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Librarians' Perceptions Of Librarianship
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Librarians' Perceptions Of Librarianship
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This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 6 7 -1 0 ,7 7 6 RYAN, Mary Jane, 1914- LIBRARIANS' PERCEPTIONS OF LIBRARIANSHIP. University of Southern California, Ph.D., 1967 Education, psychology University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan ;Copyright by MARY JANE RYAN 1967 LIBRARIANS1 PERCEPTIONS OF LIBRARIANSHIP by Mary Jane Ryan A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Educational Psychology) June 1967 UNIVERSITY O F SOU TH ERN CALIFORNIA THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY PARK LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNI A 9 0 0 0 7 This dissertation, written by ........MART.. JA3P..R2M.............. under the direction of h.§7?...Dissertation Com mittee, and approved by all J ts members, has been presented to and accepted by the Graduate School, in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of D O C T O R OF P H I L O S O P H Y g a ^ s ^ e £ Dean Date Jm©..!967. TABIE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES Page iv Chapter I. INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of the Problem Importance of the Study The Limitations of the Study Definitions of Terms Used Rationale for the Formation of Intergroup Comparisons Development of the Hypotheses Organization of the Study II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE..................... 22 General Occupational Literature The Literature Related to Librarianship Summary III. PROCEDURES AND RESEARCH DESIGN............... 50: Definition of the Population and Selection of the Sample Development of the Instrument Construction of the Satisfaction Scale Pilot Study Mailing and Follow-up of the Final Questionnaire Method of Analyzing the Data Statistical Procedures Data Analysis Related to the Hypotheses of the Study IV. PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE FINDINGS 73 Description of the Subgroups ii Chapter The Relative Importance of Selected Influences on the Decision to Become a Librarian Time of Decision to Become a Librarian Personal Value Orientations Degree in Librarianship Previous Careers in Other Fields Years of Experience in Librarianship Findings on Prestige Rankings of Eight Professions Librarians' Perceptions of Librarianship Satisfaction with Librarianship V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . Recapitulation Major Findings According to Subgroup Membership Significant Differences Related to Librarians' Perceptions of Librarianship According to the Hypotheses Research Findings Related to the Satisfaction Scale Conclusions Recommendations BIBLIOGRAPHY ........... .......................... APPENDIX A. Membership Held by Respondents in Two Library Associations, According to Subgroups .......................... , APPENDIX B. Cover Letter Accompanying Questionnaire APPENDIX Co Questionnaire: How Librarians Perceive Librarianship ..................... . APPENDIX Do Self-addressed Post Card Requesting Summary............................ APPENDIX Eo Follow-up Post Card Requesting Return of Questionnaire................. ill Page 155 188 203 205 207 215 217 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. The Satisfaction Scale . .................... 59 2. Selectivity of the Sample as Indicated by the Percentage of Usable Returns of the Questionnaire................................ 64 3. Number and Per Cent of the Total Sample Represented in Ten Subgroups as Based on Five Variables.......... 79 4. Rankings of Influences on the Decision to Enter Librarianship, According to Least-Satisfied and Most-Satisfied Subgroups ............... 81 5. Rankings of Influences on Decision to Enter Librarianship, by Sex.................... 84 6. Rankings of Influences on the Decision to Enter Librarianship, According to Subgroups Who Held or Lacked a Degree in Librarianship . . 86 7. Rankings and Average Ratings of Influences on Decision to Enter Librarianship, by Years of Experience in Librarianship ................. 88 8. Rankings of Influences on Decision to Enter Librarianship, According to the Total Group . 91 9. Time of Decision to Become a Librarian, According to Least-Satisfied and Most- Satisfied Subgroups............ 93 10. Time of Decision to Become a Librarian, According to Respondents from Cook County and Los Angeles County................... . 94 11. Time of Decision to Become a Librarian, According to Men as a Group and Women as a G r o u p ............................... 96 iv Table 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23„ . . . 24. 25. Page Time of Decision to Become a Librarian, According to Respondents Who Held and Who Lacked a Degree in Librarianship........... 97 Time of Decision to Become a Librarian, According to the Least Experienced and the Most Experienced in Librarianship ........... 99 Differences Between Subgroups Regarding the Time of Decision to Become a Librarian . . . 100 Time of Decision to Enter Librarianship, According to the Total G r o u p ............. • 102 Rankings of Personal Values Important in Ideal Career, According to Least-Satisfied and Most-Satisfied Subgroups ................. . 104 Rankings of Personal Values Important in Ideal Career, According to Men as a Group and Women as a G r o u p ............................ 106 Rankings of Personal Values Important in Ideal Career, According to Subgroups Categorized by Years of Library Experience ............. 108 Distribution of Respondents with and without a Degree in Librarianship, by Subgroups .... Ill Previous Careers in Other Fields, According to Least-Satisfied and Most-Satisfied Subgroups 115 Previous Careers in Other Fields, According to Cook County and Los Angeles County Subgroups 117 Previous Careers in Other Fields, According to Men and Women................................ 118 Previous Careers in Other Fields, According to Respondents Who Held and Who Lacked a Degree in Librarianship . . . . . . . . 120 Previous Careers in Other Fields, According to the Least Experienced and Most Experienced in Librarianship.............. 122 Previous Careers in Other Fields, According to the Total Group .... ......... . . . .. . 123 v Table 26. Distribution of Respondents Categorized as Least Experienced and Most Experienced in Librarianship, by Subgroups.......... . . . ' i 27. Prestige Rankings of Selected Professions Giving Respondents1 Personal Rank Order and the Rank Order They Perceived to be That of the General Public, According to the Least Satisfied and the Most Satisfied Subgroups 28. Prestige Rankings of Selected Professions Giving Respondents' Personal Rank Order and the Rank Order They Perceived to be That of the General Public, According to Cook and Los Angeles County Groups ................... 29. Prestige Rankings of Selected Professions Giving Respondents' Personal Rank Order and the Rank Order They Perceived to be That of the General Public, According to Men and Women........................................ 30. Prestige Rankings of Selected Professions Giving Respondents' Personal Rank Order and the Rank Order They Perceived to be That of the General Public, According to Subgroups Composed of Those Who Held or Lacked a Degree in Librarianship ..................... 31. Prestige Rankings of Selected Professions Giving Respondents' Personal Rank Order and the Rank Order They Perceived to be That of the General Public, According to Those Least Experienced and Most Experienced in Librarianship . . . . „ ..................... 32. Prestige Rankings of Selected Professions Giving Respondents' Personal Rank Order and the Rank Order They Perceived to be That of the General Public, According to the Total Group ........... . . . . . . . ............. 33. Respondents' Attitudes Toward a Hypothetical Reselection of Librarianship as a Career, According to Subgroups ..................... vi Page 126 131 132 133 134 135 137 142 Table Page 34. Respondents' Perceptions o£ the Extent of Satisfaction with Librarianship as a Career, According to the Least and the Most Satisfied Subgroups ........................... 