Converging Interests: Recruiting a Diverse Workforce for Academic Libraries

1
Converging Interests Recruiting a Diverse
Workforce for Academic Libraries

• Kyung-Sun Kim (Assistant Professor)
• Ming-Hsin Phoebe Chiu (Doctoral Student)
• Sei-Ching Joanna Sin (Doctoral Student)
• Louise S. Robbins (Director and Professor)
• School of Library and Information Studies
• University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Agenda

• Introduction
• Project Presentations
• Study 1
• Subject specialists for academic and research
  libraries research, recruitment, and education
• Study 2
• Recruiting and retaining students of color for
  ethnic/cultural diversity in librarianship
• Conclusions
• Discussions

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Introduction

• Attempt to be responsive to needs of the field in
  two different but complementary areas
• Improve our recruitment and that of other schools
• Value your feedback on these projects

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Subject Specialists for Academic and Research
Libraries Research, Recruitment, and Education

• Overview
• Introduction
• Background
• Research Design
• Preliminary Findings
• Significance of Research and Implications

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Introduction

• A three-year project funded by Institute of
  Museum and Library Services (IMLS), conducted by
  the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the
  University of Maryland College Park.
• The two programs, with assistance from
  cooperating libraries on these campuses and at
  the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will carry out
  the project.

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Background

• Changing demographics of academic librarianship
• By the year of 2010, more than 83,886 librarians
  in North American will have reached the age of 65
  (Curran, 2003)
• 23.1 of vacancies in public libraries and
  university libraries result from a shortage of
  qualified people with particular specialty
  (Lynch, 2002)
• Why do we care about the need for subject
  specialists?
• Subject expertise
• Language expertise
• Familiarity with scholarly communication
• Contributions from multiple perspectives

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Research Objectives

• To answer questions regarding the supply of and
  demand for subject specialists in academic and
  research libraries
• To discover successful approaches to recruiting
  subject specialists in various academic
  disciplines in university
• To craft and test a curricular structure that is
  responsive to the future need of subject
  specialists and subject knowledge

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Research Design

• IMLS Grant Year One
• Data collection from
• ALA-accredited LIS education programs
• Advanced degree holders enrolled in
  ALA-accredited LIS education programs
• ARL libraries directors and practicing librarians
• IMLS Grant Year Two
• The admission into the two programs of six
  students
• Development of recruitment and curriculum models
• IMLS Grant Year Three
• Development and test of recruitment and
  curriculum models

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Preliminary Findings

• Report from two steps of data collection
• Survey of ALA accredited LIS education programs
• Survey of Advanced degree holders enrolled in ALA
  accredited LIS education programs

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Findings LIS Education Programs

• Difficulties in obtaining data on the advanced
  degree holders enrolled in the LIS education
  programs
• Schools can provide total numbers of degrees, but
  not subject fields without extensive work
• Student information is protected by the Family
  Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
• Time and human resource limitations
• What weve learned?
• Information regarding the actual supply of
  subject specialists hasnt been systematically
  collected and documented

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Findings LIS Education Programs

• Special recruiting strategies
• University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill ARL
  Fellows Program (funded by IMLS) Carolina
  Library Associates Fellowship/Assistantship in
  the Academic Library
• Special admission provisions
• GRE waiver may be requested
• Applicants with 3.4 GPA or better in prior
  masters may waive entrance exam (U of North
  Texas)
• Special curriculum
• Students are allowed to take more independent
  studies (UW-Madison)
• Dual degree or joint degree programs

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Findings LIS Masters Students

• Number of participants
• 326 subject specialists
• Data gathered on national basis
• Type of schools participating in the research
  (according to Carnegie Classification)
• Doctoral/research universities
• Masters colleges and universities

