Susan Rathbun-Grubb

Where are they now? Results of a career survey of library and information science graduates

This paper provides an overview of Workforce Issues in Library and Information Science 1 (WILIS 1), a large scale retrospective career study of graduates of all library and information science (LIS) programs in North Carolina from 1964–2007. The interdisciplinary research team used a multiple methods approach to data collection consisting of a survey of LIS graduates, a survey of administrators of LIS programs, and key informant interviews. This article presents an overview of the study design and methods followed by key results from the survey of graduates. The specific research goals of WILIS 1 were: (1) to gain a comprehensive understanding of the educational, workplace, career, and retention issues facing LIS graduates; (2) to investigate the way in which LIS programs track their graduates and use these data for educational and workforce planning; (3) to explore possibilities for a career tracking model that could be used by all LIS programs in the future; and (4) to disseminate the study results in a manner that would facilitate LIS workforce planning. WILIS 1 has now been joined by a second study known as WILIS 2, which is further developing the alumni tracking model that all LIS programs can potentially use.

Public librarianship as a career: Challenges and prospects

Over twenty-five years of research has shown that in spite of low salaries, few opportunities for advancement, and challenging work environments, most public librarians are satisfied overall with their jobs and careers, primarily because of the intrinsic rewards of the profession. In this article we present results from the Workforce Issues in Library and Information Science 1 (WILIS 1) project that are related to public librarianship. We give an overview of the careers and perspectives of current and former public librarians with respect to their experience of the challenges and rewards of public library service, and compare their views with those found in previous research.

Introduction: Workforce issues in library and information science

Beyond buildings, collections, and services, the library and information science (LIS) workforce is key to the success of many aspects of a knowledge economy. LIS professionals partner with educators in the instruction of youth and young adults, support reading and information literacy required for productive participation in society over the life course, enable research and development through access to research findings and translational systems, and promote commerce through Web development and organization and retrieval of information, to name just a few of their service objectives. Whereas librarianship has a long history as a profession, the expanded field of library and information science presents many new opportunities for information professionals to work in non-library settings. Occupational employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2008) estimate that there are 151,170 librarians, 113,510 library technicians, 5,330 archivists, and 3,960 library science post-secondary faculty in the workforce (not including self-employed workers). The American Library Association (2009) estimates the number employed in academic, public, and school libraries at 329,941. Library and information science professionals working outside of libraries are much harder to identify and their numbers tend to be spread among various occupational categories. The U.S. National Center for Education Statistics (2008) reports that there were 6,767 master’s degrees in library science conferred by degreegranting institutions in the academic year 2006–7. While the number of degrees has been slowly increasing since the late 1990s, the supply of new graduates does not appear to be adequate for the number of retirements that will take place as the baby boomers leave the workforce. According to Dohm (2000), the impact of the retirement of seventy-six million boomers on U.S. labor supply will be greatest in the decade following 2008. As

Workforce Planning and the School Library Media Specialist

This article utilizes data collected through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)–supported Workforce Issues in Library and Information Science 1 (WILIS 1) survey of graduates (1964–2007) of the five library and information science masters programs in North Carolina to consider career patterns and what these career patterns tell us about recruitment, retention, and retirement of school library media specialists (SLMSs). A life course approach is used to interpret the survey data and to suggest areas needing attention in recruiting and retaining SLMSs and planning for their retirement. Perhaps the most noteworthy finding is that a major influence on turnover of SLMSs is the lack of opportunities for career growth and development. Suggestions are offered for enhancing career development opportunities for SLMS.

Integrating data curation concepts throughout the project lifecycle: A WILIS case study

Researchers and funders continue to be concerned about the lack of archiving of scientific data. A webbased guide to data archiving for LIS researchers is being undertaken as part of the WILIS project. The WILIS project consists of: 1) an in-depth retrospective career survey of graduates of LIS programs in North Carolina with 2,653 respondents; 2) a modified recent graduates’ survey that was tested in 39 LIS programs in North America with 3,507 respondents; and 3) the preparation and archiving of the WILIS datasets in a publicly accessible data archive. This experience is being used to create the guide to data archiving. The guide will contain a full description of the steps involved in preparing and archiving datasets such as data cleaning, de-identification, preparation of supporting documentation, metadata, submitting to an archive and marketing the availability of data. The guide will be useful to researchers, data managers and data archivists/librarians.