Comments on: The Hollywood Librarian: Constructive Suggestions

By: Cat

Cat — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:50:08 +0000

Can’t wait to see the movie . . . but only so I can give a good review/commentary like you have done.

I don’t get a pension, but I do pay into Public Employees Retirement Service, which is better than SS. I also have pre-tax investments.

I also work in a beautiful, state-of-the-art building in an inner city neighborhood that regularly has gang killings and fights (outside the library, not within, thankfully).

By: library+instruction+technology » The Hollywood Librarian

library+instruction+technology » The Hollywood Librarian — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:22:18 +0000

[...] would recommend reading posts written by Karen Schneider, Andrea Mercado, and Rochelle Harman on the premier and the proposed marketing plan. I did enjoy [...]

By: Karin Dalziel

Karin Dalziel — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:59:12 +0000

When I think pension, I think a set “allowance” after retiring. I do expect (or at least hope) an employer will contribute to a 401k or 403b plan – I got that even when I worked a $6.50 an hour job in retail, so I would hope most library workers (not just librarians, but all full time employees) get that as well.

Sorry to get off topic.

By: Mark K.

Mark K. — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:59:24 +0000

If by “pension” one simply means “retirement benefit,” then yes, in my experience, librarians who are government employees have that. If by pension one means “defined-benefit retirement plan,” then no, in my experience, those are not especially common these days in government-funded libraries. I’ve more seen the model of employer match of contributions to a tax-protected investment plan.

My experience, of course, could be not representative of the field as a whole.

Defined-benefit pension plans don’t make a lot of sense to me, in the economic environment I find myself in. The benefits aren’t terribly portable, and vesting policies don’t generally favor mobile (by choice or by necessity) employees. Also, with librarian salaries so low and housing and medical costs so high, I can’t figure out how I could survive the 7-8% salary set-aside to fund the benefit and still support my family.

By: Karin Dalziel

Karin Dalziel — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 16:42:25 +0000

I have never ever thought I would get a pension. This is why I save almost half of my take home pay.

I didn’t see the movie, but your criticisms sound valid- it sounds like exactly the kinds of stereotypes I have to work against every time I tell people I’m in library school. We don’t need reinforcement.

By: The Hollywood Librarian : Manage This!

The Hollywood Librarian : Manage This! — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 15:44:40 +0000

[...] K.G. Schneider at Free Range Librarian suggests re-mixing the film in her post “The Hollywood Librarian: Constructive Suggestions” [...]

By: kgs

kgs — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 12:20:11 +0000

Kristy, does anyone in a government job NOT expect to get a pension? What may be true in the commercial world is not true in public service. In fact as I think about it that disparity is shocking. I’m sure the city manager of that town isn’t saving pennies in a teapot toward his or her retirement.

Kristy, aside from a couple of glimpses of people using computers (the monitors were old, pre-flat-screen), there was nothing in that vein.

By: Kristy

Kristy — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 03:31:29 +0000

Does anyone expect to get a pension these days? In the tech world, they’ve gone the way of keypunch machines and tape drives. The eventual viewership will be financing their own retirement, maybe with a 401(k) or an IRA…and it makes me wonder what other disconnects might be lurking in that film. Please tell me there’s a word or two about improving resource findability over what today’s OPACs have to offer, or some nod to the end user.