College and Research Libraries DORA BIBLARZ, MARGARET CAPRON, LINDA KENNEDY, JOHANNA ROSS, and DAVID WEINERTH Professional Associations and Unions: Future Impact of Today's Decisions The experiences of one librarians' association are the springboard for a discussion of tlw impact of professional associations and unions on the individual, professional, and organizational goals of librarians. Both associations are seen as necessary forms of organiza- tion. Their objectives only occasionally overlap; each has its own mode of operation and experiential opportunities. In spite of the temptation to try to solve immediate problems by turning completely to union representation, librarians are urged not to desert the profes- sional association, which among its other functions, can be seen to have an important role for the future development of librarians. INTRODUCllON THE WRITERS OF TillS ARTICLE began their work as an ad hoc committee of the Librarians' Association of the Uni- versity of California at Davis (LAUC- D ), charged with the preparation of a consensus statement on a controversial report transmitted by a committee of the statewide University of California Librarians' Association ( LA U C ) , of which LAUC-D is an autonomous unit. While the specifics of the case are unique to the University of California ( U C ) , the issues raised are crucial to all academic librarians facing a changing structure of librarianship within their institutions, especially with regard to Dora Biblarz, Margaret Capron, Linda Ken- nedy, and Johanna Ross are librarians at the University of California, Davis. David Wein- erth is a librarian at California State Univer- sity, Sacramento. the possibility of collective bargaining. Professional associations in particular are in a quandary over the labor issue: Will they become the collective bargain- ing agents, or is this role precluded by their very nature? Will professional ~s­ sociations even survive if collective bar- gaining legislation becomes the order of the day? The statewide LAUC committee re- port urged the affiliation of the Librari- ans' Association with other employee as- sociations, specifically unions, such as the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the California State Employees' Association ( CSEA), and the American Association of University Professors ( AA UP) .1 In examining the nature and background of LAUC in relation to the other organizations mentioned, the writ- ers discerned irreconcilable differences which made affiliation between them im- possible and ultimately destructive to LAUC. 2 We also came to a sense of I 121 122 I College & Research Libraries • March 1975 some important changes taking place in librarianship, a result of both the role of librarians' associations in library ad- ministration and of factors such as li- brary networks, increasing automation, and the offering of computerized infor- mation retrieval services. We also regret- fully came to the conclusion that li- brarians were letting important oppor- tunities pass them by in not being aware of the implications of these changes and their resulting need for new kinds of librarians and new kinds of services. THE uNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ExPERIENCE The problem of conflicting roles of unions and professional associations in- evitably arises when discussions of mat- ters of vital concern to both groups take place. Frequently these are the areas of salary and personnel actions. The UC controversy began when the librarian se- ries of the University of California was restructured to three ranks: Assistant Li- brarian, Associate Librarian, and Librari- an. At the same time, new criteria for promotion and merit increases were ini- tiated, criteria that paralleled some of those of the faculty: the requirement of professional competence, profession- al activity outside the library, university and public service, and research. There were no alterations in work scheduling, however, to allow the development nec- essary to meet the new criteria. Also, it was not to be assumed that everyone would reach the rank of Librarian: "There is no obligation on the part of the University to promote an Associate Librarian to the rank of Librarian sole- ly on the basis of years of service."3 Librarians recommended these changes through the newly formed statewide and local campus Librarians' Associa- tion of the University of California, but had also recommended a work year that matched the faculty work year and provisions for released time for re- search. The administration had adopted the more stringent requirements, but ·had rejected the means to meet the re- quirements for a majority of librarians. This caused concern in the library com- munity, voiced through the professional association and the union as well. LAUC had been officially organized statewide in 1968, to "create a forum where matters of concern to librarians in the University of California may be discussed and an appropriate course of action determined."4 The genesis of this association is found in the . dissatisfac- tion of librarians in the University of California with established national and state associations. These were deemed insufficient to fill the needs for discussion of local problems or to satis- fy the desire for a voice in university affairs. The privileges granted LA UC-use of the university name and university facilities, released time to conduct as- sociation business-may or may not be shared by similar professional associa- tions which have relations with a parent organization. LAUC is one example of the type of