UC cannot continue to short-change its libraries and librarians

Nearly 20 years of staff reductions and the most meager of salary increases have left UC librarians with a greater workload, dwindling resources, and far behind their counterparts at other institutions in terms of pay. UC cannot continue to short-change its libraries and librarians without detriment to its educational and research mission. We say it’s past time for UCOP to adjust its priorities and make good on its ‘commitment’ to address academic and staff pay inequities.
UC’s more than 400 librarians play a critical role in supporting and contributing to the University of California’s mission to teach, conduct research, and provide public service. Librarians perform activities that enable UC to meet the needs of its faculty and student communities, such as:

* Building and preserving academically pertinent library collections
* Negotiating with companies to provide high-quality academic research databases and printed materials, containing scholarship not available through Google
* Teaching information-seeking and evaluation skills to help students engage more critically in their UC courses
* Contributing to professional library associations by publishing research and presenting at conferences
* Connecting with local communities to engage with high schools and provide other forms of public service to the general community.