ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ June 2003 / 395 NEW REALITIES, NEW RELATIONSHIPS Got a secret? Pass it o n … R ecru itin g new lib r a ria n s by Lynn Chmelir W h a t a p le a s a n t su rp rise to b e g re e te d as I b o a rd e d a n ALA bu s last w inter by th e 30- year-old version o f a person I o n c e k n e w as a year-old first-year student. I sat beside h e r a n d w e re n e w e d o u r a cq u a in ta n ce as th e b u s m a d e the rounds o f the hotels. I h a d b e e n h e r advisor m any years a g o w h e n she e n te re d college as a n u n d e ­ clared major. As I w o rk e d w ith h e r that year, sh e stru g g le d to find th e right n ic h e in a c a d e m e in o rd e r to declare a major. Like m any students, sh e arrived at college w ith a k e e n intellect, m an y in­ terests, a n d little n o tio n o f w h a t c a re e r p a th sh e m ight pursue. Although I h a d n o recollection, she to ld m e th at I o n c e m e n tio n e d th a t s h e w a s e x ­ actly the right k in d o f p e rso n to consider a career as a n a c a d e m ic librarian. I a ls o to ld h e r it w a s challenging a n d interesting w o rk that I personally enjoyed every day. She filed the conversation away, declared creative writing as her major, m oved o n to a n advisor in th e English departm ent, b e ca m e an excellent library user, g raduated, g o t h e r MFA in creative writing, a n d eventually taught English. The u p sh o t o f the story, o f course, is that after several years o f teaching, she changed h e r m ind a n d w ent to graduate library school. She n o w is happily em ­ ployed as an instiuction/refere n ce librarian at a com ­ munity college library in California! As the bus pulled up to m y hotel stop, she th anked m e for planting a se e d that eventually led to a fulfilling career. I relate this story b e ca u se it is clear that w e are reaching a staffing crisis in o u r profession. M any o f u s w ith g ra y h a ir w ill b e re tirin g in th e n e x t d ecade a n d n e w librarians are n e e d e d to lead a n d staff academ ic libraries. Mary J o Lynch n o te d re­ cently that o ver 15 p ercent o f librarians will reach n th e traditional retirem ent age o f 65 b e tw e e n 2005 a n d 2009, w ith a n o th e r 20 p e rc e n t re tirin g b e ­ 18t w- e e n 2010 a n d 2 0 1 4 .1 J o h n B e rry ,2 L a n y Hardesty,3 a n d Paula K a u fm an 1 h a v e all w ritten recently a b o u t th e recruiting crisis a n d ACRL has d ra fte d a w h ite p a p e r o n th e to p ic .5 H e le n Spalding, o u r ACRL president, has c hosen recruit­ m en t to the p rofession as a n im portant a spect o f h e r presidential year them e, “N ew Realities, N ew R elationships.” A lthough th e w o rk that librarians d o is challenging a n d creative, the profession lacks a h ig h profile. T h e g e n e ra l p u b lic h a s n ’t a c lue w h a t librarians d o a n d that m akes recruiting diffi­ cult. M any o f u s w h o f o u n d o u r w a y in to librarianship d id it b y a n accident o f so m e sort— w e w o rk e d in o u r college library or h a d a relative w h o w a s a librarian— so w e w e re p rivileged to gain som e real insight into the fascinating aspects o f th e w o rk . H o w t o in flu e n c e n e w lib r a r ia n s T hat conversation o n the bus rem inded m e o f the m a n y w a y s th at a c a d e m ic librarians can, in the c o u rs e o f th e ir d a ily w o rk , b e in flu e n tia l in m entoring n e w librarians into the profession. We in te ra c t d a ily w ith o u r b e s t s o u rc e o f n e w re ­ cruits— o u r undergraduate students. Many of them w o rk in th e library a n d others are frequent library users. S om e o f o u r p a rap ro fe ssio n a l staff m e m ­ b e rs m a y b e w o rk in g in th e library to try o u t li­ brary w o rk as a p rofessional career. W e n e e d to becom e m ore intentional in m aking sure