Acquiring materials, another part of the definition, requires the thoughtful evaluation of the
thousands of books published each year from publishing houses to self-publishing authors. Not
to mention, deciding on non-book materials like music and movies. Under acquisition duties,
formats must be considered along with the number of individual items purchased. Will just one
copy of James Patterson's latest novel be sufficient, or will the library need multiple copies?
The final part of the definition of librarian is servicing the needs of its readers. This includes
internet searches, database access, public computer use, makerspaces, story times, parent
education programs, and so on. The list of services that could and do fall under this category is
never ending and only limited by a librarian's imagination.
LIS 771 Lisa Butler
Deprofessionalism Midterm Spring 2021

In summary, librarians as a profession have faced the issue of value for many years. It is most
visible when comparing the job of a librarian with the ease of access to technology. The services
provided by libraries are not services the corporate world values because of lack of revenue
creation. Low salaries combined with a female dominated field lower the value of the work. A
lack of consistent support from the leading national organization only confuses the issue. When
viewed through this lens, it is clear why a simple advocacy campaign is unsuccessful. However,
the greatest medical challenge of our lifetime might provide the means necessary to change
how libraries are viewed.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the world closed and everyday tasks were divided into
essential and nonessential. CEO’s and leadership in large companies were deemed nonessential
while grocery store employees and delivery drivers were deemed essential. Depending on the
community, libraries fell into both categories with some shutting down while others stepped
up. Libraries provided much needed computer and internet access for low-income residents
who needed to file for unemployment benefits and stimulus payments. Students were forced to
stay home and attend school virtually and libraries stepped in with mobile hotspots and
internet access. Other libraries increased meal programs and became daycare centers for city
employees. Bookmobiles were turned into mobile hotspots, servicing rural areas. On March 13,
2021, Congress recognized these efforts by including $200 million in stimulus funds just for
libraries. (3)

With this financial boost from the government, librarians will need to take a page out of
Sandberg’s book and lean into the opportunities presented. Libraries just created revenue while
providing priceless services. The time to capitalize on this investment is now. In a strange twist
of fate, a pandemic has caused society to stop and think about what is essential and important
in life. Librarians need to not just continue stepping up and filling in the gaps but do it better
than anyone else. Then brag about it as if they were the CEO of the world’s largest and most
successful company. There is no room for lonely librarians lovingly caring for leather bound
tomes when the world is depending on them to survive a pandemic.
LIS 771 Lisa Butler
Deprofessionalism Midterm Spring 2021

References:
1. Core Values of Librarianship. (2019). ALA: Issues and Advocacy website. Retrieved from:
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/corevalues on March 13, 2021.
2. Librarianship. Dictionary.com. Retrieved from:
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/librarianship on March 13, 2021.
3. Lobosco, Katie. (2021). Libraries are getting $200 million in stimulus funds. Here’s why.
CNN Politics website. March 13, 2021. Retrieved from
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/13/politics/libraries-covid-relief-
funding/index.html?fbclid=IwAR2oAtHby77kgLzF6dziaVaOZJ83vJqscMA9WJn9aqsioGQG
gWDYbHuU2t0 on March 14, 2021.
4. EveryLibrary. (2020). What exactly does a librarian do? Medium blog site. Dec. 9, 2020.
Retrieved from https://medium.com/everylibrary/what-exactly-does-a-librarian-do-
a75b89780370 on March 14, 2021.
5. Lynch, Mary Jo. (1999). Library directors: gender and salary. ALA Research and Library
Topics website. Retrieved from
http://www.ala.org/tools/research/librarystaffstats/diversity/libdirectors on March 16, 2021.
6. Sandberg, Sheryl. (2013). Lean in. New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf.
7. Librarians and Media Collections Specialists. (2019). Occupational Employment
Statistics. U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics website. Retrieved from
https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes254022.htm on March 16, 2021.
8. General and Operations Managers. (2019). Occupational Employment Statistics. U.S
Bureau of Labor Statistics website. Retrieved from
https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes111021.htm on March 16, 2021.
9. Crowley, Bill editor. (2012). Defending Professionalism. Santa Barbara, California:
Libraries Unlimited.
10. "ALA Appoints Mary Ghikas as Executive Director through January 2020", American Library
Association, January 30, 2018. http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2018/01/ala-appoints-
mary-ghikas-executive-director-through-january-2020 (Accessed March 16, 2021) Document ID:
dc9d0fdd-2e81-4676-9fbc-71a780b9068b
11. “ALA Appoints Tracie D. Hall as Executive Director”, American Library Association Magazine,
January 15, 2020. Retrieved from https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/ala-
appoints-tracie-d-hall-as-executive-director/ on March 16, 2021.
12. Schacher. Casey 2007. “Libraries without Librarians: The Threat of Deprofessionalization.”
Library Worklife: HR E-News for Today's Leaders (November). http://ala-
apa.org/newsletter/2007/11/16/libraries-without-librarians/
13. Freedman, M. J., “Why Librarians? [Deprofessionalization],” American Libraries 33, no. 9
(October 2002): 7.