City Service Commission denies appeal by Petra Decker over library manager application

The Milwaukee City Service Commission on Jan. 28 denied an appeal by Petra Decker challenging the rejection of her application for a Library Services Manager position at the Milwaukee Public Library.

The commission’s three members — President Frank Bach and Commissioners Miller and Cleary — voted to deny the appeal after hearing department and library HR testimony and statements from Decker. Commissioners Miller, Smith and Cleary voted “yes” on the motion to deny; the record shows the appeal was denied in open session.

Decker told the commission she holds a master’s degree in library and information science and said she had more than nine years of experience in the library’s Education and Outreach Services unit. “I am not asking for an exception to these minimum requirements. I feel just like you do that they’re very important,” Decker said. “I’m articulating that I meet those minimum requirements. I have a master’s in library information science that’s required. I have over 9 years of experience at the library building the department that I would be managing in this role.”

City staffing staff and Milwaukee Public Library HR staff told commissioners the Library Services Manager role is part of the library’s professional librarian job series and the department interprets “professional librarian” experience as experience earned after obtaining an MLIS (master’s of library and information science). Kristen Hennessy, Urban Staffing Services Manager, explained the Department of Employee Relations and the library had considered whether to reclassify or retitle the role but maintained the posted minimums. Milwaukee Public Library HR representative Danielle Robleski told commissioners the librarian job series was designed to “build upon each other” and that the MLIS plus post-degree professional experience is an industry standard. “This is also an industry standard that is recommended by both ALA, the American Library Association, and PLA, the Public Library Association,” Robleski said.

Library and DER staff told the commission the posted announcement for Library Services Manager requires an MLIS plus five years of progressively responsible professional librarian experience, including supervisory experience, and that the assistant/underfill titles in the same series explicitly require the years of librarian experience to be post-MLIS. Robleski said other librarian job descriptions in the series explicitly specify post-MLIS experience.

Decker said she believed her years as an education and outreach coordinator satisfied the competencies required for the manager role and that the requirement that professional experience be earned after the MLIS had not been clearly articulated in earlier job announcements. She told the commission that, had she known, she would have altered the timing of her degree to ensure more post-degree experience. “My role is very unique,” Decker said. “There are only three positions in the whole city that are education outreach coordinators ... I have management experience both inside the library and outside the library.”

Commissioners asked questions of both the department and Decker about how the library applies equivalencies, prior postings, how many applicants applied and how many were rejected. Library staff said the opening received 17 applicants and that eight applications were rejected, including Decker’s. Commissioners noted the library historically has not applied equivalency for the professional librarian job series and that other internal staff who advanced within the librarian titles had been held to the post-MLIS interpretation.

After discussion, a motion to deny the appeal was made and seconded; the commission voted to deny the appeal, and the chair so announced. The commission did not direct further action on Decker’s application at that meeting. Staff told commissioners Decker could seek appointment to Librarian 1 (which requires an MLIS and no post-MLIS professional experience) or pursue reinstatement to a former title within the library while pursuing other librarian vacancies.

The decision was delivered in open session. President Frank Bach thanked Decker for bringing the appeal and closed the item.