College and Research Libraries


Working Conditions in Selected 
Private College Libraries 

ALTHOUGH Library Literature reveals 
that several general articles have been 
published during the past five ·years on 
hours of work, hours of opening, annual 
vacations, special vacations, faculty rank 
or status, and sabbatical leaves for li-
brarians, there have been no studies of 
specific groups of colleges on a broad 
scale. In order to develop such informa-
tion, a questionnaire was sent to the li-
brarians of sixty private liberal arts col-
leges. The forty-nine who replied were 
Amherst, Anderson, Antioch, Baldwin-
Wallace, Bates, Beloit, Birmingham-
Southern, Bowdoin, Bryn Mawr, Buck-
nell, Carleton, Clark (Massachuetts), 
Colby, Colgate, Colorado College, Deni-
son, DePauw, Dickinson, Earlham, 
Franklin, Goshen, Hamilton, Haverford, 
Heidelberg, Hope, Kalamazoo, Lafayette, 
Lawrence, Lewis & Clark, Macalester, 
MacMurray, Manchester, Middlebury, 
Mills, Monmouth, Mount Holyoke, Muh-
lenberg, Ohio Wesleyan, Reed, Ripon, 
St. Joseph's (Indiana), Swarthmore, Vas-
sar, Wabash, Wellesley, Wesleyan, 
Wheaton (Illinois), Williams, and Wit-
tenberg. The information received, which 
is as of January 1964, is given here only 
in summary. 

One question asked concerned the 
hours of work per week for the regular 
school year and for vacation periods. 
This was requested for professional, semi-
professional, and clerical and secretarial 
library staff, and for the clerical and sec-
retarial staff in other college offices. The 
number in parentheses indicates the num-
ber of institutions for the particular cate-
gory. 

JULY 1964 

BY DONALD E. THOMPSON 

Mr. Thompson is Librarian of Wabash 
College, Crawfordsville, lndiana. 

Hours of work per week for professional 
library staff 

School year 
35(3) 
36(1) 
37(1) 
37.5(12) 

38(5) 
38.5 (3) 
39(3) 
40(19) 

Vacation periods 
30(2) 37.5(6) 
32.5 (2) 38(2) 
33(1) 39(2) 
35(20) 40(8) 

Low 35 
Median 38.5 
High 40 
Average 38.5 

Low 30 
Median 35 
High 40 
Average 36.2 

Hours of work per week for semiprofes-
sional library staff 

School year 
35(4) 
37(1) 
37.5(8) 
38(3) 

38.5(2) · Low 35 
39(3) Median 39 
40(19) High 40 

Average 38.6 

Vacation periods 
30(2) 38(1) 
32.5(2) 39(2) 
35(18) 40(8) 
37.5(4) 

Low 30 
Median 35 
High 40 
Average 38.9 

Hours of work per week for clerical and 
secretarial library staff 

School year 
35(4) 38.5(2) 
37(2) 39(2) 
37.5 ( 10) 40(23) 
38(3) 

Low 35 
Median 39.5 
High 40 
Average 38.6 

_261 



Vacation periods 
30(2) 38(1) 
32.5(2) 39(1) 
35(17) 40(9) 
37.5(8) 

Low 30 
Median 35 
High 40 
Average 3 6.4 

Hours of work per week for college (non-
library) staff 

School year 
35(6) 
35.5(1) 
36.5 ( 1) 
37(1) 
37.5(12) 
38(2) 

38.25(1) 
38.5(1) 
38.75(1) 
39(2) 
40(17) 

Vacation periods 
30(2) 38(1) 
32.5(3) 38.25(1) 
35(12) 38.75(1) 
37(1) 39(1) 
3 7.5 ( 8 ) 40 ( 1 0) 

Low 35 
Median 38 
High 40 
Average 38.2 

Low 30 
Median 37.5 
High 40 
Average 36.7 

Annual vacations were requested in 
working days, but several answers were 
given in terms of months, weeks, and 
hours. Since these categories do not make 
comparison easy, the vacation periods 
are presented in outline form. Where 
there is a range given (i.e., 2-4 weeks), 
this usually means two week's vacation 
after the first year and an increase to four 
weeks after a given number of years. 

