Our experience has been that Librarian payscales and expectations are completely different from IT payscales/expectations.  We had to convert a position to a librarian position and drop a lot of the technical requirements in order to get applicants willing to take the job.

Lynda.

-----Original Message-----
From: Code for Libraries <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Martin, Will
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2023 6:25 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [CODE4LIB] Systems - to librarian or not to librarian?

All,

We're considering taking our Systems Librarian position and removing the requirement for a library degree, making it a technician position instead.  The job's primary focus is in working with Alma configuration and troubleshooting the perennial off-campus access issues.  The hope is that removing the library degree requirement will make recruiting easier. In past we've had difficulty getting candidates who had both the library degree and the requisite technical proficiency.

I am curious to hear from other universities: do you require your systems person to hold a library degree?  Why or why not?  If you do require one, do you find you have to do extensive technical training with new hires?  If you don't, do you wind up having to train people on library-related stuff?  Either way, how has your approach worked out?

Will Martin

Head of Digital Initiatives, Systems and Services
Chester Fritz Library
University of North Dakota
he/his/him

701.777.4638