Librarians’ Rights Are Overdue

Post #64

Everyone likes librarians, and for good reason.  They are smart, thoughtful, helpful people who manage and facilitate the use of essential repositories of stored knowledge.   If you think about it, libraries are like a physical Internet, with vast amounts of data and entertainment all available in one place-- and of course, they help keep the actual Internet democratic by providing free online access to those who might not otherwise be able to afford it.

Given all the practical reasons to admire librarians (not to mention the fond memories many of us have of a children’s librarian who sponsored story times and helped us get our first library card), you’d think they’d be treated well by society-- as least as well as other public servants.  In most of Maryand, though, they’re not.   Unlike firefighters, teachers, police officers, and other state and county employees, non-school-based librarians lack the right to organize themselves to improve their salaries, benefits and working conditions.   Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties-- where librarians have traditional labor rights-- are welcome exceptions to this unfair arrangement.

Two state legislators--Tom Hucker and Nancy King-- are trying to bring the same rights to librarians in the rest of the state through legislation they introduced last session.  It’s a moderate bill that recognizes the distinctive nature of public employment by, for example, barring strikes.  Our County Executive, Ike Leggett, supports the change; he was quoted in a March article in the blog Maryland Politics Watch as saying: “… I want to reiterate that in the 23 years Montgomery County Government has had collective bargaining it has served the interests of labor, management and the residents of the county.”  I posted a comment on the article, congratulating Hucker and King on their initiative.

The quality of a society can often be judged by how it values its professions.  Librarians are currently undervalued in most of Maryland.  It doesn’t take the assistance of a research librarian to know that’s wrong and should be corrected soon.   

I would love to hear from you, dear Blog reader!  Do you have a favorite librarian? Or is there another profession you think doesn’t receive the recognition and respect it deserves?  Please send an email to Blog@CherylKagan.org or click on the "Comments" link below to express your views.  Please be sure to indicate which post (#64) you're addressing. 

Thanks for reading.  I will post again soon.