professional association which unifies librarians of similar in- terests and acts internally within a larger parent organization, rather than a detached association working on a state or national level and including li- brarians of diverse interests. The op- portunities for librarian development of- fered by the workings of an associa- tion such as LAUC derive from these structural characteristics. The university is expected to make LA U C' s de facto status de jure in the very near future. Assigned duties may include advising the chancellors and the library administrators on matters of concern to librarians and the university in the operation of libraries, including matters of collections, personnel, and service. Ambiguities between the role of the union and the professional associa- tion has led LAUC to request this offi- cial status. Professional Associations and Unions I 123 As LA U C progressed from infancy to adolescence, library administration increasingly asked and relied upon the membership for advice both at the local and statewide level. Each campus asso- ciation became involved in the peer re- view process for promotion, merit in- crease, and appointment. LA UC, in re- lieving the administration' of such bur- dens, achieved its greatest gains in credibility and influence through its efficient work. By virtue of its special re- lationship to the administration, it as- sumed that it would be consulted in the planned restructuring of salaries, an is- sue that had been pursued with increas- ing intensity from the time LA U C was formed. A LAUC-appointed study com- mittee was subsequently superseded by an administration-appointed advisory committee. The committee documented a wide salary discrepancy between U C librarians and librarians at other Cali- fornia academic institutions, and within UC between librarians and other em- ployees with similar education and ex- perience. University salary recommenda- tions were blue penciled from the state budget by the governor. When a special bill for librarian inequity increases was passed by the legislature, it in turn was vetoed by the governor on the grounds that the proper place for salary actions was in the budget. This and similar ac- tions frustrated the library community. Many librarians joined unions for the first time, seeing a new and perhaps stronger avenue for action. UNIONS AND PRoFESSIONAL AssociA noNs Many of the actions that unions were requesting had also been suggested by LAUC. With the American Federation of Teachers, the California State Em- ployees' Association, and the American Association of University Professors working for many of the things impor- tant to librarians, it was suggested that LAUC investigate the legal and organi- zational problems of cooperating with these associations on matters of concern to both. LAUC appointed a committee to study the relationship between LAUC and voluntary employee associations. This was done, and a report was issued to the membership. The statewide committee was not unanimous in its conclusions and issued both a majority and a minority opinion. Four of the members advocated close cooperation with voluntary employee as- sociations. Cooperation was to be effect- ed by the formation of a committee composed of one member from each as- sociation which chose to participate and one member representing statewide LAUC. This group would then deter- mine when LAUC should combine forces with voluntary employee associa- tions in order to more effectively influ- ence events in favor of librarians. The minority opinion, given by one member, stated that such a course of action vio- lated the spirit and purpose for which LAUC was established. The general LAUC membership was unclear as to the b est course of action, so each cam- pus was instructed to study the report and be ready to vote on it at the next statewide meeting. The Davis division of LAUC ap- pointed a committee to study the state- wide report and to prepare a consensus statement and recommendations for this division's voice at the statewide meeting. The authors of this article comprised that committee. We found that, at first glance, clear-cut distinctions between professional and employee associations are difficult to make, for the goals and objectives of both overlap in many re- spects. The internal professional association, if we can use the objectives of LAUC as representative, seeks to create a fo- rum for discussion of issues of common concern. It investigates professional standards and attempts to make recom- mendations for their establishment and 124 I College & Research Libraries • March 1975 enforcement. It may participate in peer review. In addition, it seeks the full utilization of the professional skills of its members and the improvement of li- brary service. All this is accomplished through the advisory role it has estab- lished with the organization, allowing librarians a voice in the formal struc- ture of decision making. Unions and other employee associa- tions work towards many short-term goals such as inequity increases, better working conditions, a collective bargain- ing agreement with the administration -the "personal" aspects of the job. Un- like professional associations, they most often become active when an employee with a grievance requests their assistance after an administrative decision has been made. When collective bargaining agreements exist, they negotiate with the organization in matters of salary and working conditions. If we accept the premise that a mass statement carries more weight than a single voice when issues of personal relevance are being