Experience Required: A Survey of MLIS Student Experiences with Graduate Employment in Libraries

Objectives: Little research has been done to assess MLIS students’ knowledge of or interest in graduate employment jobs in health sciences libraries. Scherrer (2010) reported that 87% of the former academic librarian residents they interviewed stated that professional experience in an academic library was important to them, while 75% stated that professional experiences in health sciences was important to them. Goodsett and Koziura (2016) found that information professionals and LIS students value hands-on experience. It remains to be seen why health sciences libraries have a difficult time recruiting graduate students when hands on experience is highly valued by students and information professionals alike.

Methods: The study population is MLIS students currently enrolled in an ALA accredited graduate program within the United States. To answer the research questions, we have administered a Qualtrics survey that asks students about whether or not they are employed during their graduate program and how they decided on the position they did. If students are not employed, we will ask them about factors that impacted their lack of employment in libraries. Following the survey, participants were asked to volunteer for a follow-up interview that looked specifically at understanding health sciences librarianship. This poster will only report on the survey results of the project.

Results: The poster will include a summary of the survey results and discuss reasons why graduate students do or do not hold graduate employment positions in academic libraries. The results will include information about what aspects of a library position are most important to students and what are factors that hinder a student from having graduate employment. Results will be stratified by gender, race/ethnicity, and caregiving responsibilities to offer insight into barriers and expectations for different student groups.

Conclusions: There are a number of different challenges and opportunities academic librarians may face when recruiting graduate students for employment positions during their MLIS programs. We hope to understand what graduate students are looking for in graduate employment and how we can best support future librarians in their career goals.