GOVERNMENT LIBRARIAN INTERVIEW

On December 21, 2005, Cindy Boeke interviewed Clark Brown, Network Librarian for FLICC/FEDLINK on "The Federal Government Library Trend of Hiring GS-301s to Replace GS-1410s."

What is a GS-301 and what is a GS-1410?

OPM employment standards give the standards for each series of jobs. Within those they reference the competencies that one needs for a particular series. GS-301 is a Miscellaneous Administration and Program Series. According to OPM, “This series includes positions the duties of which are to perform, supervise, or manage nonprofessional, two grade interval work for which no other series is appropriate. The work requires analytical ability, judgment, discretion, and knowledge of a substantial body of administrative or program principles, concepts, policies, and objectives.” Sometimes agencies will cross-reference a GS-301, since it’s a generic job description. A lot of agencies use it for a variety of jobs that they find difficult to classify. GS-1410 is the series for a librarian in the federal government. Under that series are the requirements one has to meet to qualify for a GS-1410, e.g. an MLS from an accredited school is the biggest requirement.

Why would an agency replace a librarian with a general administration position?

At some agencies, the librarian retires and they need someone to fill that slot. Many times they can’t go out and hire, so they detail someone to that position. They may ask around the office and find that as close as they can come to a librarian will be a GS-301. It’s easier logistically to detail someone than go through the whole hiring process. They have to put in paperwork, justify the position all over again, rewrite the qualifications, go through the interviewing process, when they can just detail someone to work in the library, and then eventually reassign them. Also, OPM’s guidance in the 1400 series classification suggest that you should classify employees in the “Miscellaneous Administration and Program Series, GS-0301, positions that involve nonprofessional, two-grade interval library or information work that is not properly classified in the GS-1412 series.”

Is this good or bad in your opinion?

As it relates to libraries, to put a GS-301 as the librarian in charge of the library doesn’t do the library any service or justice. GS-301s may not be familiar with librarianship. They may have used one before, but a library is a complex entity in any agency. It’s more than just checking in and checking out books to the patron. Replacing GS-1410s with GS-301s may allow them to cut corners and fill an open position, but what it is doing is killing the library.

The library can’t serve its community if the librarian doesn’t know anything about librarianship. If they don’t know what to purchase for the library, if they’re not in touch.

Why don’t agencies understand the importance of the GS-1410 qualifications?

Often higher-ups simply don’t understand the role the library plays. For example, at the Pentagon, the General of the Army, if he wanted information, has an aide who will go to the library or task someone else to go to the library and get the information, which means all he got was information. The library didn’t play a big role since it filtered down so many levels – through a reference librarian and an aide to the general. The library to the general might not seem very important, since he didn’t have any direct contact with the library.

They don’t see all the workings behind the scene to get the information they need. When they make decisions on policy and funding, they’re not concerned with the behind the scenes action, and all the work the library does to have that information readily available and to get them that information. They don’t actually see or deal directly with the library, but they reap the benefits.

Do you think this trend will continue?

This trend will continue because people are losing confidence and not seeing a real use in the library, because of the Googles, Yahoo’s, and because of all the other online businesses that offer information. People feel as though since everything is online, “Why should I go to the library?”

What should federal librarians do?

In today’s world, especially in the information age, librarians have to promote their libraries. Librarians need to incorporate as much technology as possible into their profession in order to compete. They need to take advantage of training opportunities to enhance their careers in today’s E-Gov world. They have to really show the higher ups that a library is worth having, that it serves a purpose and it can serve them when it comes to competing with anything electronic. There so many different aspects of a library -- acquisitions and collection development issues, cataloging issues, technology issues -- that make up the library and make it a viable entity for any organization that one would really need to be a new breed of librarian to run it.

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