[Publib] RE: On the Book

[Theyer, Hillary]

Is this different than our current agencies we can go to for specialists?  I know of two off the top of my head - Advanced Information Management (AIM) and Library Associates (hope I got the names right).  We can get Library Page through Reference Librarian on a contract basis.  I have worked for two libraries that have used them, for both temporary holes like a maternity leave, or to fill in spots that are temporary, or for when the work otherwise can't be filled by existing staff. I worked for AIM for a while when I was with Sacramento PL, when they were forming the JPA they were in "hiring freeze" but needed Librarians, so I was an "on call" for a while, then worked for AIM, hired back out to Sacto.

We use AIM for Sundays as they aren't part of our work week and we aren't open year-round.  I know Librarians who are working temp work for agencies until the find that full-time job, some who just want the 10-20 hours per week and are happy doing different things, and some who are filling in cracks in income left by other jobs.

Or, am I missing something?

Hillary Theyer
Torrance PL (CA)

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Message: 13
Date: Sun, 1 Mar 2009 22:12:52 EST
From: Backwage at aol.com
Subject: [Publib] On the Book
To: publib at webjunction.org, NEWLIB-L at usc.edu
Message-ID: <c29.50c6bbec.36dca8b4 at aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I was wondering if anybody had ever seen anything like this:

Here in Los Angeles, we have some construction unions whose members  also
work for the City of Los Angeles and also the County.  The way they do  this is
as follows:  the electrician or plumber will take temporary  employment with
the city at a fraction (usually 85%) of the usual  construction wage rate, and
full benefits, which are paid to the union's  plan.  While working for the city
or county, the plumber will simply do  assigned work.  When the city is done
with that worker, they will send her  back to the union hall to await a
dispatch to a construction job, or perhaps  wait for another opening in a city
position.  They call this "temporary"  work, though some people spend entire
careers, with 40-hour weeks, in such  positions.

The reason for this is that the city and county already have their own
workers, but often need to supplement their crews for certain projects.   The
workers out of the union hall are experienced; they, like the city workers,  have
completed the apprenticeship program and all other requirements.  The  reason
the city or county likes this setup is because they do not have to retain
workers a moment longer than they have to, and they also are not obligated with
any pension or benefit liability beyond the moment the worker leaves.  The
workers enjoy this setup because they can work for extended periods for the
city/county while waiting for construction work to come up.  The worker  waits on
the dispatch book until another opportunity comes along, which she may  accept
or reject.  Everybody wins.

I do not know what proportion of city/county work is done in this manner,
but it is not inconsiderable.  Hundreds of workers do this every day, in  this
fashion.

Now then.  Perhaps you know where I am going with this.  Let us  say for
argument's sake that we have a couple of local libraries, like those of  Los
Angeles and Los Angeles County--both of them giant systems.  Let us say  that they
have a lot of uncovered hours--here and there in various libraries,  perhaps
unfilled full-time spots in one or another place.  Why not have a  system like
that the construction trades share with the city/county?

Now then, some bright person is going to mention that the city and county
may already have temporary workers and half-time people to do these jobs.   But
I'm driving at something else.  That's all well and good for the  libraries.
What about the librarians?

I think it would be a great leap forward if there were such as thing as a
librarian dispatch book, as there is in the musicians' union, and even among
other groups such as theatrical wardrobe workers (like my mother).  Why not
have workers who are not or prefer not to be attached to a library be able to
work there, be hired, quickly put on, to the benefit of the system and the
librarian?

I hope nobody tells me that there is some terrific knowledge base peculiar
to the Los Angeles City or County libraries that would prevent some person from
 coming off the bench to do reference work therein.  If what we have is an
actual profession, then any flexible person could go and do that work.

Advantage to the worker:  flexibility; ability to accept certain hours  and
places of work, ability to work for a set period and then depart, perhaps
returning later.

Advantages to the system: Not having to permanently hire for positions that
are likely to be abandoned quickly (don't anybody say this isn't so), ability
to  flex staff numbers to meet budget; not having to post, interview, hire,
and then  see what happens. Perhaps best of all, the library gets to see a
worker for a  spell of time before inviting them to work there permanently.

In any dispatch system, the worker can be rejected by the employer.
Sometimes they are.  That person simply returns to the book without  prejudice.
Occasionally the reverse is true.  And also:  most  dispatch systems have the
provision wherein a certain number of workers may be  called by name--this means
that the library could simply say, "If Helen Smith is  on the book, we request
her."  In my business, they get that right for the  first worker called, when
three or more are dispatched.  Advantages here to  all concerned.

I write this mostly because I see those permanent ads placed by library
systems for workers.  And I know that the reason for the permanence of  those ads
is because people depart.  Why not just use a dispatch system to  cover a
proportion of the jobs?

Responses welcomed.

M. McGrorty