By Yolanda Blue

On April 17 the University of California Librarians will begin contract negotiations at UC Berkeley. Your Librarians ask for our community to support their contract negotiations so they can better support all students, faculty, and staff at UCSB. A link to our online petition is listed below we appreciate your support.

The University of California is a World Class institution of research, scholarship, and education. UC Libraries are at the heart of every campus and UC Librarians provide crucial services and expertise and are tireless advocates of the UCSB campus community.

The Librarians’ new contract proposals include:

• Salary parity with other public universities and peer institutions, as a means of recruitment and retention. Over the past five years, UCSB Library alone has lost numerous talented early and mid-career librarians who have left UCSB for other universities with a higher salary and lower cost of living. High librarian turnover creates constant staffing and expertise vacuums which seriously impair core library functions, and limit the quality and extent of services the library is able to provide to faculty and students

• Adequate professional development funding. Professional development funding is essential to UC Librarians’ abilities to fulfill the advancement and promotion requirements of their positions. UC Librarians should not be forced to take on unsustainable financial burdens in efforts to meet the promotion requirements of their institution.

• Recognition of librarians’ academic freedom and right to copyright ownership. Like Faculty, UC Librarians conduct research, publish, and contribute to the scholarly record. Like Faculty, UC Librarians should have institutional guarantees regarding their scholarship.

• Right to sabbatical leave. Many UC Librarians are engaged in rigorous academic scholarship for the betterment of their institution and their profession.

• Right of access to Faculty housing programs. Costs of living, especially housing costs, are a serious issue throughout the state of California. The University of California should provide housing support and housing resources for all employees.

A world class institution should provide its librarians equitable compensation and recognition.

Our petition: https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/uclibrarians

Follow us on https://ucaftlibrarians.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/ucaft/