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Make your own luck:a study of people

changing career intolibrarianship

Claire Deeming and

Jacqueline Chelin

Introduction

This study was carried out as part of a

master's degree course in Information and

Library Management and was born out of a

personal experience of changing career into

librarianship and the ensuing curiosity about

the extent to which others have done the

same.

As a topic for enquiry it proved to be both

unique and interesting. More importantly, it

paves the way for further study of an area that

can practically and usefully inform its

professional body that as an organisation it is

on the brink of major change in the way its

professional activities and educational

developments are organised (Institute of

Information Scientists and LibraryAssociation, 1999).

Objectives of the research

Purpose

The main purpose of this research was to

investigate the central question ``Why do

people change career to become professional

librarians?'' This question forms the main

focus of the research, but in order to construct

a well-rounded study, subsidiary areas werealso investigated:. the proportion of people who have

changed career to become professional

librarians;. the level of satisfaction with people's

career change to librarianship;. factors influencing satisfaction.

The research took the form of a study of a

sample of professional librarians, using a

survey followed by individual interviews. The

approach taken had some elements incommon with grounded theory, in that

``rather than basing an investigation upon

whether certain theories do or do not work,

the researcher embarks on a voyage of

discovery'' (Denscombe, 1998).

Investigation into why people change career

into librarianship has the potential to inform a

number of aspects of the library and

information profession.

Ole Pors (1994) writes about the changing

labour market in the library profession andhighlights the challenge this represents for the

design of curricula for professional

qualifications. The design and development

of professional education may benefit from

The authors

Claire Deeming is Information Librarian at the University

of Bath, Bath, UK.

Jacqueline Chelin is IT Development Librarian at the

University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.

Keywords

Career development, Job satisfaction, Librarians,

Education

Abstract

Studies the reasons why people have changed career inorder to become members of the library profession.

Focuses on the career change decision process. This

includes discussion of drift versus active choice, previous

career experiences, context of life as a whole, nature of

library work and the influence of other people. Measures

the amount and nature of satisfaction to be derived from

having made the career change. Offers suggestions for

the library profession as a whole in marketing itself in

order to recruit and properly remunerate skilled and

enthusiastic people.

Electronic access

The research register for this journal is available at

http://www.mcbup.com/research_registers

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is

available at

http://www.emerald-library.com/ft

Refereed article

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knowledge of both the proportions of people

entering librarianship after a previous career,

and the types of careers that they are leaving.

One study of professional career change

focused on the role of education in the career

change process. That study found that

professional career changers had differing

requirements of professional education,

compared with those entering the same

profession as a first career (Miller, 1990). It

noted that people changing profession

approached education differently because

they had a more professional attitude than

other students, and possessed a range of

transferable skills (Miller, 1990). Similarly, it

may be the case that people changing career

into librarianship have different needs from

those studying librarianship as a first

profession. This research investigated the

ability to transfer skills as a factor influencing

both choice of librarianship as a second

career, and the level of satisfaction with that

choice. It should enable inferences to be

drawn about the educational needs of those

changing career into librarianship.

The research being related here also gave

new insight into the effectiveness of current

approaches to recruitment to the profession.

Closely allied to this is the way that

librarianship is perceived by new entrants, in

terms of image and status; these issues

indicate how effectively the profession is

presented and marketed to the public.

Context

The research focused on people's careers in

librarianship, so was set into the context of

trends affecting the job market as a whole and

trends taking place within the library

profession. The Oxford English Dictionary

defines ``career'' as ``a person's course or

progress through life; a course of professional

life or employment, which affords

opportunity for progress or advancement in

the world'' (Simpson and Weiner, 1989). A

broad review of employment trends indicates

that the way in which people progress through

life, in terms of work, is changing.

Changing labour market

There is a general view in the press and in

library journals that the labour market is

changing and that: ``jobs for life really are a

thing of the past'' (White, 1999). The changes

in the way that work and careers are viewed

are summarised by Ball (1998) as shown in

Table I.

There are numerous aspects to the changes

in the employment market on which this

summary is founded, key aspects being:. the market driven nature of the economy

means that redundancy as a cost saving

exercise is commonplace (Layzell Ward,

1995) as a means of increasing efficiency

and becoming more competitive (White,

1999);. hierarchical structures in organisations

are being replaced by flatter structures

with fewer opportunities for promotion

(Layzell Ward, 1995);. a trend towards temporary contracts and

flexible working (Wood and Head, 1996),

including ``tele-working'';. an increasing desire amongst employees

to balance work with other aspects of

their lives (Maitland, 1998);. ``the greying of the community'' and

increasing proportions of people who are

not active in the labour market will mean

an increase in demand for leisure and

community services (Layzell Ward,

1995).

These trends indicate that people can no

longer make assumptions about the course

that their working lives will take, and that they

need to develop a flexible approach to their

working lives.

