Library Support Staff in an Age of Change [electronic resource] : Utilization, Role Definition and Status / Larry R. Oberg.
Staff utilization, role definition and articulation, task overlap, educational requirements, certification, and status have been difficult issues within the library profession for most of this century, and remain mostly unresolved today. Over the past 20 years, library automation and declining budge...
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Full Text (via ERIC) |
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| Format: | Electronic eBook |
| Language: | English |
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Syracuse, NY :
ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology,
1995.
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| Series: | ERIC digest.
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| Summary: | Staff utilization, role definition and articulation, task overlap, educational requirements, certification, and status have been difficult issues within the library profession for most of this century, and remain mostly unresolved today. Over the past 20 years, library automation and declining budgets have caused the redistribution of the library workload, and given rise to this new category of employee, the paraprofessional, a position which has been largely uninhibited by associational policy or guidelines. Today, paraprofessionals administer major functional areas in the library, are assigned reference and information desk duties, perform a variety of systems work, and catalog most of the books added to collections, coming to dominate the technical service workforce. In the future, an increase in both tasks and responsibilities can be expected. This task overlap with professional librarians raises issues concerning salary, status, and professional education. A growing consensus suggests that the roles of librarians and support staff must be redefined, but before support staff roles can be put in order, librarians must first redefine their own roles. While agreement exists that the roles of all library staff must be clarified, the same issues remain unsolved: staff utilization, role definition, qualifications, and status. (Contains 10 references.) (MAS) |
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| Item Description: | ERIC Document Number: ED382197. Availability: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology, 4-194 Center for Science and Technology, Syracuse, NY 13244-4100 (free while supplies last). Sponsoring Agency: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. Contract Number: RR93002009. Also distributed on microfiche by U.S. GPO under ED 1.310/2:382197. |
| Physical Description: | 4 p. |