143 35. Respondents' Perceptions of the Extent of Satisfaction with Librarianship as a Career, According to Cook County and Los Angeles County Subgroups................................ 146 36. Respondents' Perceptions of the Extent of Satisfaction with Librarianship as a Career, According to Men and W o m e n .................... 147 37. Respondents' Perceptions of the Extent of Satisfaction with Librarianship as a Career, According to Those Who Held or Lacked a Degree in Librarianship ..................... 148 38. Respondents' Perceptions of the Extent of Satisfaction with Librarianship as a Career, According to Those Least and Most Experienced in Librarianship ............... 150 39. Respondents' Perceptions of the Extent of Satisfaction with Librarianship as a Career, According to the Total G r o u p ............... 151 40. Differences Between Subgroups on the Extent of Satisfaction with Librarianship, as Measured by the Satisfaction Scale................... 153 41. Memberships Held by Respondents in Two Library Associations, According to Subgroups .... 203 vii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION One of the persistent problems in librarianship has been the shortage o£~ professionally educated librarians. Twenty years ago it was estimated that 18,000 positions were unfilled (29:551-4). Since then, the rapid expansion of school and library systems, and the intensification of research in all fields has deepened the problem. By 1965, a nationwide survey reported the need for at least 100,000 professional librarians in addition to the approximately 77,000 actually employed in the United States at the time (11:2). According to Reed, “This is 33 times the number of trained librarians we are producing today” (61:71). These data reveal a glaring discrepancy between the supply and the demand for professional librarians in this country. The literature on librarianship suggests several causes for the shortage, including low salaries, poor working conditions, inadequate budgets, greater opportuni ties in other fields, increased length and level of library education, lack of prestige, and the image of the librarian. While these explanations were offered several years ago, 1 they are still considered applicable to the present dilemma, even though salaries have been raised, new libraries have been built, budgets have been increased. Furthermore, the need for undergraduate as well as the graduate programs for preparation of library personnel has been suggested by the 1966-67 president of the American Library Association (23:802-3). But it is difficult to find current information based on factual research concern ing the image of the librarian, even though the public's image of the "old maid" librarian— with all the embellish ments the term connotes— continues to be mentioned frequently in library literature. Could the self-image of the profession be related to the persistent recruitment problem in the field of librarianship? If librarians themselves perceive that a library career offers comparatively little opportunity for satisfaction, is it not to be assumed that their percep tions may be communicated to others? May not disgruntled librarians tend to discourage potential candidates from choosing librarianship as a career? The belief that there may be a relationship between librarians' perceptions of librarianship and the persistent problem of recruitment for librarianship led to this study. Statement of the Problem 3 This investigation was concerned with the percep tions of librarianship as expressed by librarians. Active members of national library associations were considered particularly appropriate to the study since it was assumed that those actually working in libraries may have formu lated some definite opinions on librarianship as a career. It was the purpose of this study to (1) investigate librarians9 perceptions of librarianship; (2) determine whether they differed among themselves in their expressed degree of satisfaction with librarianship when grouped according to such variables as geographical location, sex, possession of a library degree, and years of library experience; and (3) explore the patterns of career develop ment as revealed in self-reported data. Importance of the Study _ Even though the profession of librarianship is faced with an ever-mounting shortage of qualified members, a very inadequate number of persons are entering the field. So great is the disparity between professional openings and applicants that the profession is faced with a dilemma. Despite this disparity, few research studies have been conducted that have dealt with librarians as an occupational group. Within the past twenty or thirty years several purveys have polled library science students and librarians from public, special, school, and academic libraries to gather data relating to personal, educational and professional backgrounds. However, the attitudes of librarians toward librarianship have not been investigated systematically. Little objective evidence is available concerning intergroup differences between librarians with respect to career development or career satisfaction. This study was undertaken, therefore, in an effort to explore several aspects of career development and satis faction with librarianship, the hope being to identify factors which may be pertinent to the prime problem facing the library profession— recruitment. The Limitations of the Study This investigation was dependent upon the usable questionnaires returned by the subjects. It was assumed that the least satisfied librarians and the least profes sionally qualified in the field are less likely (1) to be active members of national library associations and (2) to return the questionnaire. An effort was made to exclude from the sample obviously unrepresentative members of library associations. Therefore, full-time library educators, members of the clergy or religious orders, members engaged in occupations other than librarianship (bookbinders, library equipment 5 salesmen, etc.) were omitted from the sample whenever it was possible to identify them. The sample is composed primarily of currently- employed librarians, although it is found to include a few full-time students who have never worked in a library, a few unemployed librarians, and a few retired librarians. Definitions of Terms Used Authoritative as well as operational definitions of particular pertinence to this study are provided to clarify meanings of some key words used throughout this study. Perception. One of many definitions of "perception [is] an immediate or intuitive cognition or judgment; an insight analogous to sense perception in respect of immedi acy and the feeling of certainty accompanying it®9 (78:1816). English suggested that the term is probably used more by psychologists than any other term in its general area of meaning. He strengthened his point by listing more than fifteen definitions; one of these relates to the definition given above: "perception [is] an immediate or intuitive awareness of the truth about something, analogous to sensory perception: perception of mathematical truth, moral perception" (19:378). It is the meaning in these two definitions that governs the use of the term in this study. Satisfaction. The degree of satisfaction with librarianship was measured by weighting the responses assigned to specific items chosen to comprise a satisfac tion scale, as described in Chapter III. Profession. According to such experts as Blauch (7:1056), Leigh (38:186), and Cogan (14:106), the term "profession6* has not been satisfactorily defined. A defi nition is needed that unequivocally distinguishes between the terms "profession" and "occupation," the latter meaning simply, "an activity in which a person regularly engages for pay" (19:354). Webster*s definition is too broad to differentiate; he interprets a "profession" as . . . a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive