Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10225671 | The Journal of Academic Librarianship | 2018 | 7 Pages |
Abstract
Studies exploring librarians' backgrounds and career motivations frequently focus on all types of librarians or on students seeking degrees in librarianship. Investigating particular subsets of librarians is a field ripe for study. Here, we employed a survey of 193 academic library professionals, who are defined as those employed in professional positions in academic libraries but not possessing a graduate degree in librarianship. We found prior work in an academic library is a substantial motivating factor for entry into the field, as is also the case for traditional academic librarians who choose to attain a graduate degree in library science prior to obtaining a position in the library. The data also suggests that there are two main streams of entry for academic library professionals: those who are hired into functional positions that do not require a graduate degree in librarianship and those who hold paraprofessional titles that have taken on professional-level work. Finally, we found a majority of academic library professionals have no intention of, and do not see the value in, pursuing a graduate degree in librarianship.
Related Topics
Social Sciences and Humanities
Social Sciences
Education
Authors
Astrid Oliver, Eric Prosser,