Bibliotekarze wyższych uczelni przyczynek do historii 100-letniej walki o prestiż zawodu

Abstract

The period between the two World Wars of the twentieth century was a special one for the Polish librarianship. Along with the recently gained country's independence, the struggle for professional prestige, social appreciation and the effort to present its uniqueness among other civil servants and various government-related professions began. Thanks to the Polish Librarians' Association, the inner consolidation of employees of the libraries into a labor interest group took place. The awareness of common goals and the need of sharing professional experience were the vital part of the process. However, not much did the Union (Association) manage to gain as far as the legal issues were concerned. The efforts to gain the government support for the librarians' professional aspirations brought little effect as well. Throughout the two decades between the wars, the academic librarians were fighting for an appropriate status among other academic profession, however, with no apparent results. The government as well as the academic authorities seemed not to notice the fact that many of the library employees of the time either already had or were at the point of achieving university degrees. They also took active part in academic conferences and published in science periodicals. In spite of that fact their wages were still at the level comparable to those of unskilled personnel. What is more, little has changed since then. 1he century-long struggle has not brought the required results. Though the expectations concerning librarians' qualifications have been high, the profession of an academic librarian was, and still is, financially underappreciated. In consequence, the profession is not perceived as one of status and prestige in the society