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NCLA Pay Equity Project

Love of the Job doesn't Pay the Bills –Why Pay Equity is More Important than Ever

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Introduction and Background

• LSTA grant to study and investigate issues of pay equity for library personnel in NC

• Continued work of NCLA Pay Equity Task Force• Purpose:

– To educate librarians, library staff and library customers regarding the role and value of library staff so that they are compensated fairly

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Project Steering Committee

• Beverley Gass, DLS, Guilford Technical Community College, Project Manager

• Jenny Barrett Boneno, Forsyth County Public Library

• Pauletta Brown Bracey, School of LIS, North Carolina Central Univ.

• Robert Burgin, PhD, President, NCLA, Fiscal Manager

• Keith Burkhead, Guilford Technical Community College

• Evelyn Council, Fayetteville State University

• Jennie Hunt, Greensboro College

• Connie Keller, Elon University

• Paula M. Singer, PhD, Consultant

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Other Partners:

• Donald King, PhD, University of Pittsburgh

• Jose-Marie Griffiths, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Mary Boone, State Librarian• NCLA Executive Board

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Three Phases of Work:

1. Planning and Development

2. Survey Development and Implementation– Public and Academic Libraries

3. Development of Web-based Educational Materials and Tools

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Phase II:

• Web-based survey designed• Pilot study conducted for academic and

public library surveys• Conducted survey with public library and

local governments• Conducted survey with academic

libraries and institutions• Collected and analyzed data• Designed NC salary database

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Phase III:

• Tools developed for library employees to use in advocating for improved compensation and pay equity

– 2 web accessible databases searchable by individual library, local government and higher education positions

– Written report, including methodology, data analysis and findings

– Web based materials for librarians advocating for better salaries and pay equity

• Including these speaking points, brochure template and PowerPoint training presentation

• All found on NCLA website and as Appendix to written report

• Pay Equity Committee available to train NCLA members on use

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What is Pay Equity?

• Evaluating and compensating jobs based on the skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions required, not on the people who hold the jobs (men or women).

Similar terms: Comparable Worth Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value

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Project Methodology

• 5 committee meetings• 7 teleconference calls with committee

members• 4 surveys designed

• Academic libraries• Institutions of higher education• Public libraries• Local governments

• Positions matching those in the UNC Institute for Government Services and College and University Personnel Association surveys included

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Project Methodology

• 6 pilot studies• Surveys streamlined and updated• Benefits to survey participants stressed

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Findings: Public Library/Local Government Survey

• 12 jobs included in public library survey• 17 jobs included in local government survey• Positions compared based on:

• Similarity of education and experience requirements

• Scope• Effort• Responsibility• Working conditions

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Findings: Public Library/Local Government Survey

• Survey sent to all public libraries (79) and local governments (110) in NC

• 62 public libraries (78%) responded• 50 local governments (45%) responded• Additional local government data added from

NC Institute for Government Services database for• 11 non-responding libraries and• 56 non-responding local governments

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Findings: Academic Libraries/ Institutes of Higher Education

• Survey sent to all community colleges, colleges and universities (110) in NC

• Survey to institutes’ HR departments included 19 jobs; survey to academic libraries included 17 jobs

• 73 academic libraries (66%) responded• 26 HR departments (24%) responded

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Outcomes

• Two web accessible databases:– Public library/local government– Academic library/community colleges, colleges, universities

• Databases include pay information about a variety of jobs in all areas of the public and academic sectors that can be accessed and customized

• Databases allow participant’s library to compare the pay of their own positions to those in other libraries and in local government or higher education (depending upon participation).

• A clear and accurate understanding of how the pay for jobs in libraries compares to other employers.

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How can the data be used?

• Compare jobs for• Compensation and budget planning• Updating salary plans• HR planning• Assessing pay equity • “Making a case” to local officials and funders

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Databases include:

• Demographics:– For each participating jurisdiction,

institution or library• # of full-time employees• # of part-time employees• Budget• Population (or enrollment)

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Databases include:

• Each participant reported the following for each position:– Hours worked per week– # of full-time and part-time employees in the

position– Average pay of incumbent(s) in the position– Hiring rate (if any) for the position– Minimum and maximum of the pay range for the

position– Longevity pay (if any) for the position

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Participants also reported:

• The library, jurisdiction’s or college’s title for each position

• The education and experience required for the position

• The FLSA (exempt/non-exempt) status of the position

• A degree of match rating– An indication of how closely the position

matches the description provided in the survey instrument

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Summary of Findings

• Public Library/Local Government– There is a difference in pay and pay ranges between public

library jobs and local government jobs• Difference occurs even for the same position

– For example, PC technician in a public library vs PC technician in local government, or systems administrator, etc.

• Also difference in pay for jobs requiring similar education, experience, skill, effort and responsibility when comparing jobs that are predominately female versus those that are more often held by men.

• Traditional “women’s work” (i.e., librarianship and working in a library) undervalued

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Summary of Findings

• Academic Libraries/Colleges and Universities– Less data returned in this portion of the study, still, there is a

clear difference in pay between academic library jobs versus those in the college/university in general

– Also a difference in pay for jobs that require comparable education, experience, skill, effort and responsibility when comparing jobs that are predominately female versus those that are more often held by men.

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Recommendations

• Public and academic libraries can present a strong case to local officials and other funders.

• Ensure job descriptions are well written and reflect actual, professional duties, stressing IT responsibilities as applicable.– Use same language as respective jurisdictions or institutions– Update regularly

• Sr. level library staff serve on compensation committees, ensure local government or institution HR personnel aware of scope and depth of library jobs.

• Women: negotiate salaries, including their starting salary. 

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Cautions using the data:

• Difference in findings based on geographic location; some have higher cost of living. Geographic differences not a factor when comparing jobs in a library to similar jobs in the same local jurisdiction or institution.

• Analyze responses by degree of match, education and experience required for all positions (and hours worked for non-exempt positions); differences in these categories exist even within library systems.

• Take education and longevity into account as these often impact actual salaries paid to incumbents - particularly important in reviewing single incumbent positions.

• “Age” data to the time of analysis. Data is approximately 1 year old; many employers have awarded cost of living or other increases in the interim.

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Cautions using the data:

• Some variations in pay may be due to length of service. Higher pay is often associated with longer service, though not necessarily in senior level positions.

• Include review of hiring rates where reported.• Scope measures impact pay (especially for professional positions)

and should be considered: – Budget– Supervisory responsibility – Size of library in relation to “place” in government entity

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Data can provide:

• The pay of positions in your public or academic library to the “equivalent” positions in your local jurisdiction or college/university to assess pay equity

• The pay of positions in your library or academic library to matching positions in other library systems or academic libraries

• The pay of positions statewide or by individual geographic location– The database does the calculations – users only have to select position

titles and library/jurisdiction/ institution name.

• Comparisons are made in dollars and percentages• Comparisons also provided as mean or median

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Accessing the Website

• Go to• http://www.nclaonline.org/payequity/results/index.php?s=1

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How to use the website:

• The public or academic reports buttons allow you to download the databases and save to your computer as an Excel file or use on-line.

• Lists of all of the job descriptions used during the survey process are also provided

• The instructions button provides instructions for downloading the data

• Once the data is downloaded, there are step-by-step guides to using the databases in the “Instructions” tabs of each spreadsheet

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Additional Information:

• Beverley Gass, Chair– (336) 334-4822 Ext. 2434– abgass@gtcc.edu– Or the NCLA Website and Committee