Res. No. 1038-A
Title
Resolution decrying the loss of library personnel due to inadequate salaries and the resultant negative impact on the quality of service at the three public library systems within the City of New York.
Body
By Council Members McCaffrey, Clarke, DiBrienza, Malave-Dilan, Eisland, Freed, Koslowitz, Leffler, Marshall, Nelson, Quinn, Reed, Sabini, Linares, Provenzano and Moskolowitz; also Council Members Fisher, Harrison, Michels, O'Donovan, Pinkett, Povman and Rivera
Whereas, All three library systems serving the people of the City of New York: the New York Public Library with 85 branches, the Queens Borough Public Library with 63 branches and the Brooklyn Public Library with 60 branches, have experienced tremendous workforce turnover in recent years due to the inadequate salaries paid to the professional staff of these three library systems; and
Whereas, Other library systems are reaping the benefits of the training and expertise of our professional library staff by offering significantly higher salaries; and
Whereas, Recently, the Queens Borough Library Guild Local 1321, which represents librarians within the Queens Borough Public Library, reported that "...more than 17 percent of all Queens librarians are moving out of the Queens library system each year for better paying library jobs in the suburbs and elsewhere"; and
Whereas, Also according to the Queens Borough Library Guild, "...a starting librarian at a Queens public library, who must have a master's degree, makes $29,000 - $2,000 less than on Long Island and almost $15,000 less than in San Francisco", "...one third of city librarians quit in the first three years" and "[B]by the sixth year, 60% have gone to other systems"; and
Whereas, Librarian attrition statistics are the same for the Brooklyn Public Library, with a 17% departure rate, and even higher for the New York Public Library which serves Manhattan, The Bronx and Staten Island and reportedly has a 25% departure rate for librarians;
Whereas, In addition to the loss of our professional librarians to the higher salaries available at suburban and other library systems, many of our city's librarians are leaving for higher salaries as public school librarians; and
Whereas, The fact that the present librarian contracts expire on March 31, 2000 presents an opportunity to afford pay equity to our librarians and, thereby, return stability and a higher level of professionalism to our library systems; and
Whereas, These lower salaries and high rates of librarian attrition have surely had a deleterious impact on the quality of library services provided by all three of our city's library systems; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York decries the loss of library personnel due to inadequate salaries and the resultant negative impact on the quality of service at the three public library systems within the City of New York.
ISP/lc
10-20-99
A:RES1038A.txt (ISP disc 1999E)
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