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Conclusion

At the bargaining table, employers resist providing librarians and archivists parity with faculty because of possible cost increases, and the deprofessionalization and devaluation of the work of academic librarians and archivists in comparison to professors.
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Change in responsibilities

It is important to recognize that librarians and archivists, after many years of working under current employment conditions, should not be required to suddenly adopt new obligations, including research, without the administration consulting  with the member and the union.
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Complement

Declines in librarian and archivist complement can have a detrimental impact on their working conditions. A “do more with less” approach leads to increases in assigned workloads that cut into research and service time.
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Temporary modifications to workload

It is not uncommon for members to be asked to take on additional duties, or to want to take on a special project. In such cases, it is important that it is the member’s choice to do so and that they are either compensated or they have their workload adjusted appropriately.
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Individual job descriptions

Librarians and archivists may have individual job descriptions that set out in detail all the aspects of their job. If such descriptions exist, they should be clear and thorough, as specified in the Association of the Professors of University of Ottawa agreement:
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Release time

To make it easier for librarians and archivists to have equal access to release time (e.g., for union involvement), agreements should include comparative calculations to course releases. For example, the Mount Allison University Faculty Association agreement provides:
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One unscheduled day a week

Librarians and archivists with heavy professional practice loads or other scheduled duties may benefit from language that secures “at least” one day “free of scheduled teaching or other duties”.26 This guarantees some space for various non-scheduled duties such as research and service
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Evenings & weekends

As with other academic staff, evening and weekend work is at times necessary. At Algoma University, scheduling must be equitable and librarians “shall not be required to work more than one evening per week,”… “five weekend days per 4-month term” or  “one day of any weekend.”25
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Self-directed duties and working off campus

Academic work is often scheduled (on campus) and unscheduled or self-directed. While professors independently manage their self-directed work, including when and where the work is performed,  librarians and archivists are often denied similar professional autonomy.
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Hours of work

One feature of librarian and archivist workload language that distinguishes it from faculty is the inclusion of  specific hours of work, usually 35 or 37.5 hours per week. Hours of work language provides protection from unreasonable demands and expectations not normally faced by faculty.

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