Evening star., 1923-07-01
Library Positions With Adequate Pay
/ Increase i'm Number, Declare Experts

cesSfully direct the activities or Q
large star Of professionally trained
as well as clerical employees. to de-
wise and supervise q proper system OF
budgetary control OF library finances,
and to bring the Institution to It's
rightful position Of prestige and use
fulness In the life Of the community.
The opportunities for library serv-
ice are not confined to the public
library. Experience has definitely
shown that excessive centralisat ton
in library work as In other fields
defeats it's own object Hence II has
been found necessary to develop re-
stricted collections OF books and data
to serve the special needs OF a given
institution or clientele.
In most American cities Of any size
the lawyers and doctors have their
special collections OF professional lit
erature. This example Is very gen
erally being followed by engineers.
architects. educators. and other pro-
| fessional groups. In recent years the
development OF public library bust
| ness branches has been rapid and
! such special business collections are
now proving OF practical aid to bust
| ness men in Newark, N. j.; Mime
apolis. MINI: Rochester, N. Y, and
many other cities. Service to state
and municipal officials by means of
Legislative reference libraFies and mu-
nicipal reference libraries Is now very
generally established In tho various
| states.
The librarian who enters these spe-
cialized fields OF service will find in
| creased opportunity for research, sta
tistical and bibliographical work.
Success in the special library field
! calls for more advanced initial train
! ing in one particular field and a
taste for intensive investigation and
| research.
Contrasted with the public librar-
ian. the special librarian serves q
more restricted clientele, but there
arc compenating advantages in the
greater degree of recognition which
may be obtained as the result of per-
sonal contributions to the literature
| OF the field in which he specializes.
THE special libraries of Washing
l. ton for the most part are those
| created to aid in the service OF par
| ticular government departments and
| bureaus. The number of commercial
and industrial libraries is not as large
as In other cities where there may
be found special collections on such
subjects as finance. insurance, pub
lie utilities, accounting, advertising
and on such specialized industries as
rubber. automobiles. explosives, lum-
ber. etc. Commercial and Industrial
| libraries such as these offer interest
ing possibilities for the development
OF new type Of information service
| to business.
! 1t Is stated on good authority that
library salaries have passed the low
water mark of calling that had to
| find itself and prove It's place. and
| are now on a par with those of the
| teachers, and similar workers" The
| trained librarian in public library
work generally starts with a mini
mum salary of about $1,000 year.
The average salary of assistant
librarians in 1921 was said to be
about $4,000 a year. but this figure is
/ increasing. In the larger libraries
assistant Librarians and department
heads make $4,000 and over a year
The salaries Of chief librarians run as
high as $4,000 year. In the special
| library field the salaries average
somewhat higher. the general range
being from about s2,5oO to $4,000 a
year.
A well known librarian has stated:
! 1T Is absurd for young man to
enter this profession unless he is at
tached to his fellow men. II he is
purely a maker Of Things or seeks
only money, he does not belong. He
must have a sympathetic spirit and
a love for the community.
an addition to this broad humani-
terrain spirit. the librarian Of today
must be equipped with education and
training II he is to succeed in library
work. Prominent librarians have
frequently stated In recent times that
they know Of positions with salaries
from $4,000 TO $1,000 a year, but that
they do not know of persons properly
qualified to fill such positions. For
some six years past, in fact, the de-
mand for trained librarians has
exceeded the supply of available
material.
The scarcity Of trained Librarians
is particularly noticeable In the busi-
ness field. where opportunities are
great. but where requirements are
correspondingly high. The head Of q
nationally known advertising com
pany announced recently that the aid
Of a special advertising library had
opened their eyes to unrealized posi-.
bilities in the development of theil
service. and only a few weeks age
the president OF the American Bank
ers' Association spoke publicly or
"The Need OF q Library In the Finan
cial World"
Great interest is manifested at tn,
present time in the organisation o.
special libraries in the fields Of bank
ing, finance, insurance, advertisinf
and selling, manufacturing, and 4,
connection with class and trade pub
locations, newspapers and CONNER
cial intelligence services Of various
kinds. The demand for trained libra
rians to fill positions of this kind un
doubtedly will continue for some tim,
to come.