<![CDATA[Librarians' Guild AFSCME 2626 - News]]>Tue, 17 Mar 2026 13:26:02 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[March 2024]]>Thu, 28 Mar 2024 00:22:53 GMThttps://www.librariansguildla.org/news/march-2024

We Did It!

Contract Ratification Passes with Membership Vote!


Thanks to your efforts, every vote was counted and the MOU 6 Rank & File Librarians and MOU 16 Supervisory Librarians contracts have been approved and will go into effect.


In addition to the contract gains won by the Coalition of City Unions (as sent in a previous email), the Guild has garnered significant improvements.


Coalition wins include:

Term of contract: December 31, 2023- December, 2028

22% in COLAs:   April 2024 3%, October 2024 3%, July 2025 4%, July 2026 4%, July 2027 3%, January 2028 3 %, July 2028 2%

100% payout for sick time at retirement and for annual overages.

Converting 16 hours of Personal Leave into two new Floating Holidays.

Retaining 24 hours of Personal Leave; any unused hours cashed out after December 31.

Doubling the length of Paid Parental Leave to 12 paid weeks off.

Minimum wages increased: April ‘24 $20.00, October ‘24 $21.50, 2025 $23.00, 2026 $25.00

Multiple bilingual bonuses for multiple languages used.

Acting Supervisor pay begins after 10 cumulative, not consecutive, days.


Guild wins include:

Significant increase in starting salary for Librarian I (and the hourly wage for sub librarians).

Relocation Allowance for new employees recruited from afar.

Increase in travel allowance for travel between work sites.

Updated amounts for training and ergonomic equipment.

Agreement to work on establishing minimum staffing levels.

Agreement to work on establishing Student Librarian classifications and recruitment program.

Agreement to work on improving bilingual compensation for translations.


Support Burbank Librarians


Show your support for Burbank librarians and library workers nationwide by signing their petition and showing up in your AFSCME green at Burbank City Hall, located at 275 E Olive Ave, Burbank, CA 91502, on April 3rd at 4:30PM.

Sign the Petition

Burbank Public Library’s administrators are attempting to eliminate the minimum requirement for Full-Time Librarians, Senior Librarians, and Part-Time Librarians to hold a degree in library science. Despite appeals from staff, the administrators remain firm in their pursuit of these harmful changes.


Letting this happen in Burbank could set a dangerous precedent, leading to an erosion of standards in libraries across Los Angeles and the country. At a time when public libraries face legislative efforts to defund them and restrict intellectual freedom, it is crucial that we stand together in protecting library workers and upholding professional standards and training.

Sign the petition! Your signature indicates your solidarity and strong endorsement of the value and professional status of librarians.

]]><![CDATA[February 2024]]>Thu, 28 Mar 2024 00:19:45 GMThttps://www.librariansguildla.org/news/february-2024Public Libraries and Fire Safety
Fire safety is crucial for all professions, but public libraries have unique considerations. The Los Angeles Public Library must learn from its past and implement fire safety standards to ensure the safety of all staff, library patrons, and our precious materials.


From our Emergency Preparedness Manager, Tom Jung:
FIRE ALARM ACTIVATIONS / BUILDING EVACUATIONS:  It is imperative that everyone (employees, patrons, contractors, and vendors) begin evacuation procedures immediately upon the 1st "Whoop" of a fire alarm or strobe light flashing and not wait for an announcement from Security.  Should a patron refuse to evacuate, please inform one of the Building Emergency Coordinator Assistants (wearing yellow vests), Floor Wardens (wearing red vests) or a member of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) upon your exit from the building. You should familiarize yourself with the emergency exits and always have an alternative exit route in the event the stairwell you are accustomed to using becomes impassible or its condition has deteriorated to a point where you feel unsafe in its use.

Central Library Fire
Source: https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/legacy-central-library-fire


On the morning of April 29, 1986, librarian Dan Dupill was answering telephone calls at the Literature Reference Desk at Central Library. The antiquated phone system was slow, and the volume of calls high in those pre-Internet days, so getting through to a Reference Librarian could be a challenge. When the emergency alert started going off, Dan figured it was another false alarm that had become commonplace at the 1926 building. Rather than hanging up on the patron, who had already navigated the phone system once, Dan offered to put them on hold, figuring he would be back in ten minutes. It would be seven years before he answered another phone call at Central Library. He has often wondered just how long the caller stayed on hold before realizing that the building was actually on fire.


Hollywood Branch Library Fire
Source: https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/dig-los-angeles-hollywood-branch-los-angeles-public-library


According to library reports and newspaper accounts, the Hollywood Branch Library was plugging along as a library does–until the morning of April 13, 1982. Unknown persons broke in through windows in the back of the library and proceeded to have a party before starting a fire behind the circulation desk. It was estimated that the library burned for at least an hour before anyone noticed. According to the Firemen’s Grapevine, it took fifteen companies of firefighters one hour and twenty-two minutes to put out the blaze. The library was destroyed, more than two-thirds of its books burned, and one-of-a-kind special collections up in smoke, including the library’s entire Theatre Arts Collection.

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