Staffing standards
Objective
To ensure that the size and mix of library staff support a range of services and programs which meet the needs of the community.
Each public library has paid qualified staff of one or more persons including a fully qualified library manager. Please refer to the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) recognised library and information qualifications.
A library service’s commitment and responsiveness to its community is reflected in the mix of library staff selected to offer programs and services. It is assumed that in any library, responsibility for reference services and technical services is assigned to appropriately qualified staff. It is acknowledged that some libraries outsource some technical tasks including collection selection and cataloguing activities. In addition, responsibility for special and targeted services is also explicitly assigned.
The standards S6 and S7 are recommended as the minimum requirement for numbers of staff (S6) and qualified staff (S7), to encourage consistency of service delivery across the state.
Note: A regional library staffing model should reflect the regional library agreement. The distribution of staff across the different councils should be consistent with the distribution of responsibilities. For example, where one council is identified as responsible for collection management, information technology, professional development, programming and promotion across the region there is likely to be a larger proportion of the staff based in the regional library at that council. If responsibility for aspects of the service are shared across the member councils than staff will be more evenly spread across the member councils.
General guidelines for library staffing are presented in G8. Library staffing.
S6. Staff members — minimum level
Minimum number of staff members per 3,000 eligible population:
| Baseline | Enhanced | Exemplary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.1 | 1.3 |
Measurement parameters
‘Staff members’ means paid library staff and does not include ancillary staff (e.g. couriers and cleaners), casuals or volunteers; population data is sourced from the ABS.
Note: staff members include established positions regardless of whether or not they are currently occupied.
Points to consider
Libraries using self-check/RFID and/or outsource collection management functions may find their staffing requirements can be rationalised, freeing-up staff for additional professional services and programs, and/or reducing the number of staff required for routine materials handling.
Other factors which affect staffing requirements include the number of self-check units, and the degree of customer acceptance of them (that is, the percentage of loans which are self-checked).
S7. Qualified staff members – minimum level
| Population | Minimum qualified staffing level | Enhanced qualified staffing level | Exemplary qualified staffing level |
| <50,000 | for every 7,500 people or part thereof, one of the full-time equivalent staff should be a qualified staff member | for every 5,000 people or part thereof, one of the full-time equivalent staff should be a qualified staff member | for every 4,000 people or part thereof, one of the full-time equivalent staff should be a qualified staff member |
| >50,000 | for every 10,000 people or part thereof, one of the full-time equivalent staff should be a qualified staff member | for every 7,500 people or part thereof, one of the full-time equivalent staff should be a qualified staff member | for every 5,000 people or part thereof, one of the full-time equivalent staff should be a qualified staff member |
Measurement parameters
‘Qualified staff members’ means paid members who are eligible for professional membership of ALIA; population data is sourced from the ABS.
Staff members with specialist responsibilities (see S8) are included in this count.
The distribution of qualified staff across a regional library should be consistent with the distribution of responsibilities as outlined in the regional library agreement.
Note: These targets are minimum standards.
Points to consider
Many libraries, particularly those serving large populations and populations including significant numbers of people from culturally diverse backgrounds, require a higher proportion of qualified staff because the range of programs and special services offered is both more varied and greater in number. Such libraries are likely to exceed these standards.
It is acknowledged that many rural libraries have significant difficulties in recruiting qualified staff members. Local authorities should seek to employ the most appropriate mix possible of professional and paraprofessional library staff. Paraprofessional staff are those eligible for library technician membership of ALIA.
S8. Staff members — special responsibilities for targeted services
Staff members with special responsibilities for targeted services are included in the overall count for S6 and S7.
General guidelines for targeted services are presented in G13 to G19.
| Population | Assign responsibility to a suitably qualified staff member for: |
|---|---|
| 35,000 or more |
|
| up to 50,000 |
|
| 50,000 or more |
|
| 110,000 or more |
|
| 20–40% speaking language other than English at home |
|
| >40% speaking language other than English at home |
|
Measurement parameters
Reference services are considered core components of public library services which will be provided by all public libraries across NSW. It is assumed that in all libraries, responsibility for reference services and technical services is assigned to appropriately qualified staff, however the model and level of staffing have been left to the discretion of the library manager so that local conditions can be applied.
Responsibility has been assigned to various specialist areas. Numbers of staff assigned to these areas have been specified only when the population is above 35,000. Library services with smaller populations are likely to have fewer staff resources and therefore staffing targets have been developed to allow more flexibility in these circumstances.
Points to consider
A remote central library may not be the most appropriate to deliver a home library service in local communities. For libraries in regional library arrangements, a home library service should therefore be resourced and delivered at the local level. A large urban library service may require multiple specialist positions e.g. children’s librarians to meet community needs.
Evidence base
The evidence base for the target figures is derived from the NSW Public Library Statistics and additional data collected annually in the statistical return and statement of library operations.
In this update 2022/23 statistics are used with data submitted by councils as at 30 June 2023 and per capita calculations based on ABS population figures for June 2022.