Dear ARLIS members,
This message really concerns anyone in ARLIS who is
actively involved in the cataloging of art materials in a professional, or
paraprofessional, capacity.
Help is really needed with this issue. I know that this type of discussion
has appeared before on this and probably
other listservs, but I could use some specific and current
information about how to communicate that art catalog librarians/paraprofessional catalogers are really not
clerks or data processors--no offense to those who function in those
capacities--and what it is we do that makes us
professional/paraprofessional.
Citations from specific
articles, books, chapters in books and/or
conference contributions stressing
the intellectual or managerial activities of
catalogers are needed, and. more
importantly, your relevant comments.
Also needed is information about how librarians
and paraprofessional catalogers are ranked; I know that many universities have a
ranking system of 1-IV for Librarians
and/or Librarian Assistants. A brief definition of the skills and
activities required for each ranking would be extremely useful. Also, is
any difference in salary or ranking made because of job
function?
Catalogers of art materials have often not made it into the
range of "professional" in terms of pay and it would appear that we must be able to explain
in detail, but as simply as possible in "layman's terms," what it is we
do. This is not so for all types of
librarians. For example:
Everyone seems to know
what an art reference librarian does and
most people wouldn't want to try to answer all the tricky art questions that reference librarians are asked to deal with--so art reference librarians must have quite a background in art history and therefore,
they are "professional."
And the art acquisitions librarians order, and sometimes
choose, and pay for books--so they must be "professional," if only like a
CPA who reads or looks at art
books.
Collection
development librarians are"professional" because who else but someone with an
impressive background in art/art history would know what books and
materials to order out of all those many
choices?
But art catalogers just set and type and fill
out those numbered computer fields, so their work is really just
clerical, non-managerial, and
definitely non-professional. This void of
perception is particularly true in the area of catalogers'
"management" activities, which is a prime factor used by most human resource
depts in determining salaries; catalogers are not perceived as "managers"
even though we do a great deal of "managing" and teaching. As we all know,
most art catalogers do not arrive actually knowing how to catalog or possessed
of foreign language skills in the areas of art, art history or publishing. And
catalogers teach them and manage their work and revise their cataloging; sounds
managerial/supervisory to me--we just often do not get paid for this
work.
How can we effectively, but simply, explain the vast
pool of knowledge, experience, and flexibility necessary to produce a
proffesional/paraprofessional art cataloger?
Any simple, enlightening explanation for the uninformed would be much
appreciated...
Please respond
personally to me rather than to the list and I will try to post a synopsis of replies to the list at
a later date.
Thanking you in
advance...
Jane Zander
Senior Catalog Librarian
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
4525 Oak Street
Kansas City, MO 64111