Annual vacation for professional library 
staff 

Working Days 
20(7) 28(1) 
21(1) 30(2) 
22(9) 35(2) 
23 (3) 20-40( 1) 
24(1) 30-40( 1) 
26(2) 

Weeks 
4(3) 2-4(1) 
5 (1) 4-6(1) 

one month (8) 

240 hours ( 1 ) 

Annual vacation for semiprofes~ional li-
brary staff 

Working Days 
10(5) 26(2) 
15 ( 1) 28 ( 1) .· 
18(1) 5-10(1) 
20(2) 10-20( 4) 

Weeks 
2(1) 4(1) 
3 (3) 2-4( 1) 

one month ( 4) 

22(4) 
23(2) 
24(1) 

10-22( 1) 
21-22(1) 105 hours ( 1) 

Annual vacation for clerical and secre-
tarial library staff 

Working Days 
10(9) 5-10(1) 
12(2) 5-16(1) 
15 ( 1 ) 1 0-15 (1 ) 
20(2) 10-20( 4) 
22( 4) 10-22(1) 
23(1) 11-15(1) 
24( 1) 14-21 (1) 

Weeks 
2(3) 
3(3) 
4(1) 

1-4(1) 
2-4(2) 

one month (3) 

105 hours ( 1) 

Annual vacation for college ( nonlibrary) 
staff 

Working Days 
10(12) 5-10(1) 
12(2) 5-16(1) 
15 ( 1 ) 1 0-15 ( 2) 
20(1) 10-20(5) 
22 ( 1 ) 1 0-22 ( 1 ) 
23(1) 11-15(1) 
24(1) 

Weeks 
2(4) 1-4(1) 
3(2) 2-3(3) 
4(1) 2-4(1) 
1-3(1) 

one month (3) 

The question on special vacations · 
asked for the number of working days of 
extra vacation allowed during Easter, 
Thanksgiving, and Christmas. This was 
meant to be over and above the times 
when the library would normally be 
closed, such as Sunday and legal holi-
days. This was answered in so many ways 
that it was difficult to tabulate. In some 
cases there was just a listing of four or 
five legal holidays; in other cases a num-
ber of days was listed. For most institu-
tions the same special vacations applied 
to library and nonlibrary personnel. The 
special vacations ranged from only the 
legal holidays to all of the Easter, Thanks-
giving, and Christmas vacations. The 
average, or median, was four to six 
working days in addition to New Years 
Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanks-
giving Day, and Christmas Day. 

The figures below indicate the number 
of hours the library is open. These fig-

(Continued on page fJ9~) 

262 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



recognizes the fact that the library must 
be more than just a place to store books; 
it must also be an excellent place for 
study, an attractive place to browse. The 
reading rooms must have more comfort-
able seats and tables, inviting in decor 
and attractive in furnishings. Private stu-
dent carrels and faculty studies are pro-
vided to serve those students and faculty 
members who need some element of pri-
vacy for concentration and study. 

The library collection needs to be 
strengthened not only in printed materials 
but also in such media as microfilms, 
microcards, and other audio-visual mate-
rials related to the academic program and 
the researches that are done in Silliman 
University. The administration also hopes 
to make the library services even more 
effective with the use of modern library 
equipment such as book charging ma-
chines. More of the time of the profes-
sional staff must be devoted to reader 

WORKING CONDITIONS 

(Continued from page 262) 

ures do not include the extra hours one 
room is open for study only. 

Low 
Median 
High 
Average 

School Year Vacation Periods 

62.5 
85 
101 
84.5 

15 
40 
64 
39.4 

In requesting information about fac-
ulty rank or status, no attempt was made 
to distinguish between the two or to in-
quire about details of faculty titles. It was 
found that twenty-five institutions give 
faculty rank or status to all librarians, 
twelve give it only to the head librarian, 
nine give it to specific staff members 
(usually department heads and higher) , 
and three do not give it to any staff mem-
ber. 

In the question about sabbatical leave, 
some answers implied that it was auto-

guidance, the preparation of bibliogra-
phies, and the indexing and abstracting 
of articles and books that have research 
and professional value. Ultimately, the 
Silliman University library hopes to be-
come the bibliographical center in the 
Visayas. 

With a vitalized educational program 
at Silliman University and its dedication 
to the pursuit of excellence in education, 
new challenges and opportunities for 
greater library services present them-
selves. These challenges can be met with 
quality library facilities, quality library 
collections, and quality staff members. 
"This triad is indivisible for one cannot 
exist without the others, and each needs 
to be excellent in itself if educational ob-
jectives are to be realized." 5 

•• 
5 Flora Belle Ludington, "Books and Libraries : 

Tools of the Academic World," in Of, By, and For 
Librarians, comp. by John David Marshall (Hamden, 
Conn.: Shoe String Press, 1960), p.106. 

matic for certain or all library staff mem-
bers, while some answers indicated that 
library staff members could apply for sab-
batical leave. A summary showed that 
thirteen institutions give sabbatical leave 
to all librarians; eight give it to the head 
librarian only; two give it to the head li-
brarian, assistant librarian, and depart-
ment head; and twenty-six have no · defi-
nite policy or did not answer the question. 

Most of the questionnaires had an an-
swer about the type of sabbatical leave 
in effect at the institution. The most-used 
plan is full pay for one semester or half 
pay for two semesters. Some institutions 
have variations, such as one semester with 
full pay or one year with half pay. Those 
institutions on the quarter system usually 
give one quarter with full pay, two quar-
ters with two-thirds pay, and three quar-
ters with half pay. In a few cases, leave 
was granted without pay. 

•• 
294 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 

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