Recently a couple of things have reminded me of the divide that exists in many libraries between the professional staff and the para-professional staff, i.e. librarians and technicians/clerks. One was a mention in the book Quiet, Please.
Early in my federal career I noted that there was some segregation among the library staff. Librarians got paid more and had more responsibilities than the library clerks. In addition - the library had office furniture some of which had a very thin wood veneer over the particle board desktop. Other desks were covered in a putty-colored plastic. The librarians got the faux wood and the technicians got the putty. (Irony - guess which one held up better to years of work and spilled drinks…)
But to the patrons it didn’t matter if they could get what they needed. As is the case in most public libraries - most patrons assume that everyone who works there is a librarian. A patron asks for help locating a book and someone finds it. The patron doesn’t care what the education level or salary of the person who helped is - they just want the book.
Even when I was a lowly technician I knew my limits. I could help someone find a book or a magazine - but anything resembling research - and the patron was sent to a librarian.
When I went to training at the Library of Congress I would never admit that I was not a librarian. At that point in my career I was a cataloger and I would introduce myself as such and let people make their own assumptions. An acquaintance is a librarian at the Library of Congress, but he was quick to confess that he is a subject specialist (with a Masters degree, but not an MLS.)
So having worked my way through library school and paid my dues to SLA I am quick to state that I am a librarian. But I’ve always made an effort to represent myself accurately. It is one thing to answer truthfully that I was a cataloger, but if I was asked where I went to library school I would admit that I didn’t have an MLS.
But I’ve always thought it foolish to lie about things - especially things that are so easily verified. One day two women at work were talking and as I walked up they asked me how tall I was. I answered and one was surprised by my answer - she thought I was taller or shorter - don’t recall which. The other said, “He gets points for not lying and saying he is 6′ tall.” But they’d have known immediately if I had lied about that - I’m 5′10″.
A former supervisor’s mother worked for years as a librarian at the University of Texas. But she earned her title the old fashioned way - through apprenticeship and on-the-job training.
There’s no shame in that. If you are a library clerk - be a damned good one and be proud of what you do. If you are a brilliant library student - know that you have the potential to put us all to shame. If you’re a librarian - do your best to serve your patrons. But don’t lie about it. Remember - patrons often don’t care - as long as they get their book.
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