preparation including instruction in skills and methods as well as in the scientific, historical, or scholarly principles underlying such skills and methods, maintaining by force of organization or concerted opinion high standards of achievement and conduct, and commit ting its members to continued study and to a kind of work which has for its prime purpose the render ing of a public service. (79:1811) In contrast, the definition given by English is possibly too narrow to include all professions. A "profes sion," he says, is . . . an occupation that requires an extensive general and specialized education, that involves many intellectual elements, that has a code of ethics defining certain obligations to society in its practice, that confers considerable social status and power upon those who practice it, and that utilizes all this to effect practical changes in the physical or social world. (19:411) 7 Despite the semantic problem, some consensus does exist regarding the characteristics common to certain groups that are generally distinguished by the term "pro fession." In discussing "professions” as distinct from "occupations," Leigh describes professional characteristics as "specialized, communicable techniques," rather than occupational "rule-of-thumb procedures or routinized skills" (38:187). He further qualifies a profession by noting that these techniques are based on: (1) prolonged intellectual training; (2) a content of training that includes generali zations and principles; (3) the application of the principles in concrete professional practice, a complex process requiring the exercise of disciplined, indi vidual judgment. (38:187) Leigh's criteria provide a basis for including professions other than the traditional ones (theology, law, medicine, etc.), while excluding "many useful, skilled occupations which do not depend on understanding and discipline in the application of formally-organized bodies of knowledge of a high degree of generality" (38:187-8). In the present study, the following occupations are considered to meet Leigh's criteria for "professions" and are referred to as such throughout the investigations: (1) chemist, (2) college teacher, (3) engineer, (4) high school teacher, (5) librarian, (6) nurse, (7) psychologist, and (8) social worker. It was assumed, however, that all 8 eight are emerging professions rather than traditional professions. Librarian. The noun "librarian” is generally modi- fied by one of many adjectives, and--more often than not-- the modifiers are nebulous. Webster defines "librarian” simply as ”one who has the care or charge of a library” (78:1425). This definition, while undeniably truthful, is hardly an adequate definition for purposes of this study. A "librarian,” according to the latest glossary published by the American Library Association, is: (1) The head of a library or library system; also known as Chief Librarian, Head Librarian, or Library Director. (2) A professional member of a library staff. (3) Combined with name of department or type of work, the term is used to designate tne title of a staff member (e.g., children's librarian, order librarian, etc.). (4:136) This glossary does not define the term "professional librarian” other than occultly: Professional Personnel. The incumbents of profes sional positions, (q.v.) (4:140) Perhaps the most precise clue to the American Library Association's concept of a "professional librarian” appears in the following passage of the same glossary: Professional Positions. Those positions in a library which require training and skill in theoretical or scientific parts of the library's work, as distinct from its merely mechanical aspects. (4:140) A need for a forthright, objective interpretation of the term "professional librarian" seems indicated. Confusion exists within and outside the profession over who is a "bona fide" professional librarian. Since no generally-accepted or acceptable definition could be found, the term was not used in this investigation. Instead, the following operational definition for the term "librarian" is used throughout the study: Librarian. A librarian, for purposes of this study, is aperson who meets the following criteria: (1) an individual who was an active member in 1965 of: (a) the Association of College and Research Libraries Division of the American Library Association or (b) the Illinois Chapter or Southern California Chapter ofHSpecial Libraries Association and (2) who resided in or worked in Cook County, Illinois or in Los Angeles County, California and (3) a person who occupied a library position prior to or during the time of study or was a full-time library school student at the time. Because neither the American Library Association nor the Special Libraries Association limits membership to those holding library science degrees, it was anticipated that the sample would include a certain segment of members who had had no professional library education. It was further assumed that some respondents might hold dual 10 memberships in the two associations. Career development. Another term frequently used in this study is based on definitions attributed to Tiedeman and O'Hara: Career development refers to those aspects of the continuous unbroken flow of a person's experi ence that are of relevance to his fashioning of an identity "at work . . (76:98) and further: Career development, then, is self development viewed in relation with choice, entry, and progress in educational and vocational pursuits. . a . Hence, career development ordinarily occurs within the context of several decisions. (76:99) It was necessary to delimit the meaning of the term and to restrict the scope of the investigation to specific areas of career development which were considered to be pertinent to the problem of recruitment. Therefore, the following operational definition was used in the present survey: The term career development is limited here to six aspects of the vocational patterns of librarians studied: (1) influences on the decision to become a librarian, (2) the time of definite decision to become a librarian, (3) personal value orientations, (4) presence or absence of a degree in library science, (3) previous careers in other fields since college, (6) length of work experience in the library field. This study does not include an exploration of the 11 sequence of library positions held, nor the types of libraries, nor the types of library positions of respond ents studied. The six aspects of career development enumerated above relate to the six hypotheses which are described at length in Chapter III, and mentioned briefly at a later point in this chapter. If the foregoing definitions are found wanting, some comfort can be gained from Cattell's wry observation that objects which can be completely defined are hardly worth further study (12:2). Rationale for the Formation of Intergroup Comparisons One of the major objectives of this investigation was to determine whether important differences in librarians' perceptions of librarianship and in career development were related to intergroup differences found between participants. It was hypothesized that librarians who differed according to five variables: (1) geographical locale; (2) sex; (3) professional library degree; (4) length of library experience; and (5) level of perceived satisfaction with librarianship, would also differ significantly in their perceptions of librarianship and in their career development. Each of these five variables, then, was used 12 to form two subgroups which divided participants who were identifiable as divergent according to that variable. Throughout the investigation, participants were compared according to subgroup membership as a method of measuring the relative importance of the five variables as deter minants of differences in perceptions of librarianship and in career development. A detailed account of subgroup categorization is presented in Chapter III. In the follow ing section, then, discussion is limited to a statement of the rationale for the selection of these variables upon which