21 July, 2009

When is a University Librarian not a university Librarian?

Well, when their university isn't a university. The private higher education sector is a strange creature, as I discovered when I took on a role at Tabor College 18 months ago.
There are all sorts of hurdles and pitfalls for the unwary, which given I have spent most of my library career in public libraries included me. Some of the hurdles are quite simple, other librarians assume that I am a school librarian. And that could be a problem when I am looking for my next job. But that is a simple issue compared to the lack of access to things other academic librarians take for granted. I can not join CAUL or reap any of the benefits of their consortium buying. Now that isn't because I am working in the private higher eduction sector, that is because, despite working for a college which has several PHD streams we are not a university.

And then there is the funding, now 18 months of experience does not an expert make but there does seem to be a certain level of difficulty in providing all the tools a modern academic institution needs when your only income is student fees.

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