that likely prospects und erstan d w h a t librarians d o a n d w h y th ey m ight b e interested in a library career. H ere a re s o m e o f th e stra te g ies m y c o lle a g u e s a n d I About the author Lynn Chm elir is assistant d ire cto r fo r collections a t th e Washington State University Libraries, e-mail:lchmelir@wsu.edu mailto:lchmelir@wsu.edu 396 / C&RL News ■ June 2003 h a v e e m p lo y e d — so m e tim e s in te n tio n a lly a n d som etim es n o t— to e n c o u ra g e o u r stu d en ts a n d p a ra p ro fe ssio n a l c o lle a g u e s to a tte n d g ra d u a te school a n d p ursue library careers. Almost every college o r university has a career services d e partm ent that helps undergraduates to explore career options, to secure employment, or to attend graduate school. Getting to k n o w the people w h o administer these program s is important so that th ey u n d e rstan d that academ ic librarianship, w ith its myriad o f specialties, can b e a logical career choice for students from alm ost any undergraduate major. K eep them supplied w ith information a bout gradu­ ate program s a n d scholarship opportunities. (See the sid eb ar b e lo w for resources.) C areer services o ften h o ld job fairs a n d g raduate school fairs that c a n feature inform ation a b o u t library schools a n d librariansltip along w ith the oth er typical offerings. V ibrant a n d enthusiastic librarians s h o u ld b e o n h a n d to p ro m o te librarianship a n d a n sw e r q u e s­ tions. Career services m ay also sponsor a program series w ith speakers from various occupations. Ar­ ticulate colleagues from n earby libraries are g o o d speakers to feature in the line-up every year. At m an y institutions, librarians m ay se rv e as advisors for undergraduate students, as I o n c e did. Recruiting fo r librarianship • ACRL R e cru itin g B ro c h u re : h t t p : / / w w w .acrl.oig, click o n “Issues & Advocacy,” th e n “R ecruiting to th e P rofession.” • ALA Office for D iversity R esources for N ew Recruits: h ttp ://w w w .ala .o rg /d iv e rsity , click o n “Student R esources.” • A C a r e e r in R e f e r e n c e S e rv ic e s: h ttp ://w w w .a la .o r g /R U S A , c lic k o n “C a­ re e rs in R e fe re n c e .” • C a ree rs in Libraries: h t tp : / /w w w .a l a . o rg /h rd r/, click o n “C areers in Libraries.” • D ire c to ry o f L ibrary a n d In fo rm a tio n Science Programs: h ttp ://w w w .ala .o ig /, click o n “E d u cation & C areers,” th e n “A ccredited Program s.” • ALA A c c r e d i te d LIS P r o g r a m s t h a t P ro v id e D istance E d u ca tio n O p p o rtu n itie s: h ttp ://w w w .a la .o rg /, click o n “E d u ca tio n & Careers,” the n “Accredited Program s.” • ALA S c h o la rs h ip P ro g ra m : h t t p : / / w w w .a la .o rg /h rd r/, click o n “ALA Scholar­ ship Program s.” • S p e c t r u m S c h o l a r s h i p s : h t t p : / / w w w .a la.o rg /sp ec tru m / This p re sen ts a n o th e r o p p o rtu n ity to s p re a d th e w o rd a bout librarianship as a career possibility. Of­ te n the students that are assigned to librarians have n ot declared a major. They are generalists b y nature a n d o ften exactly th e k in d o f p e o p le th at w o u ld enjoy working as a librarian if they understood more a b o u t th e n a tu re o f th e p ro fessio n . Faculty c ol­ le a g u e s in th e disc ip lin es w h o u n d e rs ta n d that librarianship is a n excellent career p ath for som e of their majors are excellent allies in recruiting. Most students w o rk in the library b y accident, n o t intention, since it is o n e o f th e large c am p u s employers. As student workers becom e acclimated to their w ork, it b e co m es clear that som e o f th em d e v e lo p a special affinity fo r th e library. As th ey le a rn m o re a b o u t w h a t th e library is a n d h o w it works, they b ecom e enthusiastic a n d