The Personnel Committee of the Vermont Library Association has published Salaries and Benefits: A Survey of Vermont Public Librarians. Vermont public libraries were surveyed in 2012 and the results collated. Salaries for the 105 librarians range from a mean of $17.88/hour to a maximum of $38.26. The salary range for paraprofessionals runs from the mean of $13.32 to a maximum of $19.00. Information on salaries and benefits is presented by library governance, experience, population, and size of library.

The current recommended minimum starting salary for a library director with a bachelor’s degree and the Vermont Department of Libraries Certificate of Public Librarianship is $40,300, or $19.38/hour with a full benefit package.

VLA Compensation Studies are listed together at http://www.vermontlibraries.org/publications

Posted on Monday, May 6th, 2013 at 8:21 am in the Personnel, Publications category.

On December 7, 2012, the Vermont library community was shocked and dismayed at the decision of the Board of Directors of the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum to lay off its entire library staff in the name of restructuring. While the Vermont Library Association understands the Board’s responsibility for setting direction for their library during a time of financial stress, now, more than ever, Vermonters need libraries–and librarians. The Vermont Library Association feels that the board’s actions demonstrate a devaluation of libraries and the library professionals capable of leading them through a time of intense change in information resources and society. Librarians are not replaced by the Internet–their skills and training enrich the Internet and facilitate access for all Vermonters.

“As President of the Vermont Library Association, an educational organization that works to develop, promote, and improve library and information services and librarianship in the State of Vermont, I hope the entire library community will join us in support of libraries and librarians everywhere, specifically in St. Johnsbury at this time.” states Deborah Gadwah-Lambert.

The Vermont Library Association would like to express support to all the dedicated St. Johnsbury library staff capably serving the local community.

To express your support as well, consider these steps:

Step One: Contact the Athenaeum Executive Director, Matthew Powers and Board Vice-President, Gil Steil to express your concerns. Send email to inform@stjathenaeum.org or call 802-748-8291.

Step Two: Join the Vermont Library Association, Rural Librarians Unite, and the citizens of St. Johnsbury on the steps of the Athenaeum to “hug” the library, Saturday, January 12th at noon. We will be holding hands around the library in solidarity with Athenaeum library staff.

Posted on Friday, December 21st, 2012 at 2:54 pm in the Advocacy, News, Personnel, Public Libraries, Trustees category.

This a reminder to all library directors to send your list of staff email addresses to me at lucinda.walker@norwichlibrary.org by Friday, March 16^th.  The addresses will be used for emailing the Public Library Compensation & Benefit Survey, 2012. to both public library professionals and paraprofessionals. The survey will be sent out on March 30^th.

I hope that all of you will participate in this year’s survey as the results will provide valuable information about the state of our public libraries and the dedicated staff that supports them since the economic downturn in 2008.  The results of the survey will be useful when approaching Selectboards & Trustee Boards.    If you would like to see the results of the 2008 survey, please click on this link: http://www.vermontlibraries.org/prelimreport2009.pdf.

Thank you so much for your help,

Lucinda

Posted on Thursday, March 8th, 2012 at 3:26 pm in the Personnel, Public Libraries category.

Register now for the 118th Vermont Library Conference!

This Ain’t Your Mama’s Library
Creating a New Generation of Library Services for a New Generation of Library Users
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
St Michael’s College, Colchester, Vermont

This year will feature a keynote address by Michelle Gorman and a Book Cart Drill Team Competition. For more information on programming, visit the Conference Website at http://www.vermontlibraryconference.org/

Posted on Thursday, March 1st, 2012 at 3:24 pm in the Academic Libraries, C&SL, Conferences, DOL, Events, FOL, GMLC-blog, GRC, IFC, Membership, News, Personnel, Public Libraries, School Libraries, Support Staff, Technical Services, Technology, VLC, Youth Librarians category.

The Vermont Library Association is now accepting applications for the Librarian Relief Fund. The deadline to apply is February 15th, 2012. Please contact VLA President Joe Farara with any questions, Joseph.Farara@jsc.edu.

Librarian Relief Fund Application (PDF)
Librarian Relief Fund Application (DOC)

The Vermont Library Association Librarian Relief Fund assists librarians who suffered personal property damages as a result of Hurricane Irene.  Many of our colleagues need support beyond what is offered them by governmental agencies, so please donate generously to their cause.

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Posted on Wednesday, February 15th, 2012 at 9:34 am in the Academic Libraries, Advocacy, News, Personnel, Public Libraries, School Libraries, Support Staff, Urgent Action category.

In our rural state, many libraries are staffed by a single staff person, or by a very small staff. This can make it a challenge to accomplish large projects within a short time period, have an extended vacation, or take advantage of a professional development opportunity. Also, those librarians who work part-time sometimes would like to expand their experience, network and income with additional work within their profession.

