Workforce

ARL has published Research Library Issues (RLI) no. 282, which features articles on ARL library budgets over the past two years, subscriptions to journal collections from large publishers, and the impact of the changing roles of librarians on reference staffing. A pre-publication version of the article about journal bundles was released earlier this year.

The complete table of contents with links to the articles follows:

Research Library Issues (RLI) no. 282 includes:

ARL Library Budgets after the Great Recession, 2011–13
Charles B. Lowry

The State of Large-Publisher Bundles in 2012
Karla L. Strieb and Julia C. Blixrud

Evolving Models of Reference Staffing at the University of Kansas Libraries
Frances Devlin and John Stratton

The video of the webcast “Using ARL Salary Data to Make the Case for Higher Salaries” presented on May 21, 2013, is now available on ARL's YouTube channel. This webcast examines how to use the ARL Annual Salary Survey beyond the published data. The speakers showcase how libraries have used ARL's custom report services, identify how to demonstrate salary issues that need to be addressed, and discuss strategies leaders have used to make the case for improved salaries. Webcast slides (PDF) are also available for download.

Mark A. PuenteARL's director of diversity and leadership programs, Mark A. Puente, submitted the following comments to Library Journal (LJ) in response to the May 23 editorial by Michael Kelley, "The MLS and the Race Line": Mr. Kelley provides some interesting and provocative comments about the effectiveness of diversity recruitment programs such as the collaboration between the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Society of American Archivists (SAA) recently funded by IMLS. But as previous commenters have pointed out to him, no one strategy is going to be effective for every recruit and a variety of approaches should be used. ARL’s approach should be seen within a larger context of attempts to ameliorate this vexing problem.

ARL IRDW Diversity Scholars 2013-15, photo by Molly MageeARL is accepting applications for the Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce (IRDW), a program designed to recruit master of library and information science (MLIS) students from traditionally underrepresented ethnic and racial minority groups into careers in research libraries. The IRDW includes a stipend in support of MLIS education of up to $10,000 over two years, leadership and career development training, a site visit to the Purdue University Libraries, financial support for skills development, and a formal mentorship program.

Dogwood, image © tanakawhoSpeakers’ slides from the ARL Membership Meeting held May 1–3 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, are now on the ARL website. Available slides include:

Presented at the 162nd ARL Membership Meeting, May 2013, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, by Tiffany Allen and Judy Ruttenberg

 mm13sp-allen-ruttenberg.pdf

image © Thomas HawkARL has selected the sponsor cohort for the fifth iteration of the Research Library Leadership Fellows (RLLF) Program, an 18-month executive leadership fellowship designed and sponsored by ARL member libraries that helps develop future senior-level leaders in large research libraries. The program exposes library staff who have the desire and potential for leadership in ARL libraries to important issues, peer institutions, and professional networks that will enhance their preparedness to take on senior-level roles.

image © Jim BumgardnerARL and the Society of American Archivists (SAA) have been awarded a $487,652 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program in support of the new ARL/SAA Mosaic Scholarship Program—a diversity recruitment program that seeks to attract students to the archives and special collections profession and provide support for them during graduate school. The program will provide a full suite of financial benefits and career development and placement support to 15 students from traditionally underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups entering academic studies in archival science, special collections librarianship, or similar graduate programs.

In this webcast held on March 5, 2013, Martha Kyrillidou and Shaneka Morris of ARL's Statistics and Assessment program describe how to effectively use data from the ARL Annual Salary Survey to promote higher salaries for library professionals. They highlight salary comparisons from a number of perspectives, including geographic region, type of library (public/private), rank structure, and position categories. The webcast also touches on the history of the ARL Annual Salary Survey and its data collection approach, provides information on the utility of the salary information in the annual ARL publication, and discusses some key changes made to modernize the job categories to reflect current job titles.

This is the first in a series of four webcasts illustrating effective uses of data from the ARL Annual Salary Survey, which reports salaries for more than 12,000 professional positions in ARL libraries in the United States and Canada.