Serial Joy and Serial Sorrow: The Experience of the Paraprofessional Serials Manager

ABSTRACTParaprofessionals play a major role in the management of serials operations in libraries. Nine paraprofessional serials managers responded to an inquiry on the SERIALST online discussion list in which they shared their impressions on several issues relating to their role, status, motivation, and general perceptions about their work. For many years, there has been an ongoing debate relating to the role of paraprofessionals in libraries. Many library paraprofessionals have advanced their careers in the field of serials and have become managers of high-level operations. This Balance Point column explores the experiences of some of these paraprofessional serials managers.