subgroup composition and comparisons were based. Variable one: Geographical locale. Do librarians from two geographical areas tend to differ or to agree in patterns of career development and in perceptions of librarianship? In order to consider this question, parallel samples were drawn from two metropolitan counties: Cook County, Illinois and Los Angeles County, California. The variable, geographical locale, was the only one of the five variables to be used as a criterion for the adequacy of the sample selected in the study. It was believed that a comparison of responses obtained from two parallel samples drawn from different geographical locales would serve as a check on the reliability and representativeness of the data for other large metropolitan areas. If compar atively few significant differences between respondents 13 from the two counties were shown, the data would tend to indicate that librarians* perceptions of librarianship transcends the difference of geographical locale. The selection of the sample is described more fully in Chapter III. Variable two: Sex groups. Do the men and the women in librarianship have different perceptions of their profession? Is their career development pattern similar or different, depending on their sex? A definite trend toward greater numbers of men entering this field has been noted for some time. Almost twice as many men received a degree in library science in 1963 as in 1953, for example (52:267). In the library profession, it becomes increasingly impor tant to be able to identify and recognize significant differences in attitudes and career patterns--if they exist--between men as a group and women as a group. As previously stated, no effort was made to draw an equal proportion of men and women for the sample studied. How ever, the research design was structured to base subgroup membership on the sex of the respondents as a variable which might be a prime determinant of significant differ ences shown in perceptions and career development patterns. Variable three: Degree in library science. Do active members of national library associations who differ in their perceptions of librarianship and in their career 14 development also show related differences when dichotomized and compared on the basis of the variable of the possession or the lack of a degree in library science? It was anticipated that several significant differences would be manifest between respondents who held and who lacked a library degree. Education for librarianship has changed considerably during recent decades (32:266-7). For over forty years the degrees granted by library schools have fluctuated between an undergraduate level, a graduate level (3:48-9) that includes a post-college professional bachelor's degree, and an undergraduate fourth-year degree (32:266-7). In essence, among librarians themselves con siderable disagreement regarding the professional education of librarians has existed for decades. Evidence indicates that the divergence of opinions regarding the level of education for librarianship is still a timely and vital problem, if one may judge from the number of recent articles on the topic (40:1761-75). For this reason, comparisons made in this study were based on whether or not participants had completed a library degree program, but no intergroup comparisons were made concerning the level of the degree earned. Because of the persistent shortage of professional librarians, it was hypothesized that a substantial number of respondents in the study would not hold a degree in librarianship. Moreover, membership in most library associations is not 15 limited to persons holding a degree in library science, and the sample drawn was from active membership lists. Variable four: Experience. Do librarians differ in their perceptions of the profession and in their career development patterns according to the length of experience they have had in the field? To discover whether the vari able --years of experience in library work--was associated with significant differences in perception and career development, two subgroups were found comprising the least experienced and the most experienced fourth of the sample, classified by years of library work. Length of library experience was used as a basis for subgroup comparisons rather than chronological age. However, it was assumed that chronological age and years of library experience were closely related. During the past few decades most library schools have tended to disregard the policy of barring applicants who are over thirty-five years of age. There fore, in order to compare perceptions and career develop ment of neophyte and veteran librarians, length of library experience was considered as a more precise criterion for subgroup formation than chronological age. Variable five: Satisfaction. Do librarians who differ in their perceptions of librarianship and in their career development patterns also vary systematically in their expressed degree of satisfaction with librarianship? To identify and compare the least-satisfied with the most- satisfied subgroups in the sample of librarians, a satis faction scale was devised by weighting responses to pertinent items in the questionnaire. From an analysis of, the points scored on this scale, two extreme groups were selected which comprised an equal proportion of members: the least-satisfied fourth and the most-satisfied fourth among participants in the sample. Development of the Hypotheses The subgroup comparisons between the least-satis fied and the most-satisfied subgroups of respondents are regarded as possessing prime importance for testing six major hypotheses. Each hypothesis was concerned with one specific aspect of career development, as well as with the level of satisfaction with librarianship• Additional data relating to eight other intergroup comparisons were also presented• The primary objective of this study was to deter mine the general outlines of librarians' perceptions of librarianship. A secondary aim was to establish the broad patterns of career development of librarians. The six hypotheses used to determine whether the level of satisfaction with librarianship was related to career development are described briefly in the following paragraphs and are presented in greater detail in Chapter 17 III. No further reference to Intergroup comparisons based on the five variables just described is presented in this present chapter. As previously stated, subgroup comparisons between the least-satisfied and the most- satisfied were used to refute or uphold each of the follow ing hypotheses. Hypothesis 1. There is no relationship between the relative importance of influences on the decision to become a librarian and the degree of satisfaction with librariansnip. A profession is responsible for recruiting new mem bers. To assure effectiveness, recruitment programs ought to be designed to focus on the factors found to be most influential in stimulating potentially qualified persons to enter the field. In order to identify the factors per ceived as relatively most influential in the career choice of librarianship, respondents were asked to evaluate the importance of twenty factors as determinants of the decision to become a librarian. Hypothesis 2. There is no relationship between the time of decision to become a librarian and the degree of satisfaction with librarianship. Is the occupational choice of librarianship more likely to be made before college, during college or after college? The literature shows that aspirants to 18 traditional professions such as medicine, law, and the ministry tend to make early career decisions. Is this true of an emerging profession such as librarianship? Data regarding the time when the definite decision to become a librarian was made may provide valuable suggestions for planning recruitment programs. Hypothesis 3. There is no relationship between personnel value orientations an? the degree of satisfaction with librarianship. Personal value orientations are related to the goals perceived as most important in an ideal career. What are the aspirations and