“Floater Librarians” – the new wave of temps and subs?

Anonymous Patron writes “Boston Public Library is currently advertising for a Floater Librarian. The scoop: must be willing to work at any branch at any time, will be “exempt from scheduling restrictions”, and must hold the position for at least a year before being eligible for anything more stable. And check out the long list of qualifications! Is this the new way to advertise for temps and subs? Does BPL think librarians are desperate enough to take a job like this as an “in” into their system? How can a job posting like this be reconciled with the myth of a librarian shortage?”

May 26, 2005 by rochelle Uncategorized 7

hollysue says:

May 26, 2005 at 4:25 am

Interesting…
We’ve almost always had this type of position here in my library, at one level or another, so that doesn’t seem so weird to me. It’s great to have staff who can fill in at any of our branches, depending on where the need is, rather than being tied to any one location.

The restriction on not being eligible for any other position for a year seems out of line, though. Others open at that same level (salary-wise) don’t seem to have that. Seems awfully punitive.

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Mock Turtle says:

May 26, 2005 at 4:49 am

Hey, it’s full time!
I would take it. I’ve seen listings similar to this in all respects, except they are part time (20 hours per week maybe) with no benefits.

The part that would probably stick the hardest with me is having to be a resident of City of Boston. Is it possible, at the lower end of that salary range, to live in anything better than a refrigerator box inside the Boston city limits?

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nbruce says:

May 26, 2005 at 6:10 am

Not new!
We had floaters years ago at OSU. I had a number of temporary contracts myself. It’s done with soft money (usually), then you’re in line when something permanent opens.

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VALIS says:

May 26, 2005 at 11:05 am

Question?
It looks to me like the job is for one location only: to “staff public service desks at the Central Library” – but it’s the hours that vary. Or am I misreading?

Is the residence requirement normal in the US? How does that work in practice? You have to move to a town in order to apply for jobs there?

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liz says:

May 26, 2005 at 9:22 pm

Re:Hey, it’s full time!
I think I’d need to find a sugar daddy in order to survive as a librarian in Boston.

I’d have no problem with this position, otherwise. Well, except the job title.

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Mock Turtle says:

May 26, 2005 at 10:10 pm

Re:Hey, it’s full time!
Oh, I kind of like the job title. It just puts me in mind of those two great pop songs, the one from my youth, and the one from midlife. (humming now …)

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curleygirl says:

May 27, 2005 at 5:44 pm

Re:Interesting…
It looks like the BPL librarians are unionized, but “floaters” are not–seems to be an at-will position without benefits. Actually, for a new librarian, it might not be a bad position if you had little experience in libraries and can swing living in Boston–or you’re partnered with someone who can provide the second income. And basically you’d be at the mercy of whoever supervises you. It sounds like you’d be at a reference desk one day and maybe at the children’s desk the next, pretty much covering all aspects of public service. The one year wait on applying on regular staff positions seems odd though–I’d apply for this job with a healthy dose of caution and with my eyes wide open. And keep looking for that regular full time job with benefits.

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