The ``learning society''

The National Committee of Inquiry into

Higher Education (1997) states that ``over the

next 20 years, the UK must create a society

committed to learning throughout life''. This

assertion is based on an examination of the

wider context of higher education, key trends

being identified as:. the growing world-wide competition

faced by the UK will mean that the

acquisition of skills and knowledge will

become increasingly important;. the constantly changing world of work

will mean that individuals will ``need to

develop new capabilities and to manage

their own development and learning

throughout life''.

The Library Association has also recognisedthis need in its Framework for Continuing

Professional Development, which seeks to help

individuals within the library profession to

plan, record and analyse their personal career

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development (Library Association, 1992).

Again, the emphasis is on individuals to take

responsibility for their development inconjunction with employers.

This need for lifelong learning and

continual development is generally

acknowledged as a way of remaining

employable: ``everyone needs to think about

maintaining their employability [. . .] keeping

skills up-to-date and learning new ones

should never be neglected'' (White, 1999).

Trends within the library and information

profession

The Library Association (1992) notes thepace of change within the profession, in areas

such as:. changes in funding and administrative

structures;. the introduction and development of

technology;. the increasing expectations of library

users.

The first point means that libraries will have

more competition for public funding, and will

hence become more accountable for how theyuse resources (Ole Pors, 1994).

These factors place a demand upon library

and information professionals to keep pace

with change; it is against this background of

continual change in the world at large and

within librarianship that this study was set.

Change in the world at large may trigger

career change, but those moving into

librarianship continue to face the challenge of

change. This research looked at how people

who have made the move to librarianship viewtheir career and professional development in

relation to their levels of career satisfaction.

The move towards a ``learning society''

combined with the rapid growth in availability

of, and interest in, information technology,

particularly the Internet, has brought the

library and information profession into a newera (Infield, 1997). This study looked at the

extent to which this was an influencing factor

in changing career into the profession, and

looks at how influential this factor may be in

the future.

In terms of the labour market in the library

profession, librarianship is subject to the same

pressures as the rest of the labour market in

the UK. These pressures are creating

``emerging information markets'' (Miller,

1990). Others refer to the growth of

``knowledge management'' as one of the new

fields into which librarians can move (Infield,

1997). However, the fact that librarians may

increasingly have to compete with people

from other professions is also noted (Ole

Pors, 1994).

In summary, changes are occurring in the

labour market at large and within society,

which together form the new arena in which

people must play out their careers. Clearly,

the emphasis will be on the individual to find

ways of responding to such changes. Thisresearch looked at the extent to which

individuals have chosen to formulate this

response in terms of a change of career into

librarianship, and their reasons for doing so.

Previous research

One study, carried out in Nigeria by Bello,

examined factors which prompted people to

choose librarianship as a career. The studyfound that external and professional factors

had a significant influence on the decision

(Bello, 1996). The study was based on the

premise that many people do not actively

Table I Changing assumptions about work and careers in the 1990s

Traditional assumptions Emerging assumptions

Full employment is sustainable Full employment is likely to return in the foreseeable

future

Most people follow a stable, straight-line career path to

retirement

Career paths are increasingly going to be diverted and

interrupted

Career development means upward mobility Career development can be facilitated by lateral and

downward moves

Only new or young employees can be developed Learning and change can occur at any age and career

stage

Career development relates primarily to work

experience and can take place only in one's job

Career development is influenced by family, personal

and community roles, and can be facilitated by work

outside paid employment

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choose librarianship as a career, but that

various influences or experiences lead them to

it, sometimes as a last option. Career change

was listed by Bello as one factor influencing

choice of librarianship as a career. The factors

identified by Bello as influencing choice of

librarianship as a career were found to be

useful when designing the methodology for

the 1999 study. These factors are summarised

in Table II.

These factors and the way in which they are

categorised were also useful in the analysis of

the results of this study.

McClenney (1989) reviews research on

reasons for students' choice of librarianship as

a course of study, which was carried out

mainly in America, between 1938 and 1988.

She notes that these studies record ``aconsistent minority of students who indicate

that they chose the library and information

science profession because they were

dissatisfied with their own profession or

because they simply wanted to change

careers''. The phenomenon of career change

into librarianship is recognised but not

examined in detail.

Loughridge (1990) examines a number of

surveys on the job destinations and career

patterns of former students of librarianshipcourses, which were carried out in the 1970s

and 1980s.

Van House (1988) notes the lack of recent

studies on the choice of librarianship as a

profession and suggests that ``more research is

needed on career choice generally, on

environmental and personal influencing

factors, and on the processes of people's

decisions to enter librarianship''. She reports

on a Californian study of library students'

reasons for choosing librarianship as a

profession. The study was in the form of a

postal questionnaire, which found that

students rate the intrinsic nature of the

profession, and potential career prospects,

more highly than salary when choosing

librarianship as a profession.

