Megan Steinke
IS510, Dr. Albright, Fall 2005
Final paper, 12/2/05
The public library is one of the most obvious examples of an information professional’s environment. It is an environment rich in opportunities for professionals, paraprofessionals, and nonprofessionals to serve the public’s information needs. The professionals and paraprofessionals have much in common in a public library: feeling undervalued, undercompensated, and underrespected by the general public, and working in a female-dominated environment. However, a professional has a greater autonomy in their job than a paraprofessional does. They receive greater salaries and benefits, have more versatility because their training is not as limited as a paraprofessional’s, and garner more respect than a paraprofessional. The divide between them stems largely from the paraprofessionals’ perception that they do the same thing as a professional for less pay.
A professional librarian in a public library has many duties. They answer reference questions, which may become a very complicated hunt for information. They design programming and outreach for the community. They assist and instruct patrons in everything from how to use a computer to ordering a book through interlibrary loan. They control development and management of the library’s collection, such as purchasing new items, repairing damaged items, and weeding the collection. The professional librarians will generally also perform administrative and supervisory duties, including payroll, human resources services, setting library policies, and training other employees. Becoming a director or manager generally requires an advanced degree and professional status.
A paraprofessional serves as the professional’s aide. They are not members of a profession, but are support staff to a profession. They are not as well-educated, have less formal training, and take care of more routine functions, particularly clerical duties. The circulation desk is generally staffed by paraprofessionals, and shelving is generally performed by the para- and nonprofessionals. They can function at a very basic level as a professional when one is not available, and at a lesser cost as a paraprofessional’s pay and benefits will be less than a professional’s. The paraprofessional can take care of the quotidian duties of a librarian to allow the professional more time for activities that require a professional touch, such as teaching and research. There are many factors that separate the professionals from the paraprofessionals, and a degree is only a small part of it.
A professional librarian in a public library has a more advanced education than a paraprofessional. A paraprofessional may only possess a bachelor’s degree, or in some more rural areas, perhaps only a high school diploma. A paraprofessional cannot bridge the gap to becoming a professional without acquiring the requisite graduate degree. The purpose of further education requirements for professionals is to give them a broader understanding of the principles and theories in their field, and information science is no exception. “Librarianship… is a combination of work that appears routine and work that requires theoretical and conceptual knowledge and judgment” (Rubin 460). The work involved with being a professional librarian requires familiarity with the theories and principles of information science so that they can be applied to the problems of the job, to users’ queries. The work of a paraprofessional is more structured, and less about applied learning, as they follow procedures and instructions laid down for them, so they do not need as much education as a professional.
The professional public librarian is a scholar; their education in a graduate program has taught them how to think critically, how to apply their learning, and how to continue learning. A scholar passes on their knowledge in communication and teaching, both to the public and to other information professionals. Scholars have mastered their discipline after long study; they have a thorough knowledge of the issues and theories of their field. Scholars know how to find and use information. Librarians understand the information retrieval cycle,
Information literacy is an important aspect of being a professional in a public library. The professional librarian must not only be information literate themselves, but know how to help others become more information literate. Society is flooded with information, with the information superhighway becoming more and more accessible as Internet access becomes more universal, and most people are ill-equipped to deal with the glut of information that is available. They cannot process or use the information they are able to find to the best effect, and they are not able to find the best information. Sources of information on the Web are expanding exponentially, but with no authority control, much of the information is suspect. A professional librarian needs to be able to teach patrons how to be information literate, to deal with information effectively and critically. A lot of people forget not to believe everything they read, and a librarian should remind them.
A professional librarian has an enhanced awareness and understanding of information property and intellectual freedom. Librarians understand the properties of information as an economic good, and how consideration of the economic aspect of information affects its use, from intellectual property to patents to copyrights. Intellectual freedom and its converse, censorship, are issues that a professional librarian has a deeper understanding of than a paraprofessional does. A professional needs to be aware of these issues, to protect patrons’ right to intellectual freedom, the right to freely obtain information without interference or censorship. Since paraprofessionals generally perform more clerical work that does not require the application of theory, it is not necessary for them to be thoroughly conversant with these issues.
Other ethical problems that concern professionals in a public library setting include privacy rights, internet filtering, patron confidentiality, and issues with the government, particularly in respect to the PATRIOT Act. Ethics are of primary importance to the professional librarian. Leaving their religious and personal beliefs at home, a public librarian must still “do the right thing” based on societal norms of what is good and morally upright. Ethics are more than just legal issues, because ethics takes into account the circumstances of each situation. Things are not always black and white where ethics are concerned. The ALA is governed by a code of ethics that encourages altruistic behavior and equal service and help to all patrons, regardless of the librarian and the patron’s personal morals. This is not to say that a library paraprofessional is not an ethical person; they certainly can be and are. But larger questions of ethics at a public library tend to fall into the sphere of the professionals. The paraprofessional is probably not going to be the one to receive a National Security Letter from the FBI; that will be directed to the professional librarians.
Is the distinction between a professional and a paraprofessional arbitrary? The argument can certainly be made that the only difference is a master’s degree. Many professional librarians agree that their course of study did not prepare them very well for the actual job and argue that information and library science curricula must be altered to better prepare the information professional for work in the real world. The skills they learn on the job are often the same skills a paraprofessional learns on the job. So if skills are learned on the job, why is the degree needed? A master’s degree is more than just a piece of paper; the process of earning an advanced degree confers a greater understanding of the subject matter, deeper insights into the issues of the field, and a more universal standard of learning and intellect that can be applied in many situations. Abstract knowledge is gained through the information science graduate program, and a knowledge of how to apply that knowledge to the problems that present themselves in daily work.
Advanced education not only confers abstract knowledge, but also a degree of respectability that is not as present for those without the degree. It may be only a societal bias, but more respect is accorded to those with a degree than those without, and the higher the degree attained, the higher the level of respect. A doctorate outshines an associate’s degree, although the person with the associate’s may have the same level of professionalism as the doctorate, they will not receive as much respect from persons who are just meeting them. It conveys a higher status than a lesser degree, or no degree at all. Societal perceptions define a great deal of a degree’s value and the degree holder’s status.
Being a professional librarian is more than just holding an advanced degree. A professional cares enough to get that advanced degree. A paraprofessional can make the transition to a professional by acquiring the necessary education, if they want it enough. Many paraprofessionals do want to be paid commensurately with the professionals, and while one can’t argue with the need for appropriate compensation, they should not be paid the same as a professional, because they are not performing at the same level as a professional. The degree is not just a piece of paper; the degree is about proving one’s professional worth. The education, not just training, that an advanced degree gives will equip the professional to deal with situations that may arise in the course of their work that could not be learned on the job. Lacking the degree, lacking that flexibility in one’s knowledge base and mindset, one is not prepared to handle the job of a professional. So while some may believe the only thing that separates a professional from a paraprofessional is a master’s degree, it is an important distinction.