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Number of Subject Specialists by Subject Fields
and by Degrees
Subject Fields Masters Degree Doctoral Degree Total
Agriculture 3 (0.9) 0 (0) 3 (.09)
Area Studies 38 (11.8) 6 (1.8) 44 (13.6)
Architecture 1 (0.3) 0 (0) 1 (0.3)
Art 11 (3.4) 1 (0.3) 11 (3.7)
Biological Sciences 6 (1.8) 5 (1.5) 11(3.3)
Business 19 (5.9) 0 (0) 19 (5.9)
Education 32 (9.9) 2 (0.6) 34(10.5)
Engineering and Computer Science 8 (2.4) 0 (0) 8 (2.4)
Humanities 78 (24.2) 12 (3.7) 90 (27.9)
Law 6 (1.8) 21 (6.5) 27 (8.3)
Mathematics 1 (0.3) 0 (0) 1 (0.3)
Medicine 2 (0.6) 2 (0.6) 4 (1.2)
Music 9 (2.8 ) 4 (1.2) 13 (4)
Physical Sciences 3 (0.9) 2 (0.6) 5 (1.5)
Social Sciences 47 (14.5 ) 3 (0.9) 50 (15.4)
Total 264 (81.99) 58 (18.01) 100
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Number of Area Specialists by Fields
Subject Fields Masters Degree Doctoral Degree
Russian and East European and Central Asian studies 1 0
African studies 0 0
Latin American, Iberian, and Caribbean studies 5 1
Middle Eastern studies 1 0
South Asian studies 0 1
South East Asian studies 0 0
East Asian studies 2 0
European studies 4 1
Scandinavian studies 0 0
Others 25 (Judaic, Jewish History, Asian studiesetc) 3 (social ethics)
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How do the subject specialists maintain contact
with their subject fields?
Reading books and magazine 77
Reading WWW resources 67
Maintaining personal contact 65
Reading professional journals and conference papers 63
Attending classes, lectures, and workshops 47
Attending conferences 37
Participating in a professional discussion list 26
Working in the field 13
Teaching in the field 2.6
Writing, publishing, maintaining Website 2.6
Participating in a professional association, committee, or board 0.9
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When did the subject specialists develop their
interests in LIS?
During other graduate study 25
During post-other graduate degree 22
After undergraduate study 10
When working in the subject field 9
After undergraduate, but before graduate study 8
After other graduate study 7
Before undergraduate study 7
When working in a library 4
When looking for a career or wanting a career change 3
When facing an early retirement or unemployment 3
Getting to know some librarians 1
Others 1
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In what type of library environment are the
subject specialists interested in working?
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In what specific type of library work are the
subject specialists most interested?
19
What are the three most important education
aspects in LIS?
Reference and information services 54
User needs 25
Information literacy 24
Collection management 24
Appropriate technologies 22
Cataloging and bibliographical control 22
Practicum/Internship 20
Database searching 16
Administration 12
Research methods 12
Digital collections creation 12
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What are the primary and secondary factors that
attracted the subject specialists to choose LIS?
Intellectually rich environment 21
Nature of the library work 19
Experience of working in a library 13
Wanted academic job, but not classroom teaching 11
Quality of work life 9
Cooperative rather than solitary and competitive environment 7
Scarcity of academic jobs 5
Role model of a particular librarian 4
Unpleasant experience with tenure track position 0.6
Positive experience with doctoral research 0.5
Other 9
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What are the positive and negative factors that
influenced the subject specialists decisions to
undertake the LIS degree program?
Factor Positive Negative No Opinion
Ability to work in the field I love 90 0 10
Career advancement 68 8 24
Cost 29 35 36
Family obligations 21 16 63
Funding 15 34 50
Geographic mobility 61 12 27
Job options 83 8 9
Opinions of colleagues in my subject field 32 13 55
Opinions of subject area professors 24 13 63
Salary 29 45 26
Status of librarian 31 34 35
Time required to earn a degree 43 29 38
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Significance of Research

• First comprehensive effort to look at both actual
  and projected supply of and demand for subject
  specialists
• The approach to measure supply and demand will be
  appropriate to provide the same information about
  other types of library personnel
• The study will be generalizable and LIS
  education programs should be able to replicate
  both recruitment and curriculum models

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Implications

• Strategies
• Fellowship/financial aids special admission
  provisions special curriculum
• Targets
• Graduate students undergraduate students
  library assistants
• LIS education
• Provides general courses in reference and
  information services, user needs, collection
  management, cataloging and bibliographical
  control, and practicum/internship
• Individualized curriculum

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Recruiting and Retaining Students of Color for
Ethnic/Cultural Diversity in Librarianship

• Overview
• Introduction
• Background
• Research Design
• Findings
• Implications

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Introduction

• Supported by a 2004 ALA Diversity Research Grant
• A national survey of librarians and information
  professionals of color
• To assess the recruitment and retention of
  students of color in LIS schools

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Background

• Minority population
• 32.5 of US population (Census Bureau, 2001) ?
  47 by 2050
• 29 in US colleges and universities (NCES, 2004)
• 20 in graduate program (NCES, 2004)
• 11.2 (African, Asian, Hispanic, and Native
  Americans) in LIS Schools (ALISE, 2000)
• 13 of academic librarian populations (ALA)
• Why diversity matters?
• Interpersonal similarity (e.g., ethnicity)
• increases ease of communication,
• fosters relationships of trust and reciprocity,
  and a sense of belonging and membership
  (Barak et al., 1998 Hernandez, 1994).
• Ethnic diversity enriches a society by offering
  all citizens more opportunities to experience,
  learn, and understand one another.