One study looked at the effect of first

careers on the reference philosophies and

backgrounds of ``second career academic

reference librarians'' in Nevada. The

definition of a ``second career academic

reference librarian'' included people moving

from other types of professional and para-

professional work to reference librarianship

(Whitten and Nozero, 1997).

A survey of school-leaver attitudes to

librarianship, carried out in Australia, found

that negative attitudes towards the image andremuneration of the profession were very

strong in this age group, which confirmed the

findings of earlier surveys (Genoni and

Greeve, 1997). The authors conclude that

this negative image needs to be countered by

the professional associations in librarianship,

in order to ensure that sufficient school

leavers are recruited to the profession.

The key points raised in this review of the

literature therefore are:. no research on topics comparable to the

research question of ``why people change

career to librarianship'' has been carried

out within the last ten to 12 years;. the methodologies of studies in related

areas are based on the use of

questionnaires;. the related studies could inform the

design of the present study, and

contribute to the analysis of the results.

The 1999 research therefore had the potential

to address a deficit in what is known about

Table II Research hypotheses and career choice factors used by Bello

Hypothesis Career choice factors relating to hypothesis

The choice of librarianship is externally

influenced directly or indirectly

Librarians

Teachers

Parents

Friends

Mass media/library publicity

Employer

Counselling

The choice of librarianship is professionally

influenced

Stability

Secure future

Social status

Prestige of the profession

Satisfactory earnings

Intellectual stimulation

Acquisition of knowledge

Higher degree

Career change

Last option

The choice of librarianship is influenced by

self-expressed values

Use of one's special ability

Aptitude

Creativity

Opportunity to work with

people

Be of service to others

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careers in librarianship, both in terms of the

research question under investigation, and the

use of the interview as a new methodology in

this area.

Structure of the research

The research question was investigated using

two research instruments: a survey in the form

of a postal questionnaire, followed by

individual interviews with a small number of

survey respondents.

This two-pronged approach was chosen for

several reasons:. To identify the target sub-group of staff

within AULIC who had changed career

to become professional librarians. TheAvon University Libraries in

Co-operation Scheme comprises the

libraries of the University of Bath, the

University of Bristol and the University of

the West of England. The library at Bath

Spa University College was also included

in the research, due to its close

involvement with the staff development

activities of AULIC.. To provide a context for analysis of how

this target sub-group fitted into the

overall sample of professional librarians

within AULIC, by comparison with the

sub-group of first career librarians.. The use of two research instruments

allowed for some degree of triangulation

of results. It is both valuable as a way of

reducing the risk of bias, and beneficial

when studying more complex aspects of

human behaviour (Cohen and Manion,

1994). The examination of the target sub-

group in two ways allowed for the cross-

checking of responses and the detailed

exploration of respondents' attitudes,

feelings and views.

For the purposes of this study, a ``professional

librarian'' was defined as:. anyone currently working in a post which

now requires a professional qualification;

and/or. anyone in possession of a professional

qualification, as recognised by the Library

Association, regardless of whether or not

they are currently working in a post that

requires such a qualification.

This definition ensured that no individual was

excluded from the sample through

circumstances outside their control. For

example, some staff may have obtained a

professional qualification but may not have

yet secured a professionally graded post;

others may have been promoted on the basis

of experience to posts which have since been

designated as requiring a professional

qualification. This definition allowed for

changes over time, both in the way the

AULIC libraries appoint staff, and in what is

recognised by the Library Association as a

professional qualification.

This study was primarily concerned with

the lives of people and why they had made

particular choices. For this research, an

appropriate definition of what is a

``professional librarian'' must take into

account the many ways in which people have

achieved professional status. The definition

was chosen purely for the purposes of this

research; any discussion of what constitutes a

``professional librarian'' in a wider sense falls

outside the confines of this study.

The results

There was a response rate of 82.4 per cent of

valid surveys, which represents 21 people.

The proportion of career changers

All results from the first section of the survey

were broken down by whether or not

respondents had changed career. This was for

the purposes of comparison of the two groups

under study: people for whom librarianship is

a first career and people who have changed

career to become professional librarians.

The survey found that 20.4 per cent of the

sample had changed career to becomeprofessional librarians. The following

discussion focuses on these ``career change

librarians'' as opposed to those who have not

changed career, i.e. the ``first career

librarians''. This is because, overall, the

comparison between first career and career

change librarians illustrates the fact that,

apart from career changers having inevitably

shorter careers in librarianship than first

career librarians, there are essentially no

major differences between the two groups inthe variables measured. These variables

included information about gender,

qualifications (both librarianship and other),

mode of study (i.e. full or part time),

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employer support for study and types of

library work that had been experienced.

The occupation of career change

librarians prior to changing career

Table III indicates the most recent

occupation of career change librarians prior to

changing career and shows the wide range of

careers previously followed by this relatively

small group of people, with one-third of the

group being previously teachers.

