Yeah, if I'm not getting extra help imma need some extra pay.

So had a open and honest discussion with my Support Services manager just before lunch today and she let it be known that it looks as though instead of filling the Clerk II position that I vacated to fill the Paraprofessional position I currently hold after my workplace partner abruptly quit instead of taking ordered medical leave and time off to retool and de-stress and come back ready to work would not be filled after all but eliminated.

Since I'm able to run all of ILL operations so efficiently by myself at present there's no need to hire a Clerk II that can even do ILL just part time to help me out.

Reminder that I have an ALA-accredited Master of Library Science from the University of North Texas (2004) and have work experience as a professional librarian, too.

I told my boss that as complex and multi-layered a job it is running ILL operations for the ENTIRE library system BY MYSELF, I should at least be promoted to Librarian I if no additional help is forthcoming, if I am to be denied a formal cross-trained back-up person as my assistant.  I would be a lot more flexible as a Salaried librarian than an hourly Paraprofessional.  I could stay past 5pm, I could come in on weekends, all kinds of stuff to get caught up than an hourly worker cannot.

I was fine being the Paraprofessional running everything in ILL as a temporary thing, with the promise of future help arriving sometime.  But no future help?  No, I'm gonna need another promotion to feel right about that.

Also, according to our library's Public Information Office, we had to make our email signatures uniform system wide.  And according to their own requirements, Interlibrary Loan Department is where I work.  And in a Library, a Department Head should be led by at least a Librarian I; it only stands to reason.
I don't think this is an unreasonable ask.

They will probably resist / deny, and not like I have any leverage on them, but I wanted to make the affirmative moral case that if they don't promote me, they're engaging in immoral exploitation.  I'm going above and beyond what a simple 8-5 library staffer should reasonably be expected to do.  I'm doing professional work.  I was and remain a superior searcher to my predecessor & former partner, who eventually just permanently switched primary functions with me.  I was originally the primary Lending person while my work partner was the Borrowing Paraprofessional.  As someone with an actual library education, I was far better skilled at Borrowing & Requesting and thus she pushed all of that work off onto me while taking on the less skilled Lending job full time.  My former work partner was good at understanding ILL from a top down systems level better than me, perhaps, but I was good at focusing on keeping current operations running at peak efficiency.  

Anyway, my work partner suddenly quit and much to her surprise no doubt the heavens did not fall and ILL kept on chugging away under my direction.  The irony is she felt like ILL should be its own department and SHE should run it, but as someone without an MLS, that was never in the cards for her.  The ultimate irony will be if ILL becomes its own thing but I'm the one in charge as the actual librarian.

I'm middle aged now and feel embarrassed to still be an hourly employee.  I would like to retire as an actual Librarian with Librarian in my job title, even if I only ever make Librarian I.