Mary Kole wrote:
>
[snip]
> How about people calling themselves "secretaries" and attempting to
> get summer jobs in the secretarial field? We've had professional teachers
> apply at our offices for secretarial openings.
>
> The fact is -- and you just don't want to admit it -- if a person is
> capable and the duties that they perform are librarian in nature (or
> secretrial in nature as in the case above), they are considered a
> librarian no matter how you want to look at it. You're just mad that
> a title alone can't describe the educational background between an MLS
> and an undergraduate and that the person gets to use YOUR TITLE with less
> schooling. Since when is this news?
>
> Now, let's move on to important things.
Ms. Kole:
I worked as a secretary for 20 years before going back to school and
becoming a librarian (with an MLS), and also worked as a "librarian" in
several jobs before I got my MLS. If 20 years of this type of work
experience does nothing else, it at least provides me the perspective to
respond to a post such as this. With all due respect, your statements
are hogwash.
When I worked as a secretary, it did offend me when summer hires waltzed
in and got the same title, and salary, as I did without the requisite
skills or training. Capable they might have been, but the plain fact is
they had neither the experience nor the training to be competent
secretaries. Many organizations recognize this fact, and classify
secretarial positions into several grades or ranks, depending on work
experience and training. These organizations also encourage their
secretaries to attend continuing education courses, and reward this
attendance with pay raises and promotions.
I also performed library tasks in several of these secretarial posts; my
enjoyment of this type of work is partly what propelled me towards
library school. But I never in my wildest dreams would have called
myself a "librarian," or assumed that filing some looseleafs qualified
me to run a library. Both as a secretary and as a librarian, and
especially because both are professions dominated by women, the lack of
professional recognition and respect has had adverse consequences for
me, financial and otherwise. Your flippant dismissal of the importance
of this issue is egregiously offensive, and does you no credit.
Ann C. Davidson
Davidson Library Services
414 The Colonnade
1601 Spring Garden Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 496-036
dls@hslc.org
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