The career change decision process

The majority of respondents did not make use

of careers advice when making the career

change decision, with only 14.3 per cent

consulting a careers advisor. Respondents

cited other means by which their careerchange decisions were made, and key issues

which were part of the decision making

process. Five broad key issues were derived

from examination of the survey responses,

and these provide a framework for analysis.

These key issues are shown in Table IV, with

a ranking according to how often they were

cited by respondents.

The ranking shows that ``drift versus active

choice'' and ``previous career'' are the two key

issues most frequently commented on by

respondents. Examples of comments on each

key issue follow.

Drift versus active choice

The extent to which librarianship was actively

considered as a potential career varied

considerably, from ``my plan was to move into

a pharmaceutical information career'' to `Ì

had not considered librarianship as a career

previously'' and ``serendipity''. One person

deferred the move: `Ì had originally wanted to

train as a librarian after university but it was a

longer term commitment than I wanted to

make''.

The interview results reflect the survey

findings, with respondents occupying the

extremes of the scale between ``drift'' and

`àctive choice''. Only one respondent

specifically identified librarianship as a career

to move into. Of the other three, one ``had to

get a job'' after being made redundant,another `àctually wanted to go into [. . .]

museum work'' and the third was simply

looking for an acceptable route out of her

existing profession.

Previous career

For some, how they felt about their previous

career was a major factor in the decision to

change such as ` I was stuck in a rut [. . .] and

wanted a change'' and `ìntense dislike'' of

their career. Others found that `ùncertainty

and difficulties'' in their previous careerprompted a re-think.

Again, in the interviews, a wide spectrum of

views was expressed, from one previous career

being ``the best job in the world'', to the

previous career being the main reason for

change: `ìt was all job related''. Two of the

interviewees felt, however, that they could

have had a ``job for life'' in what they were

doing, had they wished. Job insecurity was a

factor for the other two.

Context of life as a wholeThis key issue included areas such as the

desire to use existing skills, practical life

considerations such as family and location

and attitudes to life in general: `Ì was able to

study librarianship [. . .] where I was based at

the time'' for example. Age was a factor for

some respondents: ``being young enough to

make a change, before it was too late''.

Others felt they had made poor first career

choices: ``choosing teaching as a career was a

mistake''.This was an important consideration for all

interviewees, and a factor which influenced

how they went about changing career, and

how they felt about the process. One found

Table III Most recent occupation of career change

librarians

Occupation

Number of

respondents

Teaching 7

Civil service 4

Administration 3

Book selling 2Computing 2

Dentistry 1

Insurance 1

Research 1

Total 21

Table IV Summary of how often key issues were raised

Key issue

Number of

respondents Rank

Drift versus active choice 15 1=

Previous career 15 1=

Context of life as a whole 13 2=

Nature of library work 13 2=

Influence of other people 5 3

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that `ìt coincided with other changes in my

life and actually the career change was a very

positive thing''. Others assessed their situation

before taking action: `Ì did an analysis of my

skills and came up with librarianship as

something I thought I could probably do'';

``my husband and I worked it all out quite

carefully how much cut in income we could

take''.

Nature of library work

Some respondents were well-informed about

the profession before opting for it: `Ì read just

about every article I could find on academic

librarianship so I went in with my eyes open!''

and `Ì had a good perception of this career

from my use of libraries [. . .] and from

working in the school library for a time''.Three of the interviewees used their

knowledge of the nature of library work to

assist in the decision making process, for

example: `Ì've had loads of library

experience'' and ``the two jobs that I'd done

previously [. . .] a lot of it was fairly standard

transferable skills that would be relevant to

librarianship''. The third said ``the Internet

was part of the way that scientists exchanged

information, so I was aware of all these things

then, and was interested''.

Influence of other people

This was the least cited factor influencing

choice of librarianship as a career. Some did

find contact with librarians positive however:

` I was influenced by the librarian [. . .] I was

very impressed with her information retrieval

skills''. Some discussed librarianship with

friends or family.

In common with the survey results, the

interview results show that the influence of

other people was a minor factor in the processof deciding to move into librarianship.

Although, once people had got jobs as library

assistants, other librarians did have a positive

influence: `à senior librarian [. . .] who'd been

involved in actually recruiting me [. . .]

suggested to me that in the long run I

wouldn't find being a library assistant

enough''.

Satisfaction with change of career to

librarianshipThe majority of respondents (85.8 per cent)

were ``very satisfied'' or ``satisfied'' with their

career change to librarianship, as shown in

Figure 1.

The reasons for these levels of satisfaction can

be broadly described under six headings,

which are shown in Table V, along with

rankings as to how often they were cited by

respondents.

Clearly, how respondents felt about the

work itself and their career prospects were the

factors cited most often as affecting

satisfaction levels. Examples of comments on

each factor are given below.

Feelings about the nature of the work

One respondent who had come from a

computing background was pleasantly

surprised by the nature of the work: `Ì

discovered that being involved with a library

system is quite different from having to

program one''.