discussed, then we can recognize the val- ue of such an association. Unions have the "clout" that no single person can wield, both in the fact that they work collectively and in that they have the support of affiliated employee associa- tions. Unlike the professional associa- tion, which is limited to an advisory role, it has the freedom to take an ad- versary position and the power to chal- lenge the organization. Typical among the concerns of the union or employee association, in addi- tion to the ones mentioned, are the maintenance and promotion of high standards of education and the latter's availability to the general public; en- couragement of true equality of oppor- tunity for all the employees it serves, re- gardless of membership. The accom- plishment of these is sought through lobbying in the legislature, concerted ac- tion by all local chapters, and even joint action with similar interest groups whenever appropriate. The long-range concerns shared by the professional and employee associa- tions are the maintenance of high stan- dards, encouragement of equality of opportunity, and general promotion of the welfare of the members. It is in working towards the short-term goals that the tactics of the employee associa- tion conflict with the sanctioned activ- ities of the professional ones; these in- clude lobbying for legislation, assisting members with grievances, and negotiat- ing for salaries and benefits at the bar- gaining table. The first of these would be impossible for a professional asso- ciation such as LAUC to pursue, since university employees are forbidden to lobby as a group, or even to communi- cate with government officials on univer- sity letterhead without permission. Po- litical communication at the employee level is thus channeled into the role of the ordinary citizen: librarians at UC may communicate with their elected representatives as individuals. Any at- tempt at collective action as an official group not only carries the risk of official censure, but also the risk of alteration of the nature of the professional asso- ciation itself. Having aligned itself with library administration through par- ticipation "in peer review and advisory committees on all aspects of library pol- icy and operation, a group can hardly then challenge the library's higher ad- ministration by lobbying action at the state level without severely jeopardizing the privileges it has attained. THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE ORGANIZATION To understand better how librarians' associations work within the institution, it would be useful at this point to take a broader perspective of ourselves, not just as librarians, but as human beings practicing a profession in a large orga- nization that must apportion its re- sources to perform a variety of services. It may be a college, a business firm, a lo- cal, state, or federal government, or Professional Associations and Unions I 125 even a school district. A library system, often complex in itself, usually exists within one or more of these organiza- tions, which in turn provide the capital resources and operating funds while representing the constituency of the li- brary and its services. Though we can imagine a situation in which librarians operate as architects or lawyers do, con- tracting their services on a one-to-one basis with their clientele, the oppor- tunities for this are rare in librarian- ship (or at least unevenly distributed), given the present state of information t echnology. It is fair, then, to assume that the common experience of librarians is fielded within a library system and in- cludes financial dependence upon an or- ganization that speaks for the constitu- ency of that system. As a group, we have specialized knowledge and skills that we consider unique to us by virtue of training and inclination. We regard our professional schools and associa- tions as depositories and spokesmen for our values. Most of us look to each oth- er for mutual support in an on-going concern for appropriate recognition and compensation for our services. Yet, and Patricia Knapp has phrased this well, "Whenever professionals work in the context of an organization, there is inevitable tension between the au- thority inherent in the formal structure and procedures (i.e., the 'rationality') of the organization and the authority of specialized knowledge and training (the expertise) inherent in the profes- sional role. This tension has potential for creative as well as harmful effects."5 Appropriately, the professional associa- tion might be regarded as an effort on the part of its members to pursue crea- tive interaction. But prior to this we are all human beings with singular experiences and situations. Firmly committed though we may be to service, we also have personal obligations and values which we find sometimes place us in an antagonistic position with regard to our professional or organizational roles. Adjustments must be made between group and indi- vidual interests-interests that further provide for creative as well as harmful interaction. There emerges for our consideration not two, but three complex entities in- teracting in a framework that extends beyond the merely sociological: the in- dividual, the profession, the organiza- tion. Each has needs and goals for self- fulfillment that, pursued simultaneous- ly, produce a situation fraught with conflict. While we as individuals feel these ~onflicts within ourselves, we may sometimes find it difficult to identify the sources of these tensions. They are of- ten perceived as dichotomous, and we may seek relief by