-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: MAPS-L: Map/GIS librarian = extremely underpaid group?
Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2006 11:19:07 -0400
From: Joe Aufmuth <[log in to unmask]>
To: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Ok, I'll add my 2 cents. Sorry this is long and personal but the topic strikes a cord.
First at a public academic institution, the salary one receives is often in relation to the Library's budget. You want a bigger salary? Ask your Dean/Director to get a bigger budget for your library. :) At UF, librarians are tenured. We go through the same process as teaching/research faculty and must maintain a similar level of productivity. Are we paid the same as teaching/research faculty, regardless of discipline? NO. Several of our librarians have PhD's in different disciplines. They have published and worked in private industry. They are also paid within the library's salary structure. I think there are many under paid librarians with great education and skill, regardless of discipline or gender.
I have also heard teaching/research faculty from different colleges argue about pay scale. Those in LAS are often paid less than those in Engineering. The result is one college feeling undervalued. On the other hand, LAS does not bring in large research dollars that support the entire campus, including libraries. One way to get higher salaries may be to bring in more research dollars.
I am not about to approach the gender issues in libraries. Perhaps there is a gender bias, but I haven't seen or felt it here. On the other hand, salary compression has been a big issue, as our starting salaries have been raised. Regardless of gender or discipline there is a 9% increase between assistant and associate levels and also between associate and university librarian. So there is an incentive to move up the ranks. Our merit % is the same across the campus and that is usually around the cost of inflation.
The term GIS technician is inappropriate. I am a GIS/remote sensing spatial information professional, who has chosen to work in an academic setting, and in particular the library. I am an academic librarian, period, end of story. I am asked to do reference (Gov Docs and Science), circulate documents, select, manage a collection, etc... I have been in the GIS/remote sensing field for 17 years. In the early-mid 1990's I spent 5 years managing GIS projects for an environmental consulting company and went on to work on other GIS/remote Sensing projects while getting my Master's of Science in Geomatics under UF's Civil Engineering department. I wrote and defended a thesis. I am now an adjunct on the School of Forest Resources faculty as well as Head of Spatial Information Services at the library. I currently teach a class in Geomatics. I have presented at international conferences and taught GIS/remote sensing seminars in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Egypt. I am not a technic!
ian.
Yes, GIS consultants get paid better outside of my institution. But, they often have to meet unrealistic client deadlines and work, as I often did, around the clock for several days to meet those deadlines. They must also continue to market their services to new and existing clients to get new contracts, which pay their high salaries. Even with a salary, they must be "billable" on an hourly basis. Their salaries and their future are directly tied to the number of hours they can bill. Do we have to do any of that in academic libraries?
I made a choice to pursue an academic career in libraries because I did not want the pressures of private consulting and I could use my experience to help support a strong academic GIS program at UF. I did not make my choice based on salary. Through the academic library I have far more time for my family than I ever did in consulting. The library position still offers me an opportunity to pursue research and teaching in GIS/remote sensing. If I just wanted a higher salary I would go where the job market supported it.
In my experience it takes about 2 years of constant GIS/remote sensing work (beyond education) to become proficient enough to understand all aspects of computers and computer programming, use several software packages, and to understand the data sets, data sources and errors associated with them. GIS is part of information science. Libraries and library schools have a choice. Educate librarians to become spatial data professionals or hire those professionals from other disciplines/private industry and educate them in librarianship. How many library schools offer GIS certification? Offer any GIS education at all? My guess is that most students in library school, who are interested in GIS/remote sensing, are taking other campus classes or working outside libraries to gain that knowledge. Even then it will take lots of work experience to become a spatial information professional who can effectively serve library patrons and digital programs. Are academic libraries willi!
ng to let their existing librarians spend the required time to acquire the education and experience?
Do I know all aspects of librarianship? No. UF libraries have a great mentoring program. Over the past 5 years I have learned a lot about librarianship and my level of participation has grown. I have become familiar with many aspects of libraries. But I still refer to the specialist in a particular area, as I hope they would refer spatial information questions to a spatial information professional.
Sorry for the ramblings.