desires which librarians consider most and least important as an outcome from their career? Do they tend to perceive intrinsic rewards (opportunities for service, creativity, personal development, and applica tion of professional knowledge) as more desirable or less desirable in a career than extrinsic rewards (opportunities for earning a good salary, job security, prestige, and professional advancement)? What a librarian wants from work was considered to be a determinant of career satis faction. Hypothesis 4. There is no difference in the degree of satisfaction with librarianship between librarians who hold or lack a degree in library science. One of the hallmarks of a profession is that its members have undergone a long and thorough academic 19 preparation prior to entering the field. Librarianship-- considered to be hardly a profession by many persons in other fields— is classified as an emerging profession according to the operational definition of the term "pro fession" used throughout this study. Membership in most library associations is not limited to those holding a professional degree in library science, but is generally open to all who are working in libraries. Despite this liberal admittance policy to professional association membership, it was hypothesized that subgroup comparisons based on completion of a degree program in library science may show significant differences concerning satisfaction with librarianship. It is one thing to be admitted as a dues-paying member to a library association; it may be something else again to attain an above-average level of satisfaction in a career for which no professional degree program has been completed. What are the odds for achiev ing job satisfaction in librarianship for persons who lack a library degree? It is common knowledge that many profes sional library positions are held by persons who have not completed a degree program in librarianship. Despite frequently-expressed concern over these "untrained" librarians, little objective research has been done in this area. 20 Hypothesis 5. There is no difference in the degree of satisfaction with librarianship between librarians with or without previous careers in other fields~ Librarianship has been accused of harboring the rejects and the failures of other professions. If has been called a haven for the lame, the halt and the withdrawn. If there is a substantial proportion of respondents who have had previous career experience in other fields, do they tend to be more satisfied or less satisfied than librarians with no prior employment since college? When librarianship is chosen as a second or third career, does this generally mean that the person reversing this vocational choice in favor of librarianship may be less satisfied with this profession than are the majority of librarians ? Hypothesis 6. There is no relationship between length of work experience as a librarian and the degree of satisfaction with librarianship. Just how satisfying is a career in librarianship as reported by fledglings in the field? Would they repeat their career choice, given a second chance? What is the ratio of persons entering the field within the past five years to the persons who have been in the field for at least twenty years? The answers to these questions may supply some realistic data for future recruitment programs. Furthermore, the data may reveal information pertinent to 21 the morale factor of recent recruits to the field, and this, in turn, may aid in counseling supervisors regarding job assignments and work schedules for the neophytes under their direction. Organization of the Study This chapter has discussed the nature, the scope and the importance of the problem, the limitations of the study, definitions, variables used in subgroup formation for intergroup comparisons, and the hypotheses tested. Chapter II summarizes the results of a review of the liter ature on professions in general and on librarianship in particular. Chapter III describes the selection of the sample studied, methods and procedures used to develop the instrument, and the basis of analysis of the data. Chapter IV presents the results of the investigation, the conclu sions reached through the testing of the hypotheses, and additional findings based on intergroup comparisons. Chapter V contains a recapitulation of the research design, a summary of the major findings," conclusions drawn from the investigation, and suggestions for further research. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE General Occupational Literature The Occupational Image Although occupational images or stereotypes have long been mentioned in popular and professional literature, relatively few objective investigations of occupational stereotypes have been reported. Little factual information exists on the perceptions of occupations held by the general public; even less exists on occupational percep tions held by specific occupational groups. In a 1925 report based on the prestige rankings of forty-five occupations, Counts originated the method used in a large proportion of the research studies on the images of occupations (15:16-27). The data were collected from high school teachers and from high school and college students. One of the major investigations on occupational stratification was conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) in 1947. Ninety occupations repre senting the work areas of a majority of employed Americans 22 23 were ranked according to prestige by a representative sample of the American adult population. The results of the 1947 NORC study confirmed earlier findings: there seems to be a hierarchy of occupations as well as substan tial stability in the rankings assigned to occupations (49:411-26). In 1963 Hodge and associates replicated the NORC study of prestige ranking of occupations, and this replica tion revealed that almost no important changes in rankings had occurred during the sixteen-year period. What small changes did occur over this period revealed that the prestige attached to the scientific,occupations had increased, while that attached to culturally-oriented occupations had decreased in ratings (30:286). As a further test, Hodge compared the 1963 findings with a 1925 pre-depression study by Counts (15:16-27), and with a post depression (1943) study by Smith (69:185-92). This longi tudinal comparison showed no substantial changes in occupa tional prestige rankings since 1925 (30:296). The overall structure of occupational prestige as perceived by the general public was reported to be notably stable (30:296). O'Dowd and Beardslee investigated the images of selected occupations as perceived by college and university students attending private and state schools (53:32-3). Multi-dimensional criteria for ranking fifteen occupations were used. Findings showed small differences in 24 occupational rankings by subgroups categorized by various demographic factors. A hierarchy of professions was estab lished, ranked according to social status. "Doctor," "lawyer," and "business executive" (53:37) were highest in prestige, while "school teacher" and "social worker" were ranked lowest by 0*Dowd*s subjects (53:36). In 1960 Nelson explored the images of nine profes sions as held by public high school students. His findings were almost identical to those reported by 0®Dowd on rank ings assigned to the seven professions appearing in both studies. According to the prestige rankings assigned by the high school students, occupations ranking highest were "doctor," "business executive,** and "lawyer," and the low est were "school teacher" and "social worker*® (50:133). Roeber and students adapted 0*Dowd-type rating scales in a 1966 study of occupational stereotypes held by over 250 boys and girls in a large high school in Michigan (77:170-2). This was the only study found that explored the image of the librarianship as an occupation. According to the authors: It was assumed that students would have a defi nite stereotype of librarians, probably not as favorable as other professions used in the study. This latter assumption was based upon a possible lack of appreciation of librarians by students, as effect of disciplinary behaviors sometimes associ ated with a librarian's work. (77:170) Word profiles were developed to describe the stereotypes of the six occupations revealed in the student rating scales. 