Bad outlook - Anonymous employee Kent District Library Employee Review

You will always feel a sense of purpose.

Not a lot of opportunities for advancement.

The system generally has good funding.

Employees are not adequately compensated. When I started, I had 10 years of experience and was offered $22.97 an hour. I was not allowed to negotiate my salary and therefore, I made less than a new librarian that started last year and potentially less than a promoted ABL who does not have a degree. Regardless of not being able to negotiate my salary, the starting wage for librarians is unacceptable; especially for one of the largest systems in the state. I also had issue with the collective bargaining agreement. The percentage increase in wages is very poor, particularly when the "raise" is also the cost of living increase. They should be getting both of those things, period. A cost of living increase is based on inflation. A raise is based on another year of a job well done and another year of experience under your belt. They are not the same thing. On top of that, with a cash bonus instead of a % raise, the ultimate effect is, with inflation, a reduction in pay. You get one year of bonus but you're now x% behind on keeping up with inflation. When you finally get a % raise, it isn't compounded with the previous year's raise because that year wasn't actually a raise.