{"id":4520,"date":"2017-04-25T16:34:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-25T16:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/archives.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/?page_id=4520"},"modified":"2021-01-27T21:37:44","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T21:37:44","slug":"librarians-in-uniform","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/ala-library-war-service\/librarians-in-uniform\/","title":{"rendered":"Librarians In Uniform"},"content":{"rendered":"
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THE VOLUNTEERS
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There were several different types of positions people could volunteer for in the Library War Service. RS 89\/1\/79<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many librarians volunteered for the Library War Service and had the opportunity to serve in different functions, such as reference and circulation assistance, library administration, sorting and distributing books, and general office work. The volunteers served a vital role in maintaining the library collection, obtaining new books and periodicals, and running programs to help boost the morale and aid in the education of the soldiers. By the end of the Library War Service in 1920, over one thousand people worked in American Library Association administered military libraries.<\/p>\n

While the Library War Service was a volunteer organization, the Association recognized the need to pay their volunteers as many were on leave from their jobs at libraries to help in the war effort. Using funds raised in their campaigns, the ALA provided salaries for their librarians. In January 1918, it was noted that no salary was paid in excess of $2,000 a year and that the standard salary for a librarian was $1,200 a year and $900 for his or her chief assistant. Still, many were not paid at all or were put on loan from their employing library who paid their salaries.<\/p>\n