25 The profile of the librarianship stereotype revealed the following image: The librarian may appear to be a good example of a middle class culture bearer. His taste in clothes runs to the "better line" as does his interest in reading and English. His job affords him an oppor tunity to continue his academic or intellectual growth through reading books. He works with various people to facilitate their using the library. His neat appearance and calm attitude lead to producing a working atmosphere in a library. He is a person who takes pride and pleasure in his work and makes appropriate decisions when necessary. (77:172) Several recent studies have been conducted on the social status of various professions as perceived by mem bers of professional groups. Considerable agreement regarding the prestige rankings of professions was found, both within professions and between members of different professions. Consistently high prestige rankings were attributed to the classical professions and low rankings to "high school teacher" and "social worker" (24, 83, 51: 143, 34:104). A tendency to overestimate the prestige ranking of their own profession was found in a comparative analysis of the studies on architects (83), dentists (51: 143), and business executives (34:104). According to Rettig and associates, status overestimation of occupa tional prestige tended to occur more frequently in rankings assigned by younger members who held junior positions in the lower-status professions (62:75-81). The perceptions of federal civil service as held by different groups of persons was the subject of a recent study by Kilpatrick and others (35). The sample included more than 5,000 persons representing the employed general public and federal employees in various occupational levels, as well as students and teachers in secondary schools, colleges and graduate schools. It was the purpose of the study to identify the groups that tended to be attracted to federal employment, to ascertain the reasons for this attraction, and to ascertain what factors were deterrents to recruitment for national civil service. An analysis of the interviews indicated that per sons in lower-level occupations perceived the major advantages of federal employment to be its extrinsic rewards: good wages, good working conditions, security and fringe benefits. The occupational values were also found to be the same extrinsic rewards, so persons in lower-level occupations were attracted to federal employ ment. Further results showed that persons in private enterprises who held high-status positions emphasized doing worthwhile work and being of public service as occupational values. These private-enterprise employees did not per ceive government employment as providing such opportuni ties. The most favorable image of federal service among non-federal employees was held by high-school teachers, and the least favorable by businessmen and engineers, responses of college teachers falling between these groups. 27 Career Development and Job Satisfaction One important aspect of career development is related to the choice of occupation. The literature on occupational choice theory is both abundant and divergent. The fact that many contradictory theories co-exist attests that vocational choice is a many-faceted problem and one that cannot be solved by simple inquiry. Hoppock presented a review of more than a dozen major theories which have attempted to explain the occupational choice process (31: 82-112). Few theories on occupational choice have aroused as much interest or motivated as much research as those pre sented by Ginzberg and his associates. In essence, this theory postulates three general principles: (1) occupa tional choice is a process which takes place over a period of many years; (2) the process of vocational choice is largely irreversible; and (3) occupational choice is a compromise between aspiration and reality (25:198). The principle of irreversibility advanced by Ginzberg has been challenged by several specialists, among them both Caplow and Roe. According to Caplow, research evidence on occupational mobility during several decades has revealed that most American adults change occupations during their careers (9:522-23). Roe contended that indi viduals were even more flexible than the Ginzberg theory depicted them to be; she referred to individual job 28 histories as evidence of job shifts (63:253). Super, using Ginzberg's theory as a base, developed an integrated approach to vocational development theory through a series of propositions relating to career choice and occupational success (72:100). He offered twelve pro posals which were synthesized from major theories and research findings in the areas of vocational choice and satisfaction (72:118-20). Vocational development, accord ing to Super, is . . . one phase of the general developmental process, subject to the same forces that impinge on the individual's general development. These forces are a combination of constitutional, environmental, and experiential factors, or, more broadly, biolog ical and social variables. Vocational development is seen as a developmental process in which an individual is confronted with decisions as to tasks and related opportunities, decisions which result from his own personal traits, the social systems with which he interacts, and the economic forces operative in his environment. (72:120) In 1951 Super and colleagues initiated a Career Pattern Study. This project, a longitudinal investigation of the vocational development of a group of New York boys from the eighth grade to age thirty-five, is the most ambitious study of its kind to date. Its purpose was to advance scientific theory and knowledge about vocational development (73). Recent data on the graduate school plans of 34,000 June, 1961 graduates of 135 American colleges and universi ties were gathered by the National Opinion Research Center, 29 utilizing self-administered questionnaires. The sample was designed to be representative of June, 1961 graduates receiving degrees from either accredited or very large non accredited institutions that grant the bachelor1s degrees. The first of several reports using these data were presented by Davis (17). Results indicated that three fourths of the college graduates surveyed planned to go to graduate school at some future time. Almost one third planned to attend graduate school during the fall of 1961 (17:43). The total number of respondents who "opted for librarianship and archival science" in the first wave of this career-aspirations study was eighty-seven, a remark ably small number (39). Miller and associates questioned the same respond ents a year later to determine the actual outcome of the tentative plans polled. Of the over 16,000 June, 1961 graduates attending graduate schools in 1961-62, those preparing for careers in "library and archival science" numbered 119, or 32 more than had planned on entering graduate library schools when originally polled, showing a slight increase (44). Occupational research and theory reported over the past few decades reveals several studies on the relation ship between occupational choice, needs and values, and job satisfaction. Hoppock's theory of vocational choice proposed: 30 Occupations are chosen to meet needs. The occupation we choose is the one that we believe will best meet the needs that most concern us. (31:114) Job satisfaction depends upon the extent to which the job that- we hold meets the needs that we feel it should meet. The degree of satisfaction is determined by the ratio between what we have and what we want. (31:115) A frequently-cited study by Centers reported a significant relationship between needs and values expected and level of achievement (13:187-217). One of the reasons for the wide acceptance of Centers' study and its results was that he drew a representative sample of 1,000 employed American males whose occupations represented a typical cross-section of the country. Several investigators have studied persons employed in professional and semi-professional occupations regarding job satisfaction and need satisfaction. Schaffer found that job satisfaction tends to vary according to the extent to which felt needs are met on the job. Overall job satisfaction was found to depend upon the fulfillment of a person's two strongest expressed needs ( 66: 1) . Morse found that job satisfaction depends basically upon what an individual desires or expects from his work and what rewards he obtains from his occupation (47). A high correlation was obtained between the amount of skill required by the work and the satisfaction expressed by the employee performing the work. Three factors associated 31 with "intrinsic job satisfaction” were reported by Morse: 1. The opportunity for variety and the opportunity to use one's skills and abilities, 2. The opportunity for continued challenges to occupy a high level of aspiration. 