Personal challenge was cited as one reason

for satisfaction: `Ì feel I am in a job that

challenges me'' and `Ì am my own boss for

most of the time [. . .] there is always enough

to do''. Respondents also gained satisfaction

from doing a good job and using their skills:

`Ì think I can perform at least some of my job

Figure 1 Bar chart showing levels of satisfaction with

the career change to librarianship

Table V Summary of frequency of occurrence ofsatisfaction factors

Satisfaction factor

Number of

respondents Rank

Feeling about the nature

of the work 15 1

Career progression, job

role and professional

development 11 2

Context of life as a

whole, practicalities

and quality of life 8 3

Pay 7 4

Environment and culture 6 5

Views on the profession 4 6

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better than other people''; `Ì am valued for

the skills and knowledge I have''.

Contact with other people and the service

aspect of the work were cited as being

important factors in satisfaction levels: `Ì

enjoy the contact with students and academic

staff''; another found ``meeting and helping

people and contributing to the educational

process'' rewarding. Others were frustrated at

not having enough contact with people: `Ì

would like to do a job that has longer periods

of interaction with people [. . .] most of my

contact with customers is very transient''.

Numerous aspects of work were cited by

interviewees as contributing to their

satisfaction with their career change, such as:

`Ì felt I could really be helpful and

encouraging to students'' and `Ì actuallyenjoy the subject area that I'm working in''.

An important factor was the ability to use

existing skills.

Career progression, job role and professional

development

Respondents expressed widely differing views

on the aspect of career prospects; one

described prospects as ``reasonable'', whilst

another was more positive, quoting ``the

opportunity the career offers for constant

personal development'' as a source of

satisfaction. Some were taking advantage of

opportunities: `Ì am writing my Professional

Development Report and studying an MA in

order to progress''; `Ì am now studying for my

chartership''.

Others were less happy with their career

prospects and position and found that ``there

are few opportunities for promotion within

my organisation [. . .] and few vacancies in the

area for promotion outside it''. Others

experienced frustration at not being promotedbecause ``they're appointing people in their

late twenties [. . .] I believe I have the skills,

but not as much confidence [. . .] as I need to

get promotion''.

Of the three interviewees who were in

professional posts, two were very happy with

their career progression within librarianship:

``since I've been in libraries my career has

really gone very well''. The third was happy in

her post but had experienced difficulty

obtaining a suitable professional post afterqualifying. The respondent who was not in a

professional post felt that her specific career

aims were unlikely to be met: `Ì would still

like to be a subject librarian, but I think I may

well have gone too far down the technical

route to make that practical''.

Context of life as a whole, practicalities and

quality of life

One respondent felt that ``personal lack of job

mobility [. . .] tarnished'' the overall jobsatisfaction levels of librarianship as a career,

another echoed this with `Ì am tied to the

area by family commitments''. Practical

considerations were also important for more

positive reasons, such as `Ì can walk to work''.

In terms of how respondents fitted their

careers into their lives, one person had

reduced the hours they worked, saying that

` this allows me more time for my outside [. . .]

interests and is another reason why I am `very

satisfied' at the moment''.

The interviewees all considered the

integration of their careers with the other

aspects of their lives to be important in

satisfaction levels. One was looking to the

future: `ìnformation technology [. . .] will be

important in doing things like shopping,

paying the bills, and when I'm completely

housebound I shall know how to do it''.

Another had moved to job-sharing: `Ì actually

want more time to do other things outside of

work''. The effect on the quality of life was

important: when talking about how she wouldneed to travel further to get a better job, one

respondent said, `Ì don't look at that as being

a thing that would enhance the quality of my

life''.

Pay

Overall, where pay was mentioned, it was a

source of dissatisfaction apart from one

respondent who felt they had ``made a good

move in terms of pay and conditions''. This is

evidenced in comments such as ``poorly paid''

and `Ì am still about 3-4K a year belowwhat I would have been on''.

The interviewees' comments on this factor

mirrored those made in the survey, in that

even where people indicated that they were

satisfied with their career change, pay was still

seen as a source of dissatisfaction. Comments

ranged from `Ì'm appalled at some of the

salaries offered [in job advertisements]'', to `Ì

actually turned down a couple of offers that

I'd had because they just weren't paying

enough''. The respondents also made the

point that they did not live `èxtravagantly''.

Environment and culture

The environment was generally seen as

making a positive contribution to satisfaction

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levels and people were an important part of

this: `Ì like the people, including other

librarians and the library users''.

Factors relating to the culture of the

profession were noted: `Ì don't get moved

around according to someone else's whim'';

`Ì have always found like-minded people and

values I can believe in and work towards''.

Others mentioned culture change ``not just a

job change a massive cultural change from

the commercial world''.

