Evening star., 1923-10-11

standing OF the study. training and
experience necessary to efficient
library service. The trustees report
that they have labored earnestly dur
ing the year to develop tLis increased
appreciation in the budget bureau in
its function of curtailing estimates. in
Reconsideration boards, in allocating
library workers and in Congress in
handling estimates submitted to 1t
and in making library appropriations.
On the subject of Redistribution the
trustees say:
"In Systematically co-ordinating and
readjusting work and pay in the gov
ernment service under the reclassifi-
cation law, the high standard of re-
quirement for library work and the
relation of good service in this work
20 the community welfare nave peen
Increasingly recognized. with the re-
suit that the library worker is, we
hope and believe. coming into his or
her own as q highly useful and valued
community servant"
Salary increases Expected.
Library salaries in general are
conceded to be so distinctly made
.quate when the scope and character
of the service rendered by librarians
are considered that we confidently
anticipate from equitable administra-
tion of the classification law large
increases in library salaries, bringing
them ZIP to those paid comparable
professional, scientific and technical
workers i'll the employ of the gov
ernment.
The library trustees have stressed
the necessity and equity of fair treat
ment OF library workers in the re-
classification of government employees
in their representations to the Com
missioners and to the personal claS-
sification, board.
The trustees state that they have
felt q special responsibility in respect
TO the Just ALLEGATION of the librarian
whom they appoint. They report that
they have met this responsibility by
urging energetically upon all in au-
thority the considerations set forth IN
a statement on the subject which they
formally adopted for submission to
the personal ella ssification board
extracts from which follow:
I'VE strongly recommend that the
position of librarian of the Pubic
Library be allQcated TO grade IN
the professional and scientific service,
the annual rates of compensation OF
which are to be $4,000, $500, $1,000
and $500. unless a higha. r?tc is
specifically authorized by w SaiHe
of the reasons advanced by the US
tees for this recommendation ere
given:
1. The size and inport ii.ce of the
Public Library and its work make
the administration of it Il complex ad-
ministratfve head OF 4 major pro-
fessional bureau Our library has
100000 volumes and circulates more
than 100000 volumes annually from
the main library and two branches,
several stations, and through all hlgh
and grammar schools. Another branch
is about to be built, and several more
are planned, including several IN
public school buildings. The library
service is divided into departments
including order, catalogulnE, binding.
circulation, reference, industrial and
children's, each having a trained and
expert staff Most junior assistants
are trained by the library itself. At
present the staff consists of l10 per-
sons, of whom sixty are professional
and subprofessional workers. Our
estimates for the next fiscal year call
for an increase in. library personnei
of ffty-fiYe persons.
Salary Is Justified.
$50. The salary for the designated
grade is justified by reason of the
salaries paid to chief librarians OF
comparable municipal Libraries; in
the light of Librarian Bowerman's
standing among the foremost pro-
gressive libra rians OF the country, in
the light OF his high personal and
professional qualifications, and in
view of his nineteen years of devoted,
effective service in the library's up
building"
The trustees then give the follow
ing recent figures of the salaries OF
librarians in cities of Washington's 8
class and in some cities Of much
smaller population:
Nsw Work esg redk,1n fhs5 braFen sis
600; Chicago, $500; Detroit, $500;
Cleveland, $1,000: St Louis. $4,000;
s7,soo: Buffalo, ''G $4,000, Miiwaukee,
s5,500; Newark, $4,000; Minneapolis,
$1,000; Kansas City .SSsoni SeSsoioi Seattle,
ter, $1,000; Providence. s8.7eO; Jer-
sey city. $4,000; New Orleans, $4,000;
st. Paul, $4,000: Toledo, $4,000;
Portland, Ore, $4,000; Springfield,
Mass. $4,000; Bridgeport Conn:
$4,000; Fail River. Mass. $4,000, and
Youngstown, Ohio, $4,000.
Because of their bearing on the sal
ary of the librarian, as well as on
that of the assistant librerian. the
trustees also submit figures of sal
aries paid to assistant librarians in
other cities: Newark, $4,000; Provi-
dence, $4,000; Brooklyn, S4,SOO; st.
Louis, $4,000: Chicago, $4,000; Bos-
ton, $4,000; Cleveland, $4,000. They
state that all but two of these sal
aries of assistant librarians are more
than the present salary of the chief
ibrarian-S4,000,
Board Can Fix Salaries.
The trustees point out that in prac-
tically all of the cities mentioned
above the boards of library trustees
are able to fix salaries. They con-
tinue: 1--WE have no such power. In
1919, in anticipation of the work of
the reclaSsification commission, the Ii
brary board recommended public Ii
brary salary schedule to the reclassi-
fication commission and in 1T recon-
brarian of from $4,000 to S7,500-ex-
actly the salaries of grade 6. During
the five years since that schedule was
drawn UP the volume of the services
of our librarian and his responsible
tiles have increased, so that we are
placed in grade 6, in order that we
he renders to this community"
The library trustees state that they
are well aware that proper ALLEGATION
of the library's professional staff will
result in large inerease In lbrary
as this will come about solely from
the fact that the library service has
always been notorieusly underpaid.
even in comparison with other under
paid professions. the library board
trust that the personnel classification
board will not be deferred from doing
cause the doing of justice will re-
suit in largely increased costs. The
board of library trustees takes great
pride in the Public Library and it's
highly expert staff, and strongly de-
sires that the operation of the new
,.s,1 &C. T.