1. Los profesionales de las bibliotecas públicas españolas, 2011-2020
- Author
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Arroyo-Vázquez, Natalia and Juárez-Urquijo, Fernando
- Subjects
DC. Public libraries. ,FE. Personnel management. - Abstract
Staff is the main resource in public libraries. The sustainability and quality of public library services depend on them, on their training, skills and initiative. In the present study, the evolution of the staff of Spanish public libraries in the decade between 2011 and 2020 is analyzed, in order to obtain a better knowledge of the staff and to serve as a starting point for future studies. Large differences are observed between public libraries depending on the number of inhabitants in their municipality, something that directly affects the staff. Despite the fact that municipalities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants have seven out of ten public library service points, they only have three out of ten full-time equivalent professionals. These service points, and especially those found in municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants, are more vulnerable to adverse economic situations and so is their staff, who have more part-time contracts, a lower level of qualification (at least as recognized in their contracts) and lower salaries on average. As the municipalities increase in population, all these variables improve. In conclusion, it is considered necessary to support municipalities with smaller populations in the maintenance of public libraries and their staff by the provincial, regional and state administrations. On the other hand, it is considered urgent to carry out systematic monitoring in the coming years to identify how the current context affects public library professionals and what aspects need to be improved. Finally, measures are recommended to improve and expand the available data on these professionals in order to guide actions in defense of the profession.
- Published
- 2023