There were wide ranging feelings about the

contribution of environment and culture to

career satisfaction. One interviewee found the

environment very positive: `Ì think the people

are generally very friendly, positive, pleasant

colleagues. I like the environment very

much''. Others had found the culture changemore difficult when moving into initial posts

as library assistants: `ìt was a social cultural

change [. . .] I felt very different and there was

a lot of awkwardness''.

Views on the profession

Where views on the profession were

expressed, they differed widely, though there

was general consensus about the image of

librarians: ``librarianship has poor status as a

profession and you do have to put up with the

`dowdy librarian' image''. One respondentfound it ``hard to admit that I am a librarian

a reflection on the public perception of the

profession, I guess''.

The interviews brought out similar views on

the image of librarianship to those expressed

in the surveys: `Ì think it's got a terrible

image''. However, these views tended to be

qualified by a feeling that the image was

changing: ``with it becoming increasingly

technological, that appeals to people''. There

was a generally negative feeling about the

situation within public libraries: ``there's

enormous opportunity, not only in academic

libraries, but in special libraries [. . .] I don't

perceive there to be much of a career

opportunity in public libraries''.

Comment was also made on the nature of

the library profession itself: ``sometimes I

think librarians have a sort of inflated view of

their own importance'' and `Ì wouldn't say

that it is strictly speaking a `profession', but

then [. . .] I have an old-fashioned attitude in

many ways''.

Effect of career change on income

Changing career to librarianship had financial

implications for many respondents, with

52.4 per cent experiencing a drop in income

when first moving into libraries. Of these, at

the time the survey was carried out, the

incomes of 45.6 per cent of those whose

income had dropped reported that it had not

yet recovered to its former level.

When asked if they expected their income

to recover to at least its former level the

majority thought that it would not. Those

who thought their incomes would recover

were not sure how long it would take; one, for

example, estimated three to four years,

another thought it would be ``possibly two job

changes away''.

One of the questions was directed only at

respondents whose income had dropped after

their career change, and who did not expect it

to recover to its former level; and asked

respondents to comment on how they felt

about this. Comments in response to this

question varied from ``fed up'', to ``the drop in

income is a small price to pay for the

improvement in my quality of life''. Comment

was also made about the general levels of pay

within the profession: `ìf librarianship is to

have true professional status, its practitioners

should be paid at a rate commensurate with

other professions''.

The analysis

Changing career into librarianship: key

themes

Because the research examined a human life

process, the analysis is presented under

headings that reflect the experiences and

views of those who changed career to become

professional librarians. These themes also

represent areas in which theories on the

process of career change can be developed;

some possibilities are proposed.The process of identifying themes was

assisted by the four career management

competencies identified by Ball (1998):

(1) the ability to optimise a given career

situation;

(2) the ability to engage in personal

development;

(3) the ability to use career planning skills;

(4) the ability to balance work and non-work.

These four competencies were developed as a

framework to help business organisations inguiding their employees in their career

development. They are equally applicable to

this research, and closely reflect the themes

identified here.

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Follow your nose

In terms of the effect of previous career, the

economic situation did have an impact on

some respondents, with job insecurity

prompting some to change career. The

majority of respondents did not report this,

however. Overall, the level of active choice of

librarianship as a profession was low; more

respondents reported drifting into the

profession than reported actively choosing it:

`ìt just happened because I found a job [as a

library assistant]'' and `Ì was looking for

something that could pay me enough money

to keep my bills going''.

For the majority of the respondents, the

decision to obtain a professional qualification

was driven by the desire to maximise the

benefits of their career change, rather than asa goal in itself. A few respondents did cite

obtaining professional status as an influencing

factor, but they were in the minority: `Ì felt

that [the MA] would give me a certain

amount of status, it is tragic to admit it, but I

think I was just fed up with people thinking

that I was a bit of a bimbo''.

The broad answer to the question of ``why

do people change career to become

professional librarians'' cannot be formulated

as a list of reasons for choosing librarianship.Rather, respondents were affected by factors

which led to them needing or wanting to

make a career change, and found that

librarianship offered a suitable solution.

These factors were both internal to the

individuals, and external in that they related

to the balance of life as a whole. The

respondents in this study became librarians

because they found, either by chance or

design, that this option best met their overall

life requirements.

Make your own luck

Whatever the level of active choice of

librarianship as a career, a common theme

emerging from the research is that of

opportunism. Career changers generally tried

to make the most of available opportunities,

and in some cases, worked to create their own

opportunities. This philosophy is illustrated

by comments such as: ``this was the

opportunity to do something else'' and `Ì

believe in making your own luck really [. . .]it's to do with how you make sure you're in

the right place at the right time, not just pot

luck, you know, you can influence these

things''. One interviewee was made

redundant, and having failed to find work in

her previous career ``thought fine, I'll go as far

as I can in libraries''. This highlights the

ability of the career changers to make the best

of their situation, whether it is one they

planned to be in or not.