The Vermont Library Association (VLA), Green Mountain Library Consortium (GMLC) and Vermont Consortium of Academic Libraries (VCAL) are excited to introduce the Vermont Library Substitute Pool!

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Posted on Monday, December 6th, 2010 at 5:27 pm in the C&SL, Personnel, Public Libraries, School Libraries, Support Staff, Technical Services, Technology, Youth Librarians category.

The Graduate School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Rhode Island invites library and information service organizations to register possible professional field experiences (PFE) on their PFE database. This database is intended to help students in the Professional Field Experience (LSC 595) course locate placement sites, and to help potential host institutions attract appropriate student interns.

Students taking LSC 595 (Professional Field Experience) must complete forty-five hours of work for each credit. Students may take the course for anywhere from one to six credits. Details regarding the course may be seen at http://www.uri.edu/artsci/lsc/Academics/Courses/PFE.html. Instructions for viewing the PFE database are also given on this page.

A PFE may be primarily service oriented. For example, the student might work on the Reference Desk and teach information literacy courses in an academic library or the student could catalog new entries in the digital collection of archival institution. The PFE could also be project oriented, where a student could develop a new website or redesign an existing website for a public library or work on a research project for a corporate library. The PFE may also involve a combination of service and projects. The details of each PFE are worked out cooperatively between the student, the supervising library, and the full-time faculty member teaching the course.

If you would like to be listed in the PFE database, please complete the Site Supervisor’s Form at http://www.uri.edu/artsci/lsc/Academics/Courses/PFE/SiteSupervisorForm.pdf and send it to GSLIS as indicated on the form. The full-time faculty member teaching LSC 595 will be happy to work with you and the student to try to find a good match for the PFE.

Posted on Tuesday, November 16th, 2010 at 11:36 am in the Blogroll, C&SL, Funding Ops, News, Personnel, Public Libraries, School Libraries, Trustees, Uncategorized, VCAL (excluded from VLA main) category.

As public libraries enter the budget writing season, the Personnel Committee of the Vermont Library Association urges library directors to take a hard look at staff salaries. Here are some points to keep in mind:

* Qualified library directors should be paid at least $40,300 annually, or $19.38 per hour, as recommended by the Vermont Library Association Executive Board.
* If the library does not pay for medical insurance, offer compensatory leave or a lump sum payment instead.
* At a minimum, increase staff wages by the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) as set by the Social Security Administration annually in October. There will be no increase to social security payments in 2010. However, now is a good time to “catch up” if you have missed COLA in previous years.
* Consider whether your library has experienced increased usage this year. More visits, more items borrowed, more usage of resources, more programs — all mean more work for the staff. Even if job descriptions haven’t expanded, the workload may have.

Check the attached budget memo for more details. Share the information with library trustees as you build the annual budget. To study appropriate compensation, view the Personnel Committee’s 2009 revision of “Increasing Public Library Compensation: A How-To Guide for Vermont Libraries” at http://www.vermontlibraries.org/publibcompensation2009.pdf

For further information about or assistance with the above or any other personnel questions, please contact the committee chair:

Rubi Simon
Burnham Memorial Library
898 Main Street (Rte. 2A)
Colchester, VT 05446
802-879-7576
rsimon@burnham.lib.vt.us

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Posted on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 5:55 pm in the Personnel, Public Libraries category.

ALA has launched MentorConnect in ALA Connect so you can find or become a mentor.

MentorConnect (”MC”) allows ALA members to create mentoring profiles that highlight their expertise and experience. After they’ve joined MC, ALA members can search for a mentor using a variety of criteria (gender, type of library, ethnicity, etc.) and request mentorship. Once created, the mentorship is tracked within MC, with a space for providing and archiving feedback. The system will prompt mentors and mentorees every few months to ensure they are staying in touch.

To learn all about this new service, see Mentoring Starter Questions and Mentoring and MentorConnect FAQ at (http://www.students.ala.org/studentmemberblog/?p=344)

Don Wood
Program Officer
Chapter Relations Office
American Libraries Association
dwood@ala.org
1-800-545-2433, ext. 2429

Posted on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 4:28 pm in the Advocacy, ALA, C&SL, Educational Ops, News, Personnel, Public Libraries, VCAL (excluded from VLA main), Youth Librarians category.

Sometimes we just need a little help from our friends.  You may be a new librarian who feels at sea.   Or you may have a library project or issue that you would like to talk with another professional about.  The Vermont Library Association can help you connect with people who can help you out.  Over a dozen VLA members from all over the state have agreed to act as a mentor for public librarians.  Contact Lucinda Walker 802-649-1184 lucinda.walker@norwichlibrary.org if you would like to find a mentor in your area.

Posted on Monday, March 30th, 2009 at 1:59 pm in the Educational Ops, News, Personnel, Public Libraries, Trustees, Youth Librarians category.