Joe
Joe Aufmuth
Head Spatial Information Services
Assistant Chair Government Documents Department
Interim Head Map and Imagery Library
George A. Smathers Libraries
Government Documents
University of Florida
P.O. Box 117001
Gainesville, Florida 32611-7001
352-273-0367
Fax: 352-392-3357
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
-----Original Message-----
From: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Angie Cope
Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 7:00 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: MAPS-L: Map/GIS librarian = extremely underpaid group?
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: MAPS-L: Map/GIS librarian = extremely underpaid group?
Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2006 13:49:04 -0800 (AKDT)
From: John D Kawula <[log in to unmask]>
To: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum <[log in to unmask]>
I realize this is a controversial subject. However I feel that on the
whole librarians are adequately compensated (at least as far as salary). I
am also uncomfortable with the notion that librarians are underpaid
because the field is female dominated.
I feel that these issues are more reasonable viewed in relationship to
economic supply and demand in a technologically oriented society. About 14
years ago I submitted a manuscript to Library Journal where I tried to
explore this. They rejected the manuscript saying it was not supported
by enough empirical research. I think they were probably right in
rejecting the manuscript, but there really wasn't much empirical research
making a serious attempt at measuring supply/demand relationships for
information services and librarians labor.
One author had written three economic articles attempting to measure the
demand for information services in a limited
hospital setting. I telephoned the author to make sure I understood those
articles correctly (which I did).
These studies suggested the demand curve for library services tends to be
rather elastic (ie not much slope). This implies that large increases in
demand or large decreases in supply would be necessary to significantly
increase prices (or salaries).
Most attempts to increase librarians salaries by increasing demand have
not worked. (Has engaging in more outreach services increased your
salary?) Thus decreasing the supply of library services (for example by
limiting hours and specialized services or by closing more library
schools
to deliberately reduce the number of librarians) is probably a more
effective method. But of course this is ethically questionable, especially
for a service oriented profession that encourages cheap and widely
available products and services.
Thus the issue is rather paradoxical.
Regarding the GIS/Librarian dichotomy: I have wondered for a long time if
they wanted GIS technicians who knew a little about libraries, or
librarians who did a little GIS on the side. This is made more murky
because often times the true focus is on publishing articles and doing
freshman oriented instruction.(As it is in my present job). My guess is
they ask for all of these
things simply because they can in an economic environment that asks for
ever increasing credentials even if they aren't needed or used; also of
course because a lot of librarians do have extensive GIS training and
experience - establishing that there is supply to meet that demand even
if that demand appears somewhat artifically driven and unjustified. My
feeling
is if they want a GIS technician, they should not ask for an MLS, if they
want a librarian, they should be willing to compromise on some of the
technical knowledge. But in any case, it circles back to economic supply
and demand in the current social context which is a much more powerful
force than most librarians are willing to acknowledge.
John Kawula
Government Documents and Maps Librarian
University of Alaska Fairbanks
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On Thu, 3 Aug 2006, Angie Cope, AGSL wrote:
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Map/GIS librarian = extremely underpaid group?
> Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2006 14:41:16 -0700 (PDT)
> From: xh zhang <[log in to unmask]>
> To: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum <[log in to unmask]>
>
>
>
> Dear Librarian Colleagues,
> A library school student who is eager to become a GIS librarian
> approaches to me for opinions since she knows that I am enthusiastic
> about this field. She was very frustrated to see the minimum, even
> revised minimum salary offers to GIS librarian from various sources. It
> seems to her that to become a GIS librarian, she not only has to learn
> ArcGIS, complicated enough by its own, but also database management, web
> development, server, scripting…. But the salary is ….. lower than many
> other entry-level bachelor degree students. She is really confused.
> To find out the answer, I happen to see this old file:
> (http://www.ala-apa.org/toolkit.pdf) It explains a little bit about why
> and how to advocate for higher salary. But I am not sure if this is
> complete story and how it works. Any other ideas?
> From the article:
> "We librarians have a well-deserved reputation for being outspoken when
> it comes to intellectual freedom and other issues
> that affect library users. We have not been nearly as vocal on our own
> behalf. Statistics show that our profession, along
> with others that are predominantly female, are underpaid relative to the
> education required and the complexity of the
> service we provide."
> -- A Map Librarian
>
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