Respondents often cited ``luck'' as a factor

in the career change process: `Ì've been lucky,

the timing of things has been very good for

me''. However, the positive, pro-active

approach of these respondents indicates that

success is more to do with personal input than

``luck'': ``there's all sorts of things that you can

do, that I wouldn't think particularly about

doing deliberately, but perhaps I just do

them''.

Taking a chance was also an element: `ìt

was quite a risk giving up my job'' and ``thelogistics of doing it, it was quite risky really''.

In summary, the career changers in this

study were able to maximise available career

opportunities and behave in ways that created

opportunities for themselves.

Define your goals

The career changers in this study were very

good at setting personal career and life goals,

and analysing their skills. They also

monitored progress towards these goals. One

respondent who did this said: `Ì had twocriteria in my job hunting, which were: that I

should find what I was going to do was fun,

and that I should consider it to be

worthwhile''. Later, referring to the point

when she was offered a post as a library

assistant, this respondent said `ìt sounded like

good fun and it was worthwhile, [. . .] the

criteria were all met''.

Another found that her previous career

involved a lot of physical work, and thought:

`Ì'm not going to be able to do this all my life,

I'm going to get very tired''; having made the

career change, she reported: `Ì've got a

comfortable office, a nice desk, I can sit

down''. Physical comfort may seem to be a

simplistic goal, but it is a goal nonetheless,

and one which this respondent achieved. Not

all respondents benefited from goal setting:

``this level of dissatisfaction arises out of being

a cataloguer for nearly 20 years [. . .], I drifted

into librarianship by accident''.

Overall, the ability to plan and review

played an important part in the process ofdeciding to change career, and was a

contributing factor in how satisfied

respondents were with the change. Setting

goals provides a direction and a means of

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measuring progress; those respondents who

were able to set goals tended to experience

less frustration.

Balance your life

A significant proportion of respondents

applied personal philosophies to the processof changing career, and sought to consider life

as a whole throughout the process: `Ì was

thinking, there are all sorts of things that go

on in your life, you know, trying to think

about how it's going to figure around a

career''. This philosophy mirrors the results of

a survey of business graduates, who were

found to want ``their home life to be balanced

alongside the time they spend at work''

(MacDonald, 1997).

Respondents actively set aside time to

reflect on their lives and careers: `Ì've just

gone over to a job share [. . .] to give me time

to think about where I go from now''. The

general conclusion from the results is that this

process of assessing and balancing life was

vital to people both in terms of making good

career decisions, and in achieving career

satisfaction: ``work's got to be enjoyable

otherwise there's no point''. The need to

consolidate was also mentioned as part of this

process.

Practical concerns were very important torespondents: `Ì'm quite fixed

geographically''; ``that wouldn't be practical

in family and life terms''. Respondents

reported highest levels of satisfaction when

the practical aspects of life were in balance

with their careers.

This philosophy can be summarised in the

words of one respondent: ``you've got to have

life as a whole, it's not little boxes''. It can

thus be inferred that those most satisfied with

their career change are those who caneffectively integrate the career change process

with life as a whole.

Make use of the past and look to the future

Many respondents exhibited traits that link to

the concept of the ``learning society'': they

made full use of their existing skills and

knowledge, and sought to build on this.

Several respondents referred to past

experience: `Ì feel that my achievements,

skills and past achievements are recognised

and utilised''. Respondents found thatpersonal development was valued and

supported by the libraries they worked for, as

evidenced by the fact that the majority of

people studying part-time received practical

support from their employer. One

summarised this attitude: ``they were very

willing to support you or even further your

career if they thought that would benefit the

service''.

One person wanted to pursue a new career

because: `Ì just felt that I was really wasting

my À' levels''. This desire to keep learning is

illustrated by comments such as `Ì'm anxious

to learn all the time''.

Respondents were able to bring a wide

range of transferable skills with them from

their previous careers, such as ``people skills,

organisational skills [. . .] communication

skills'' and ` general life skills [. . .] and I

suppose a general attitude to life as well''. One

respondent summed up the importance of

transferring and developing skills: ``that's theart of surviving in today's job market''.

One implication of the ability of the career

changers to transfer existing skills was noted

at the outset: that career changers may have

different educational needs. The research

carried out by Miller (1990) observed that

those changing profession had a different

attitude to education. Career changers may

thus need the emphasis of teaching to be

placed on how to apply their existing skills to

librarianship, rather than on the teaching ofthem as first principles.

The conclusion that can be drawn from

these results is that the career changers

studied were, in the main, operating

according to the principles of the ``learning

society''. They were, indeed, committed to

learning throughout life, and recognised the

need to learn in order to survive (National

Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education,

1997). They are likely to be people who will

continue to thrive and make the best of their

careers, whatever the prevailing economic

climate.

What is the point?