directing our energies to the weaker side in order to restore balance. The point here is that there are not two sides to the question, but three; and a resolution is not easily found. Another way to approach this is to acknowledge that of the three complex entities defined above, we as individuals are the most complex. We can identify varying degrees of our vested interests not only in our own lives but in librari- anship and the organization as well. We may wish to influence decisions from within, challenge them from without; all with the intent of modifying the or- ganization, the profession, or other indi- viduals. It would follow that no single institution that we might devise could address all our needs even in the limited areas of our professional lives. The need for different modes of ac- tion should be kept in mind when con- sidering the frequently asked question: Do we need professional associations in this age of collective bargaining? Some union leaders are advocating they be dis- banded in order that librarians not "dis- sipate their energies." Since unions have power by right of their collective bar- gaining role to handle questions of sal- ary and working conditions, this call for concerted action is all too inviting. Yet 126 I College & Research Libraries • March 1975 by channeling all our energies into union activities, we run the risk of ne- glecting the role we play regarding our professional contributions to the man- agement of the organization. When the requirements of the union, the individ- ual, and the organization get out of bal- ance, the end result may spell catastro- phe to the clientele the organization is designed to serve, and ultimately the in- dividuals and the professional associa- tion. As the phenomenon of collective bargaining spreads throughout the coun- try, the need for rational judgments be- comes more critical. A recent Library Journal editorial illustrates this point all too well. 6 Perhaps an effective way to derive con- structive benefits from our institutions is to recognize their limitations and to allow them to pursue the relatively sim- ple goals they are designed to handle; while we, as individuals, exercise our right to analyze our needs and to asso- ciate ourselves with whichever combina- tion of groups b est responds to them. With wider personal encounters in di- vergent settings, w e are in a better po- sition to recognize opportunities for creative interaction between these forces. What does this suggest for profes- sional associations? We should recognize that they are instruments for enhancing our professional roles within the orga- nization. Although individual consider- ations are important, their furtheranc e cannot b e the primary goal of the pro- fessional association if it is to be effec- tive. Unions are better equipped to han- dle such considerations. Making deci- sions as to the most effective distribu- tion of one's affiliations demands cour- age and wisdom. W e fe el that this should be a personal decision about per- sonal activities. NEw RoLES AND DIRECTIONs It is important that we take another look at the role professional associations play in our professional lives, particu- larly in relation to what we perceive to be two separate crises in the develop- ment of librarianship. The first crisis is the immediate one: the failure of our salaries to keep up with the rising costs of living and our own sense of what we are worth in terms of education, experience, and community contribution. As much as we are aware that other occupational groups are caught in similar situations, we are equally aware that, for some of these groups, action is getting results. A sense of urgency pervades the issue of salaries. Calls for alignment and collec- tive action between the unions and the internal professional association have a convincing ring, but actions must be channeled into the association best suit- ed to accomplish the desired goals. F ew options are better than none; we still have an opportunity to think before we cast the ballot. We urge our colleagues to view the immediate crisis alongside of another, more subtle, but ultimately more devas- tating one. We refer to the growing sophistication and usage of informa- tion-handling techniques and the ac- companying changes in the structure of decision makin~ on the p eripheries of librarianship. That it was left to the in- formation scientist and computer pro- grammer to apply the computer to the "information problem" is now history; an opportunity for us was overlooked and it is gone . But that managers in out- side and related professions are fast de- veloping information-handling sophisti- cation and are starting to offer what re- semble qualifications for the adminis- tration of libraries is a present reality about which too many of us demon- strate a naive unconcern. We invoke this observation as a cause for alarm but not panic. It is an invita- tion to reconstruct our perceptions of our working-day activities and their po- tential for change. Librarianship has al- Professional Associations and Unions I 127 ways been much more than the manipu- lation of information, yet today we are overloaded with the routine; our ener- gies are being drained with the just plain monotonous. Application of pro- gramming· techniques to our informa- tion-handling activities is a viable solu- tion, and we are already moving in that direction. Although we have not yet achieved a consensual definition of what it is we will be free to do with our de-encumbered energies, of one thing we can be certain: While library net- works, automatic data processing, and