3. The extent of satisfaction provided by suppor tive environmental factors. (47:66) Lyman reported that persons in professions and higher-level positions tend to have stronger expressed needs for independence than those working in lower-status occupations (42:138-44). Social status and recognition from others (13:187- 217; 16:38), opportunity for self-expression (13:187-217; 48:191-203), and opportunity to use special abilities (16:38) were found by various investigators to be important needs of employees in higher-level occupations. The occupational choices and values of more than 5,000 university students were polled in 1952 by the Cornell Value Survey and reported by Rosenberg in 1957 (64). Students planning to enter different occupations were found to vary in their values (64:16). Conversely, a consistent pattern appeared among the values held by per sons planning on careers in the same occupation (64:16). For example, students preparing for social work and teach ing tended to stress "people-oriented” values and to de-emphasize "extrinsic-reward” orientations (64:18-19). Rosenberg reported a wide range of values which the 32 students polled expected to satisfy in their occupations. The values of ’ ’self-fulfillment,1 " ’’interpersonal satisfac tions,” and ’’security” were most frequently emphasized as important in an ideal career. A relatively small propor tion emphasized the importance of ’’ earning a good deal of money” (10 per cent) and status (2 per cent) (64:11). The values held by more than 34,000 June, 1961 college graduates in a study measuring the characteristics considered important in selecting a job or career was reported by Davis (17). Three factors were considered to be most important in career selection by a majority of the students polled: (1) ’’ opportunity to be useful to others" (64 per cent); (2) ’’ opportunity to work with people rather than things” (36 per cent); and (3) "opportunity to be original and creative” (51 per cent). In comparison, "making a lot of money” was considered very important by fewer than one fourth, and "security” was an important value to about one third of the respondents (17:12-14). The Literature Related to Librarianship The initial impetus for research in librarianship is remarkably similar to several other professions. Williamson performed for librarianship what Flexner achieved for medicine (21) and social work (20:576-90). Both made an objective, exhaustive survey, and reported on 33 the state of the professions as revealed by their profes sional schools and their graduates. Oral and written inquiries were submitted to the national professional associations. Williamson asserted that education for librarian ship was inferior in almost every important respect (82). Library schools, he concluded, should be integral parts of universities, together with other professional schools, and not integrated with public, state or municipal libraries. Within a decade after its publication, almost every major recommendation in the Williamson Report was adopted, with one prime exception— the national certification of librarians which still has not adopted the Williamson recommendations (67:7). Background and Characteristics of Librarians Since the Williamson Report, many surveys on librarians and library school students have been reported in the literature. It is questionable whether any survey of librarians has been quoted more often or to better advantage than Bryan's study of the public librarian (8). Of the 3,700 persons holding professional library positions included in Bryan's sample, 84 per cent completed the fifty-two-page personnel questionnaire, the Guilford-Martin Inventory of Factors GAMIN, and the Strong Vocational Interest Blank. This vast reservoir of factual data on professional and subprofessional public librarians has never been fully exploited. The Bryan study was interested in establishing whether or not public librarians were to be regarded as satisfactory with respect to personality and professional education, so that public libraries can achieve the objec tives proposed by eminent leaders in the field. The personal characteristics of librarians were found to be similar to persons in other modestly-paid occupations and no "markedly, eccentric’* personality traits were noted (8:433). At the time of the Bryan study, most of the accredited library schools offered a fifth-year bachelor's degree in librarianship. Only 40 per cent of the profes sional librarians in the Bryan sample had earned a degree in librarianship (8:437). Bryan concluded that public librarians were not a clearly-defined professional group and that a large proportion of persons then holding profes sional library positions lacked the professional education considered necessary to fulfill the stated objectives of the public library (8:431, 433). In 1965 Howe (33:481-91) surveyed almost 250 Illinois public librarians, excluding those working in Chicago, to determine some personal and professional characteristics of those then employed in public libraries. Although this study was conducted almost twenty years after the Bryan survey, it found that the same proportion of 35 public librarians— almost 40 per cent“-held a library school degree (33:483). The age distribution of the public librarians in the Howe sample revealed that 64 per cent were fifty years of age or older (33:484). For comparative purposes, Morrison adapted Bryan's design in a nationwide survey of American academic librarians reported in 1960 (46). His sample of 700-plus represented approximately 8 per cent of the nation's college and university librarians. Data on personal and professional history, attitudes and personality character istics were gathered by mailing a questionnaire and Ghiselli's Self Description Inventory to subjects (46:308). Morrison attempted to present a sociological and psycholog ical portrait of the academic librarian and to discover the factors in personal history and personality characteristics which were related to the level of position attained in the profession. He divided the sample into three subgroups based on level of position: "major executives," "minor executives," and "others or the ordinary academic librar ian." Factors found to correlate with high status and salary more frequently than chance were: (1) early decisions to enter librarianship (46:266), and (2) the influence of academic libraries and librarians on the decision to choose a career in the field (46:276). His results showed that academic librarians with previous careers in other fields generally did not attain positions 36 as high as those with no other career (46:267). Morrison concluded (1) that the academic librarians studied lacked traits "which are most closely associated with forceful leadership (46:304), (2) that they were deficient in super visory aptitude, and (3) that they found personnel work distasteful"(46:305). Pollard recently reported the results of a survey of the characteristics of two groups of