The point for the majority (85.8 per cent) of

the respondents was that they were ``satisfied''

or ``very satisfied'' with their career change to

librarianship. The factors most often cited as

contributing to this high level of satisfaction

concerned how respondents felt about the

nature of library work, and the area of career

progression and professional development.Other factors were also important, but where

pay and the profession itself were mentioned,

comments tended to be more negative. On

first inspection, there is a mis-match between

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the high satisfaction levels reported, and the

plethora of negative comment.

The availability of opportunities for

personal challenge and growth, both in terms

of job role and professional development,

were the main determinants of career

satisfaction. Autonomy and challenge were

often cited by respondents: `Ì've got a lot of

autonomy and there's a lot of interesting

things going on in library and information

work''; another cited ``new challenges'' as a

source of satisfaction. Respondents also felt

good when their abilities were respected: `Ì

take part in policy and decision making that

affects the whole organisation'' and `Ì feel a

lot more valued now''.

Overall, for the majority of respondents,

how they felt about their career change wasmore important to them than external reward.

The fact that people can hold quite strong

negative views whilst feeling satisfied indicates

that the areas they feel negative about lie

outside of their values system, as evidenced by

comments such as: ``the money was very

much a second consideration''.

Fitting into the profession: stay objective

The low level of influence of other people as a

reason for changing career indicates that most

respondents based their career change

decision on other criteria. Indeed, the results

show that the most important factors were

how respondents felt about their previous

careers, and the level of active choice of the

profession. It should be noted, however, that

no respondents reported negative instances of

contact with librarians prior to changing

career; in fact most such experiences were

very positive. This is counter to the poor

image of librarians held by many respondents

prior to entering the profession. This thusillustrates an area of weakness in the way

librarianship as a profession markets itself.

The perception of librarianship as having a

poor image did not seem to act as a deterrent

to entering the profession for those changing

career into it. It was rather cited as a source of

dissatisfaction once the career change had

been made. One reason for this can be drawn

from the research by Genoni and Greeve

(1997) who found that negative images of

librarians prevailed in younger age groups.The fact that the career changers tended to be

in older age groups leads to the possible

conclusion that age and experience reduce

people's susceptibility to stereotypes. The

career changers objected to the stereotypes,

and found it hard to accept the imposition of

an ill-founded image. This may have been

because they already had a strong self-image,

which related to their previous profession.

One respondent found that the reverse was

the case: `Ì was going from a [. . .] job which

has got similar negative associations with it

[. . .], so I don't think going into librarianship

was any worse''.

There was also a feeling that the image of

librarianship is improving and, speaking of the

growth in information technology, ``we are

actually involved now in something that's sort

of quite sexy, you know, popular''.

One respondent regretted not choosing a

better paid profession but went on to say that

`às we spend 7.5 hours at work each day, theenvironment and . . . `tolerability' of the job

has to be as important as the money you get''.

Van House (1998) also found that people

were willing to sacrifice material rewards to

the wider goals of overall job satisfaction. All

respondents, with only one exception, who

mentioned pay, did so to make negative

comments, which can be summed up by the

statement: ``librarianship is not as well paid as

other established professions''. This was in

spite of the fact that many respondents did

not see money as the most important factor in

career satisfaction. The concern was more to

do with the effect on the public perception of

the profession, and the potential effect on

recruitment to librarianship: `Ì think

financially there is certainly room for

improvement, and that perhaps we'd attract

even more dynamic people and exciting

people, into librarianship than we do

already''.

The image and pay in the public library

sector was specifically commented on as beingpoorer than in other sectors. If these opinions

are taken seriously, they indicate that action is

needed by the profession to address this

imbalance.

Conclusions

The number of career changers, at 20.4 per

cent of the sample, represents a reasonable

proportion. The library profession can learnfrom them and benefit from their views and

experiences. Certainly in the case of the image

and remuneration of the profession, these

results indicate that career changers feel that

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these issues need to be addressed by the

profession as a whole. They cite the potential

benefits of making improvements in these

areas as being able to recruit better candidates

to the profession. Respondents did mention

that the proposed merger of the Library

Association and the Institute of Information

Scientists might have a positive effect on the

profile of the profession; a view also expressed

by Infield (1997). These findings confirm the

conclusions of an earlier study: that marketing

programmes need to address these negative

images, in order to attract new entrants to

librarianship (Genoni and Greeve, 1997).

It should be noted that the sample was

made up of employees of a group of

universities (AULIC) that actively support

the library course run by the University ofBristol. This may have had an artificially

positive effect on the number of people opting

to obtain a professional qualification after

starting work in one of the AULIC libraries.

Care must therefore be exercised when

extrapolating the conclusions to the

population of all professional librarians in the

UK.

What is more important than generalising

the proportions of career changers to the

population as a whole, is that the key themes

identified by the research can be generalised

with much more confidence. These themes

represent the human element of the research,

and were not influenced by local factors, but

by the range of views and behaviours

expressed by the respondents. The key

themes relating to the career change process

can thus be generalised to the UK population

of professional librarians, if the assumption

that people are fundamentally the same,

whatever their location, is accepted.

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