Page:Library Administration, 1898.djvu/51

 SALARIES

United Kingdom.—The question of librarians' salaries in this country can hardly be treated as a whole, since there is no central authority for national, university, and municipal libraries. The remuneration of a librarian probably suffers from the popular conception of him as a person fond of books, who gets a fortunate chance of reading all day. Mr. Gladstone is said to have declared in the House of Commons that the British Museum was so delightful a place, that no one ought to be paid for working there, and the effects of this legendary dictum are thought by some to have persisted to the present time.

The post of Principal Librarian of the British Museum is the highest prize in the library profession (£1000 a year, with an official residence), but it should be remembered that the holder of this office has other important duties, having supreme charge of the MSS, and the Archæological Departments of the Museum. The office of librarian, in the stricter sense of the word, is divided among the Keeper of Printed Books, the Keeper of the Manuscripts (each with £750 and an official residence), and the Keeper of Oriental Books and MSS. (£750). The work of the Printed Books Department is performed by thirteen assistants of the first-class (£250 to £450), and fifteen of the second-class (£120 to £240). The appointments are made to the second-class, whence the first-class is recruited by promotion. The minor