the like vastly accelerate the rate of "clerical operations," they also increase the number of decisions that must be n1ade about the operations. The incip- ient stages of this situation might be recognized in libraries relying on little or no programmed activities. By neces- sity they are dependent upon other li- braries in the system that have intro- duced more sophisticated automated techniques. This should indicate a new working mode for the majority of librarians. Presently only a portion of us fill what are termed managerial positions; and while this did reflect the proportion of guiding decisions to routine operations in the past, and may be merely inade- quate today, it assuredly will not reflect the demands of the new technology. Too many choices will have to be made at too rapid a pace and affecting too many people. Librarians, we think, should regard themselves as evolving into a manage- ment profession specializing in librar- ies. If we do not, we may discover that when the future becomes now, we will have nothing to inherit. Not only would our specialized knowledge be for naught if we have not developed the abilities in each of us to make good choices in applying it, but the economics of failure would turn a spotlight on the experienced managers on the periphery of our profession, and the protective borders of librarianship could come tumbling down. We believe that managerial roles will proliferate in the new library systems whether librarians are prepared to fill them or not. This seems apparent with- out venturing to project the changes that may be in store for the structure of managerial relationships. We suggest only that the widespread necessity of managerial roles will be a condition of any such structure. The realization of librarianship as a specialized management profession is not, we adn1it, a universally shared ob- jective. We urge, however, that it be universally considered. For, viewed from within this present-to-future con- text, the professional association's role in our professional lives gains a new di- mension when it is seen that all librari- ans have an opportunity to develop de- cision-making abilities in a real context and they can do it now. Such an orga- nization emerges as a managerial work- shop, a keystone in our strategy for achieving true professional status. We are left facing the possibility that the experiential level of many librari- ans may be seriously challenged in ~heir own field by strong competition from without if proper thought is not direct- ed to this matter in advance. Again, this suggests that we be especially cautious when considering the prompting of some of our colleagues that the profes- sional association align itself as an in- ternal professional group with external groups in common defiance of the ad- ministration. While this may appear to be a good tactic for alleviating the pres- ent distress, it has hazardous implica- tions. In one fell swoop we will have achieved, as professionals, permanent self-identification as an employee group- contra-management and regained our forty-hour work week with business ( you can be sure) as usual. We could succeed in closing the door on our own future, having forfeited our potential 128 I College & Research Libraries • March 1975 status and our very means for attaining it. CONCLUSION Professional associations, particularly those closely related to academic multi- campus universities, or associations bound to a common class of clientele, must retain the objectives for which they were formed. If associations ne- glect their professional commitment by close cooperation with unions on imme- diate issues such as salaries, important though they may be, we run the risk of forfeiting our professional develop- ment by ignoring the growing require- ments for managerial talents at all lev- els. A judicious redirecting of our ener- gies can have implications we can but dimly foresee today. Although contribu- tions of participatory management as effected through professional associa- tions are too distant to be brought into focus, it is still clear that the librarian of the future will have to make more decisions and make them at what is now a lower level if the system is to func- tion effectively. Those who feel the professional asso- ciation can fill all our needs may be sat- isfied with the status quo of salaries, but they are dwindling in number. Those who expect unions to satisfy all the pro- fessional needs would do well to exmn- ine all the issues and to assess them in the light of the future requirements of the profession. For a viable choice to exist, both associations are necessary. REFERENCES 1. ''Report of the Ad Hoc Committee to Study the Relationship of LAUC and Voluntary Employee Organizations,'' by P. Coyle, E. Eaton, P. Hoehn, M. Sasse, D. Schippers, chairperson. April 10, 1973. Unpublished. 2. "Report of the LAUC-D Committee to Pre- pare a Consensus Statement on the State- wide Report of the Committee to Study the Relationship of LAUC and Voluntary Em- ployee Organizations," by D. Biblarz, M. Ca- pron, L. Kennedy, D. Weinerth, J. Ross, chairperson. April1974. Unpublished. 3. University of California, Academic Person- nel Manual, Section 82-17b (3). 7-1-72. 4. Librarians' Association of the University of California, By-laws (November 1972). 5. Patricia B. Knapp, "The Library as a Com- plex Organization: Implications for Library Education,'' in Toward a Theory of Librari- anship, ed. Conrad Rawski (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1973 ), p.473. 6. "UFT and/or ALA," Library Journal 99: 1503 (June 1, 197 4).