begin to talk w ith th e ir su p e rv iso rs a b o u t m o re th a n just th e details o f their assigned tasks. W h en this happens, th ey c a n b e e n c o u ra g e d to learn m o re if offered ch allen g in g n e w re sponsibilities th at give th e m b ro a d er insight. Students are quite capable o f per­ form ing h ig h level w o rk that o ften is a ssigned to staff, su c h as c o p y cataloging, system s su p p o rt, interlibrary lending a n d b o rro w in g , com m unicat­ ing w ith library vendors, w orking w ith serials a n d acquisitions systems, m aintaining W eb pages, a nd supervising the w o rk o f o th e r stu d e n ts at service p o in ts . T h e y c a n b e tra in e d to d o tria g e at th e reference d e sk a n d are w onderful floaters to offer h a n d s-o n assistance in library instruction classes. Providing student w orkers w ith th ese special o p ­ po rtu n ities to learn a b o u t libraries m e a n s a n in­ vestm ent in training, to b e sure, b u t usually these students rem ain as valued em ployees for their en­ tire u n d e rg ra d u a te careers. A n d s o m e g o o n to becom e librarians. Talking w ith these students a bout the w o rk w e do— the “w h y ” as well as the “w h a t”— helps them understand m ore about professional work. Let them k n o w the options as decisions are being m ade. Ask them to help w ith literature searches, statistics gath­ ering, planning, a n d report writing. Invite th em to attend staff m eetings, to take m inutes perhaps. Let th e m h e lp w ith professional tasks like organizing registration for a local conference a n d then attend­ ing to h e lp on-site. Let them h elp organize the an­ nual Jo b Shadow D ay in conjunction w ith the local high school o r o th er program s w h e re y o u p la n to encourage e v en younger p e o p le to b ecom e librar­ ians. Be p re p a re d w ith inform ation a b o u t library schools, scholarships a n d financial aid, a n d various career options. Put them in to uch w ith librarians at o th e r institutions if th e y h a v e a sp e c ia l interest. http://www.acrl.oig http://www.ala.org/diversity http://www.ala.org/RUSA http://www.ala http://www.ala.oig/ http://www.ala.org/ http://www.ala.org/hrdr/ http://www.ala.org/spectrum/ C&RL News ■ June 2003 / 397 Your colleagues at public a n d special libraries can help them learn about children’s services or law and medical librarianship. Elaine Yontz suggests hosting a pizza dinner occasionally for student workers with a program that prom otes librarianship as a career opportunity.6 Consider creating a brochure a n d de­ v e loping a W eb p a g e o n library careers for y o u r library site that lias links to som e o f the resources listed in the sidebar. Use exhibit space to prom ote librarianship as o ne answ er to the question: “W hat d o I d o w ith a m ajor in Spanish?” (a n d a ny oth er major). Many o f the sam e strategies can b e u se d to en­ courage paraprofessional staff m em bers w h o are interested in librarianship. O pportunities for cross training in a variety o f departm ents h e lp th em to view different aspects o f the w o rk a n d to interact w ith a w ide variety o f library professionals. H elp them to learn about different libraries by assigning them to participate in consortium a n d cooperative activities. Encourage m em bership in professional organizations a n d attendance at local conferences. Since m any paraprofessionals are place bound, talk w ith th em a b o u t th e advantages o f the excellent n e w graduate library program s that are offered for distance learners. T hey can often take advantage of these program s while still em ployed. If they enroll in a distance program , are th ere w ays to sup p o rt their studies w ith release tim e o r o th e r benefits? Give them added professional responsibilities as they com plete their graduate school program a n d help them in