95. Women Librarians and Assistants.—The employment of women in libraries is not universal in this country, and very few women hold the position of chief librarian, and these only of small libraries. In the United States the proportion of women librarians and assistants is nearer 95 per cent. than the 14 or 15 per cent. of Britain. There can hardly be a doubt, however, that women will be more extensively employed in British municipal libraries than they have been hitherto. In large towns it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain and retain the services of intelligent lads who will devote themselves to the work, and it is unnecessary to affirm nowadays that a well-educated, intelligent girl is just as suitable for public library work as a well-educated lad. If women are employed in libraries, they should be paid at the same rate as men or lads performing similar duties. There is no reason why a woman should be paid less than a man for doing exactly the same work. Everything recommended regarding qualifications, duties, etc., should apply to women as well as to men. It is the opinion of some librarians that, if women are employed, the staff should be composed entirely of them, as a mixed staff requires various kinds of separate accommodation.
96. Caretakers.
96. Caretakers.—A satisfactory janitor or caretaker, generally speaking, is a valuable member of staff, and is rare. A good man seldom stays very long, so easy is it for him to seek and obtain promotion. Caretakers’ wages vary all over the country, according to the size of the library, amount of work and perquisites. In cases where a residence is provided, it is usual to secure the services of a man and his wife, and furnish him with a uniform and the usual light, coal, etc. In such cases the wages are usually less than when a man has to find his own residence. From 25s. to 30s. weekly is the wage given when a house is provided. In other instances, according to circumstances, the wages vary from 27s. 6d. to 50s. weekly. In large libraries extra assistance should always be provided, and the cleaning should be done early in the morning, before the hour of opening. A sufficient staff of cleaners should be provided to enable this to be done without interfering with the service of the public. Three hours every morning should suffice to clean any library, and it is important to employ plenty of help. The wages of cleaners vary from 9d. an hour downwards, but it is more often the practice to pay so much a week according to circumstances. Rates for this class of work differ so much that it is impossible to do more than roughly indicate a possible basis.
A caretaker should be made responsible to the librarian for the cleanness and order of the building, and his duties should include a certain number of hours’ attendance in uniform as general overseer of the rooms and their frequenters. It is imperative that this official should not be allowed to develop the attitude of a Jack-in-office, and in all his patrol work courtesy and firmness should be required. Eight or nine hours daily should be considered full time for a caretaker, and suitable arrangements must be made to enable him to remain off duty at hours when the business is quiet. In large libraries it is customary to employ more than one janitor or caretaker.
97. Staff and Public.
97. Staff and Public.—It is most important that good relations should exist between readers and the whole of the staff. It is a well-known fact that one or two overbearing assistants can render a public library more unpopular than almost anything else. Assistants should school themselves to endure with philosophy the impertinence of the small number of the general public who contrive to make themselves objectionable in every town, and not visit on the heads of the inoffensive majority the sins of the inconsiderate few. The staff of every public library should learn as a first lesson that they are the servants and not the masters of the people, and that mutual self-respect can be maintained without undue familiarity on the one side or aloofness on the other. The supercilious “official” attitude, with which public servants are so frequently credited, is to be completely repressed and kept under, and the public should be taught to appreciate their own libraries, and to understand that the doors of a municipal library are always open to receive and welcome every class of citizen. At the same time, preference should not be shown for any particular frequenter or group of frequenters, and gossiping must be suppressed.
98. Staff Accommodation.
98. Staff Accommodation.—In libraries of every size private rooms of suitable dimensions should be provided for the librarian and the assistants; with work- and store-rooms for the staff and caretaker. The librarian’s room in small libraries may be made large enough to serve as a committee room, and in all cases should have separate lavatory accommodation. A large safe or strong room is often attached to the librarian’s room, or in a secure part of the basement, in which to store valuable documents and books. It should be shelved to contain such documents as registers, minutes and other local records in a convenient manner, and should be kept well ventilated and dry for the safe preservation of its contents. Strong rooms vary in size from 4 feet × 6 feet × 8 feet, to large apartments 20 feet × 20 feet and upwards. The usual furnishings of a librarian’s room comprise a desk, table, bookshelves, chairs, hat and umbrella stand, and other office furniture. Staff mess-rooms should be fitted with tables, chairs, cupboards, with a locker for each assistant, cooking apparatus and other appliances. Work-rooms for staff use must be fitted to suit the class of work carried on, whether cataloguing or preparing books, binding or filing. Store-rooms for general purposes and for the use of the caretaker should also be provided, fitted with all necessary cupboards and shelving. Separate staff rooms and lavatory accommodation should be provided in libraries with staffs composed partly of men, partly of women.
Bibliography
Cowell, Peter. Public Library Staffs, 1893, L.A. Series, 3.