Advocating for Better Salaries & Pay Equity for All Library Workers

Now is the Time: Advocating for Better Salaries & Pay Equity for All Library Workers*
By Maurice J. Freedman, MLS, PhD is a thought provoking article in ALA-APA Newsletter (Volume 1 • No. 1 ).

Yes, the race for equity is still on and we're still behind. Why? It's not just a gender equity issue.

It's also a "ThirdWave/New Economy" issue. As we leave behind an industrial economy, legacy institutions like public and academic libraries are going to be forced to reinvent their governance and management structures and traditions. The crunch is on: we want to continue providing and having access to the materials and services provided by libraries - But, as a society we are no longer supporting the funding levels that are necessary for sustaining the expenditures of libraries as they were conceived of and run in the past.

The intersection between these two economies creates anomalous catch-22 situations at both ends of the spectrum: like professionals offering to work for free, like libraries boasting of having "no layoffs" while severely curtailing hours and services . . .