Are Students Really Entering Careers in Librarianship?

Schools of Library and Information Science (LIS) have often promoted alternative
careers as a marketing tool and some students enroll in LIS schools specifically to explore
alternative careers. The literature on LIS career patterns continues to suggest that those nontraditional careers are desirable and viable alternatives. Yet the survey research based
literature indicates that very few LIS graduates report finding employment outside traditional
libraries in the U.S. and Canada. This paper reviews [PDF] the challenges of obtaining more
accurate information on the career patterns of LIS graduates and discusses the international
implications for analyzing career patterns for LIS school graduates.

August 29, 2005 by Uncategorized 1

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1 Response

  1. leeb says:
    August 30, 2005 at 4:14 am

    Not surprising
    It is not surprising that very few LIS graduates find alternative careers even though non-traditional careers are desirable and viable alternatives. I believe this is largely due to library schools mainly teaching archaic and outdated methodologies such as MARC and AACR2 and not also teaching modern and innovative ways of information gathering, storing, manipulation, and retrieval. Therefore, unfortunately LIS graduates are only equipped to work in traditional libraries since they have been taught only traditional methods.

    Reply

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