Patricia Willard

Changing workplace demands: what job ads tell us

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse job ads as relatively accessible indicators of the knowledge, skills and competencies required of librarians by employers. It then uses a framework provided by the literature on professional jurisdiction to examine what may be trends and shaping factors for the Library and Information Studies (LIS) profession with regard to jurisdiction in a changing information landscape.Design/methodology/approach – Job ads were examined in two separate studies; one comparing job ads in Australia and the USA over eight weeks in 2004, and the other looking at one month snapshots of Australian job ads in 1974, 1984, 1994 and 2004. The text from the job ads was analysed using a content analysis software package. The literature on professional jurisdiction provided an interpretive framework.Findings – The Australian snapshots over time showed that there is an increasing lack of clarity about the skills and competencies required of librarians. The American job ads seemed to r...

What Do They Want?: A Study of Changing Employer Expectations of Information Professionals

ABSTRACTThis paper reports the findings of an exploratory study of position vacant announcements appropriate for library and information studies (LIS) graduates appearing in the Sydney Morning Herald over a four week period in each of the following years: 2004, 1994, 1984 and 1974. The period studied witnessed change-demanding developments in information technologies as well as changes in workplace conditions and client expectations. The study collected data on the demands of employers as expressed through job advertisements that included data on work status (full-time, part-time, contract, casual), qualifications and the experience required of the information professional during the periods selected. To investigate similarities and differences between periods a content analysis and co-word analysis of the job advertisements was undertaken. The advertisements indicated a movement from simple advertisements in 1974 inviting applications for reference or technical services librarians, to complex and special...

New Information Management Work in a Changing World: an Australian Survey11This research was supported by an Australian Research Council Small Grant and by the UNSW Faculty of Professional Studies Special Research Grant Fund.

This research investigated the knowledge, skills, formal qualifications and experience of successful applicants for a subset of the information management jobs advertised in a daily newspaper in Sydney from April to June 1996. The subset included jobs which were shaped by new information technology, which were not part of any established profession or career, and which utilised information management knowledge and skills of the type which may be gained through Library and Information Studies (LIS) education. Some traditional LIS skills, most notably skills in organising and retrieving information and in assessing information needs were reported to be essential for many of the jobs. The jobs investigated were diverse as were the qualifications of successful applicants. The link between qualifications and job was often not obvious, which suggests that applicants may have needed to make the case for the appropriateness of their qualifications and experience. Thus LIS graduates seeking such jobs need to prepare themselves to argue their appropriateness for them.

Australian Professional Library and Information Studies Education Programs: Changing Structure and Content.

ABSTRACT Australian library and information studies professional education experienced major changes over the past 15 years or so. There has been a growth in first professional level masters programs. Some schools have been involved in organisational relocation. Program structural changes have aimed to make programs more flexible and appealing to prospective students. These changes have not produced increased enrolmellls; rather, enrolments have fallen.

Publication by Australian Lis Academics and Practitioners: A Preliminary Investigation

Much has been written about scholarly communication with studies investigating the drivers for research and publishing. For academics in particular, publication is a major determinant of a successful case for continuing employment, promotion and the winning of competitive research funding. The purpose of this paper is to inform understanding of publishing by Australian library and information studies (LIS) academics and practitioners. Records from a citation database were downloaded, cleaned, parsed and partially analysed in Excel; further analyses were performed in SPSS. The paper finds that, in line with publications in other fields, there has been an increase in the number of papers published, that the proportion of papers with more than one author has increased, and that the number of Australian and international authorship collaborations has increased.

Publications of Australian LIS academics in databases

This paper examines aspects of journal articles published from 1967 to 2008, located in eight databases, and authored or co-authored by academics serving for at least two years in Australian LIS programs from 1959 to 2008. These aspects are: inclusion of publications in databases, publications in journals, authorship characteristics of publications, productivity, and subject content of publications over time. Results indicate that national and LIS-specific databases provided adequate coverage; however, no single database provided over half of all publications. More than half of all articles were published in national journals focusing on aspects of LIS in Australia; however, there is a trend for increasing publications in international journals. Most of the earlier publications had one author, but multiple authorship in publications has increased since 1999. Overall the number of publications per LIS academic is low; however, per capita productivity has been increasing since the mid-1990s. Finally, titles of articles reveal a shift from library-related terms to information-related terms.

Changing employment patterns: An Australian experience

This paper reports the results of a survey of the employment experiences of graduates of the Library and Information Studies (LIS) programs at the University of New South Wales from the years 1997 to 2001. Data were gathered about position titles and the major functions of these positions. Whilst the bulk of the positions were in libraries and information centres and had titles reflecting this, there were also positions which indicated less mainstream library and information activities. Investigation of the major functions performed revealed that some traditional LIS ones were well represented, while others were less widespread. Some functions associated with innovations in information technology had increased over the five years covered. The data showed that those performing some of the newer functions and those in less traditionally titled positions were generally better remunerated.

Australian Professional Library and Information Education: Structural Changes in the 1990s

ABSTRACTImpacts of the substantial changes in Australian higher education during the 1990s on LIS professional education are discussed. The study draws on documentary and statistical data from the annual returns of LIS schools to the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) to review trends in graduation rates, staffing levels, institutional placement and course offerings.

Performance Measures for Libraries: Statistical, Organizational and Cosmetic

ABSTRACTPerformance measurement for libraries and librarians is not new. Today public sector accountability gives added impetus. This paper distinguishes the criteria for measurement of library performance from criteria for the measures themselves, building upon the theoretical models for performance proposed by Orr and Buckland. The issues surrounding performance measurement are explored, especially the importance of political factors. The particular pressures operating on Australian libraries are outlined along with the reactions of some libraries to them. Knowledge and action are urged upon librarians. In particular it is suggested that those responsible for overall provision of library and information services at administrative, executive and parliamentary levels in Australia should have the maintenance and enhancement of these services among the criteria on which their performance is judged. The paper was delivered at the first biennial conference of the Australian Library and Information Association...

Automation in Local Public Libraries--Whose Decision?.

ABSTRACTThe study described here looked at aspects of the automation of technical services in four public libraries in the Sydney area. A major emphasis was on management decision—what were the key decisions, what constraints limited the options available and who made the decisions. A case study method was used with several staff interviewed at each library. The libraries were at different stages in the automation process and had chosen varied approaches. Factors which emerged as important in determining the decisions taken included attitudes within the municipal council and facilities available, the urgency of the need to change, in three cases to do with the circulation function, and the pressures imposed by this. Economic operation and containment of staff numbers were acknowledged to be of great importance in persuading councils to agree to automation.