Evening star., 1920-03-14
HIGHER
LIBRARY SALARIES
Joint Commission Recon-
mendations, However, Be-
low Committees.

Public Library, who served as chair
man of the advisory library wage COM
,nittee, which recommended a scale of
library salaries to the joint congressional
commission on reclassiflcation. makes
the following comment on the library
salary schedule recommended by the
commission:
"The salaries recommended by the
joint commission register great ad-
vance over present unsatisfactory
| library salaries prevailing throughout
all of the federal and District libraries.
This Is true even though in most cases
they fall short Of the Recommendations
OF the advisory library wage commit
tee, which represent the best professional
Judgment of its members This COM
inittee recommended that the minimum
s.! larry for library aid the lowest grade
OF library work. should be not less than
$1,000, whereas the commission recon-
NERDS that the salary OF library aid
shall be from $l.0S0 to $1,000.
1T recommended that the second
grade. Junior library assistant should
be paid from 1890 to $500. and the
commission adopted that recommended
ton These two grades were designated
by the advisory wage committee as
position Of library assistant which
(and all above) was designated as full
professional it recommended S1.S0O to
5000. but for this the commission rec
commended but $3.50 to $3.50. For the
next grade of senior library assistant
it recommended $2.2S0 to $4,000. but the
commission recommended but $3.50 to
$3.50.
Application Of Schedule.
Making rough application of the
recommended salary schedule as it
Public Library. the following results
appear: Five members OF the staff
now receiving basic salaries of $500
each ($S4o with bonus) fall into the
library aid class and would receive
$1,0So to $1,000: thirty-four now re-
ceiving basic salaries of $3.50 to $500
each $500 to s1.140 with bonus) fall
into the Junior library assistant
class and would receive s1.s2o to
$500 each: five now receiving $1,000
to $1,000 basic t$1.240 to $1.260 with
bonus) fall into the library assist
ant class and would receive $3.50 to
1890 each: two children's librarians
lively. basic C$1.o2o to $1.240 with
bonus) would receive 1890 to 1880;
six now receiving $1,000 to $500
basic (s1,440 to $1.740 with bonus) fall
into the senior library assistant
group and would receive from 1886
to $3.50. and the chief Of the circu-
lation department. now receiving
$500 basic ($1.740 with bonus), would
receive from @2.O4O to S2.4 20. These
increases are all substantial and
would be OF great advantage to the
Public Library in keeping trained en-
ployes in it's service
Some aspects of the reclassification
yo nf 70 CO of or,fn har
comparisons are made between the
salaries recommended for library
work and those recommended for
purely clerical work. librarians await
with some anxiety full explanation
of the reasons for what appear as
the commission recommended for un-
dertypist $1,000 to s1.320. 1t is diff
cult to understand why an under
typist's salary should begin where
library aids salary leaves Off, in view
Of the fact that a library aid almost
invariably is able to, typewrite and
usually does typewriting, though
often as a minor and incidental duty
in addition to doing other more i'm
portant work. and work requiring far
greater education Possibly the COM
mission designed the library aid
position to include only such clerical
service in a library as does not re-
other Interpretation puts a premium
on work which Is largely mechanical
and routine by paying smaller SAL
aries to work requiring more ad-
vanced education "a full high school
course or more) and technical library
training amounting in the case of the
Public Library to full school year.
Difference in Recon- mendatiOn.
"The most glaringly insufficient fig
ures in the recommended schedule for
library work are those for the admin
istrative librarian, departmental library
representing the major library position
in Washington outside of the Library of
Congress and the Public Library-that
is. the librarianship of the Department
of Agriculture. For it is recommended
$3.50 to $3.50, whereas the advisory
library wage committee recommended
81, 900 to $1,000. In view of the salaries
recommended by the joint commission
for scientists in the Department Of Ag-
riculture. the recommendations OF the
wage committee for this position seem
fair and reasonable.
"A reading of the report. so far as
published in the newspapers, indicates
that it is right in principle. 1t is to be
hoped that the salary schedules as rec
commended are not nailed down so tight
~ as not to be the subject of revision
en- presentation of evidence and the
pointing out of discrepancies like those
just mentioned. The reclassification
commission has accomplished huge
task, and though doubtless there are
rough places that will need smoothing
out, on the whole it registers a substan-
tial advance over the chaos now existing
in government salaries
Scientists and inventors are trying