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Research Design

• Web survey study
• Data collection (11/2004-3/2005)
• Participants
• Librarians of color who graduated with a masters
  degree from an ALA-accredited LIS program or are
  currently enrolled in such a program
• 182 participants
• 77 academic librarians (42 of participants)
• Data collected
• Demographics
• LIS schools recruitment/retention efforts
  Satisfaction perception
• Effective recruitment/retention strategies
  Suggestions

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Participants Academic Librarians -
Demographics

• Sex Female (83) Male (16)
• Age 20s (17) 30s (35) 40s (17)
• 50s (30) 60s (1)
• Graduation Year (MLIS)
• 1960s (1) 1990s (31)
• 1970s (17) 2000s (36)
• 1980s (6)
• 35 of the participants are bilingual/multi-lingua
  l

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Participants Academic Librarians -
Ethnicity
30
Participants Academic Librarians -
Educational Background
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Time Gap between the Completion of MLIS and the
First Employment in LIS

• Already working in LIS (56)
• 0 - 0.5 years (23)
• 0.5 1 years (10)
• 1 2 years (3)
• 2 3 years (1)
• 4 5 years (1)
• No answer (5)

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First LIS-related Job Type of Library
33
First LIS-related Job Type of Service
34
Major Barriers in Recruitment Retention
Lack of resources 47
Lack of institutional commitment 39
Mono-cultural curriculum 39
Lack of social integration 39
Institutional racism 38
Cultural conflicts 34
Individual racial discrimination 31
Faculty expectations and attitudes 27
35
Recruitment - Effective strategies
Assistantship/scholarship/financial aid 82
Role models of your or other ethnic group 70
Ethnic diversity of faculty in the LIS school/program 65
Presence of faculty and staff of color in the recruitment process 64
Opportunities for students of color to work in the LIS field 53
Communication /Advertising in media, publications for people of color 49
Special programs (Opportunities to work with LIS faculty, graduate students, or librarians) 48
Recruitment materials developed especially for students of color 47
Presence of alumni of color in the recruitment process 47
Active solicitation and personal contacts from the LIS school/program 44
36
Retention - Effective strategies
Assistantship/scholarship/financial aid 75
Effective academic and career advising (sensitive to the needs/concerns of students of color) 64
Faculty and staff (sensitive to the needs/concerns of students of color) 60
Mentoring program in the LIS school/program 55
Partnerships between the LIS school/program and ethnic associations affiliated with ALA 53
Support groups/systems in the LIS school/program for students of color 52
Opportunity to work part-time in LIS related jobs while studying 51
Curriculum incorporating diversity/multiculturalism 49
Flexible class times (e.g., evening, weekend classes) 45
Peer support 43
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Diversity Initiatives by LIS Professional
Associations
Initiatives Familiarity
ALA's Spectrum Scholarship 94
ARL's Leadership Symposium 36
MLA's Scholarship for Minority Students 27
LAMA's Cultural Diversity Grant 26
LITA/OCLC's Minority Scholarship 25
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LIS Associations - Effective strategies

• Advertising, public relations
• Active recruitment
• Initiatives/Scholarships
• Mentoring
• Internships
• Conferences
• Networking

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Advertising, Public Relations -
Suggested strategy

• We need to participate and be more visible in
  community events to shatter stereotypes. I would
  like to see a commercial similar to the Johnson
  Johnson I am a Nurse--but for librarians.

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Active Recruitment
- Suggested strategy

• I think that in many communities librarianship
  isn't presented or thought of as an option - just
  not considered. Being in these places can make a
  big difference. For example, I work at _____, and
  many of the students in the Liberal Studies
  program are planning on becoming teachers and
  might consider librarianship if suggested. I
  think Teacher Education and Education programs
  are a great place to present the idea of
  librarianship (not to steal much needed teachers-
  but it might be a better fit for some).

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Active Recruitment - Suggested Strategy

• A human contact or a personal invitation has
  twice the impact in the ethnic communities as any
  media advertisement. I have taken the time to
  take some of my staff members for a visit to my
  alma mater. Advisors there were expecting the
  visit and also took the time to explain some of
  the programs. Out of the three I have taken in
  the past years, one is graduating May 2005, the
  other has taken 3 classes and is preparing to
  take the GED test. The third one is finishing her
  bachelor degree at a local university but has a
  clear idea on how to proceed about enrolling for
  her MLS. She wants to be a Youth Services
  Librarian.

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Mentoring - Suggested strategy

• Mentorship by those already in school or in the
  field of librarianship. Those of us who are
  already in the field have to be very cognizant
  that we are role models. I once had a little
  girl tell me that she wanted to be a librarian. I
  wonder if she would have said that, had I not
  been there to show her that little African
  American girls can grow up to be Librarians.

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Decision to Pursue MLIS When?
44
Decision to Pursue MLIS
What/Who influenced?
45
Decision to pursue the graduate degree in LIS
What/Who influenced? (All)
Responses from other participants non-academic
librarians (n105)
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Implications

• Strategies
• Scholarship/Financial aid
• Work opportunity
• Mentoring
• Target groups
• Undergraduates Graduate students High school
  students
• Library work students/paraprofessionals
• Partnership
• Library associations
• Academic librarians

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Conclusions

• Strategies
• Scholarship/Financial aid
• Work opportunity/Practicum/Internship
• Target groups
• Undergraduates Graduates
• Library work students
• Partnership
• Library associations
• Academic librarians