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January 26, 2007
A letter from the Front Line
Hello Tim
This, rather than blogging is my preferred way of communication.
I read your response to Duchess.
I haven't heard about the CIPFA fiasco you referred to. My view is that the CIPFA counts (of numbers of visitors) in libraries are unreliable, they are dependent on
-Good branch management - non-prof. branch library manager posts aren't paid
enough to care.
-Enough staff to deploy one to the counting task - can't happen in a busy branch.
-Staff conscientiousness - low morale in library assistants doesn't help.
In my experience the counts are guess work and exaggerated to further our interests to keep the branch open.
Your other point about front-line staff liberation has liberated my spirit. Professional staff get on their high horses at the mention of non-prof staff getting recognition for their experience, professional attitude to their work and their achievement in providing excellent service at the front line. I appreciate the hard work that goes in to gaining qualifications but the public need to have direct access to these people at the branch desk. They should be sharing their expertise ( especially for children, young people & families) with the general public rather than sitting in an office sending emails to each other.
Many library assistants are very well educated, have specialised areas and skills which are served to the public - there is no recognition of these individuals or prospect of enhanced grading, it just isn't built into the staff structures. Meanwhile in ours and probably other areas, there are 5 levels of prof posts above the branch manager and these librarians are not accessible to the public. It's a disgrace and I think govt. should address this.
I have written many essays concluding with this point and get good marks so I wonder if the lecturers secretely agree with me!
Posted by Tim Coates at January 26, 2007 6:06 PM