their search for a professional job. E nco u ra g in g stu d e n ts a n d p a ra p ro fe ssio n ­ als to a tte n d g ra d u ate library sc h o o l is o ften a n in fo rm a l p ro c e ss , b u t at so m e in stitu tio n s it is be co m in g a program m atic initiative. At m y o w n in stitu tio n , th e library facu lty h a s re c e n tly a p ­ p o i n t e d a n a d - h o c c o m m i t t e e t o f o s t e r m entoring. ACRL a n d o th e r ALA divisions p ro ­ v id e h e lp to sta y a b r e a s t o f c u r re n t in fo rm a ­ tio n o n th e ALA W eb site, in c lu d in g s o m e e x ­ c e lle n t re cru itin g b ro c h u re s. A cadem ic librarianship is exciting a n d chal­ le n g in g w o rk . Pass th e word! N otes 1. M ary J o Lynch, “R eaching 65: Lots o f Li­ brarians Will Be T here Soon,” A m e rica n Libraries (M arch 2002): 55-56. 2. Jo h n W. Berry, “Addressing the Recruitment a n d Diversity Crisis,” A m erican Libraries (February 2002): 7. 3. Larry H ardesty, “F u tu re o f A cadem ic/R e- se a rc h Librarians: A P e rio d o f T ransitions— To W hat?” portal: Libraries a n d the A c a d e m y 2, no. 1 (2002): 7 9-97. 4. P a u la T. K aufm an, “W h e re D o th e N ext ‘W e’ C om e From? Recruiting, Retaining, a n d D e­ v e loping o u r Successors,” ARL: A B im o n th ly Re­ p o rt o n Research Library Issues a n d Actions from ARL, CNL, a n d SP A R C 22 1 (April 2002): 1-5. 5. “R e cruitm ent, R e te n tio n a n d R estructur­ ing: H u m a n R esources in A cadem ic Libraries,” a w h ite p a p e r b y th e A d H o c T ask F orce o n Re­ cru itm ent a n d R etention Issues, a subcom m ittee o f th e ACRL P e rso n n e l A dm inistrators a n d Staff D e v e lo p m e n t Officers D iscussion G roup. Final d r a f t M a y 20, 2 0 0 2 , a v a i l a b l e a t h t t p : / / ww w.acrl.org/, click o n “Issues & Advocacy,” then “Recruiting to th e P rofession.” 6. Elaine Yontz, “O n My Mind: H o w You Can Help Save Library Education,” A m e rica n Libraries (January 2003): 42. ■ ( “Crisis in fo r e ig n … ” c o n tinued f r o m p a g e 3 9 2 ) 3. M ary J o L y n ch , “R e a c h in g 65: Lots o f librarians will b e there so o n ,” A m e r ic a n Librar­ ies (M a rc h 2002): 5 5 -5 6 . 4. C o m m u n ic a tio n b y H e id i Lee H o e rm a n a t th e WESS R e se a rc h a n d P la n n in g C o m m it­ te e a n d C ataloging D iscussion G ro u p joint p ro ­ g ra m at th e ALA A n n u a l C o n fe ren c e, J u n e 16, 2001. 5. R ic h a rd B ro d a n d E liz a b e th B. W elles, “Foreign lan g u a g e e n rollm ents in U n ited States i n s titu tio n s o f h i g h e r e d u c a ti o n , Fall 1 9 9 8 ,” ADFL B u ll e ti n 31, 2 (2000), p . 26, T a b le 4. 6. S e e t h e s e c ti o n “S tra te g ie s f o r M ajor S t a k e h o l d e r s ” p . 5 o f 12 in ACRL A d H o c T ask F o rc e o n R e c ru itm e n t a n d R e te n tio n Is­ su e s. “R e c ru itm e n t, re te n tio n a n d r e s tru c tu r­ ing: H u m a n re so u rc e s in a c a d e m ic libraries: a w h ite p a p e r (final draft), h ttp ://w w w .a c rl.o rg /, g o to “Issues & A d vocacy,” th e n “Recru iting to the Profession.” 7. R anda J. D uvick, “Sustaining fo reig n la n ­ g u a g e e n ro llm e n ts th ro u g h c o lla b o ra tio n a n d in te rd is c ip lin a ry m a jo r,” A D FL B u ll e ti n 33, 2 (2002), p. 78. 8. J u l i e D e G a la n a n d S t e p h e n L a m b e rt, G r e a t j o b s f o r f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e m a j o r s ( L in c o ln w o o d , IL.: VG M C a r e e r H o r iz o n s , 1994), 128. 9. F o r a s u m m a r y o f t h e p r o g r a m , s e e C h a rle n e K ellsey, “ACRL WESS d isc u sse s c ata­ lo g in g is s u e s ,” A LC T S N e w sletter O n lin e 12, 3 ( 2 0 0 1 ) : h t t p : / / w w w . a l a . o r g / a l c t s / a l c t s _ n e w s /n e w s _ w e s s .h tm l. ■ http://www.acrl.org/ http://www.acrl.org/ http://www.ala.org/alcts/alcts_