southern college chief librarians (55:281-84). Several significant differ ences between white and Negro chief librarians were found. The Negroes were younger, had been appointed to chief librarian positions at an earlier age, and had less library experience than the white librarians. Significantly more Negroes held an advanced degree in librarianship, while the white librarians tended to hold a higher proportion of master's degrees in academic subjects (55:282). Non significant differences were noted between white and Negro chief librarians in regard to sex distribution, type of library school attended, and undergraduate major and minor fields of study. Pollard concluded that Negro college chief librarians had prepared for their careers by essen tially the same process as had their white counterparts (55:283). The most recent national survey on special librar ians was conducted by Price Waterhouse and Company for the Special Libraries Association in 1959 (71:133-55). Omitted 37 from the survey were special librarians affiliated with academic, public, and governmental libraries. Data were collected on academic background, duties, positions and salaries from more than 2,100 special librarians from business or government organizations. No information was gathered on the age or the sex of respondents. The find ings showed that one in fen of these respondents worked in a ’’ one-man” library. Fewer than half of the special librarians surveyed reported that they held a degree in librarianship. More than one in ten held an advanced degree in a subject field (71:146). With respect to the number of years of experience in librarianship, over one third had worked in libraries for six or fewer years, in contrast to more than one sixth who had been in the field for more than twenty years (71:143). Leigh (37) conducted a thorough investigation of the characteristics of California librarians at the time when a graduate school of library service was proposed for the Los Angeles campus of the University of California. Questionnaires from almost 2,500, or 75 per cent of the persons then occupying professional library positions in the state, were completed and returned. Significant differences were reported with respect to professional library degrees held by librarians from different types of libraries (37:48). Substantially more academic than public librarians held library science degrees. Age was found to 38 be related to type of library, academic and special librar ians tending to be younger than those employed In public or school libraries (37:43). The median age of women (44 years) was eight years higher than that of the men In the profession In California (37:41). Despite the Intragroup differences noted, Leigh concluded that the California librarians surveyed were fairly representative of the profession as a whole (37:53). In order to determine whether the personality traits generally attributed to the popular stereotype of the librarian had any validity, Douglass investigated the personality characteristics and perceptions of over 500 library science students from seventeen accredited schools during 1947-1948. In addition to a questionnaire, five personality inventories were employed to measure student characteristics. Library science students, he found, were generally in agreement with the layman's image of the librarian. Students perceived librarians as being more introspective, more deferential to authority, more orderly and more conscientious, when asked to compare them with people in general (18:22). In his analysis of the evidence from the personality inventories, Douglass found that the students themselves tended to possess the same traits which they attributed to "other" librarians (18:123). The Douglass study, then, showed some validity in the personal ity factors often attributed to the stereotype of the librarian. Many writers consider the amount of prestige accorded occupations to be related to the proportion of women and men associated with each. Therefore, an exami nation of the percentages of degrees in library science earned by men and women was considered pertinent. Reed, using data compiled by the United States Office of Educa tion, gave comparative figures for the last several years (60:267). Of the total number of library science degrees granted (1,645) during the academic year 1952-53, 363, or 22 per cent were earned by men. During the academic year 1963-64, men earned 693, or 21 per cent of library science degrees, while women earned 2,682, or 79 per cent of the total (3,375) degrees conferred that year. In other words, while almost twice as many men received degrees in librarianship during 1963-64 as in 1952-53, the actual percentage of men to women who earned degrees during this eleven-year period decreased by one per cent. Career Development and Satisfaction Related to Librarianship The factors which influence persons to choose the field of librarianship as a career have been the subject of many studies reported in the literature for well over a quarter of a century. In 1930, the Recruitment Committee of the American 40 Library Association polled 500 librarians and library school students on the factors perceived as most important in their decision to enter librarianship. The findings, dating back some thirty-five years, have been confirmed by more recent studies and appear still valid: (1) the influ ence of an individual— frequently a librarian, often a parent, other relative or teacher--was reported by more than 35 per cent of the respondents, and was the factor reported most frequently as the prime stimulus on their career decision; (2) fewer than 2 per cent of the subjects perceived career literature as an important influence on their career choice (59:165-6). In other words, direct personal contact with a key person who encouraged them to consider librarianship was perceived as being of major importance in vocational choice and career literature was considered to be relatively unimportant as a recruitment factor. Twenty years after the ALA Survey, Skipper polled almost fifty library science students at the University of Michigan regarding their career choice (68:12-14). Factors considered most important in their decision to enter librarianship were: work experience in college libraries, encouragement of college librarians, job opportunities, love of books and reading, the intellectual environment of libraries, the opportunity to serve others, and the oppor tunity to combine librarianship with a major subject field. 41 The choice of librarianship as a career was made In high school by more than one fourth of respondents, while half of the students had made the career decision before enter ing college. The remaining one fourth who eventually entered librarianship more often than not had planned during college on a career in teaching. Gregory investigated the factors perceived to be most important in the vocational choice of over 1,000 employed Illinois librarians (27:183-6). She reported a similar percentage (2 per cent) of her sample influenced by career literature, as was reported earlier in the 1930 Recruitment Committee study (59:165-6). Confirming Skipper's findings, more than half of the Illinois librar ians attributed their career decision to the encouragement given by a librarian. The three factors perceived to have the most important effect on their career choice were "love of books," "work experience in a library," and "interest in people." The four major reasons given for remaining in the library field were: "challenge of the work," "pleasant community relationships," "satisfaction in the routine work," and "satisfaction in giving service." When asked whether, given another chance, they would again choose to become librarians, almost nine out of ten responded affirmatively (27:183-5). Early in the 1950's, another investigation of the reasons given by library school students for becoming a 42 librarian was reported. More than 1,000 students from 36 accredited library schools were polled by a committee from The Association of American Library Schools (5)• Regarding the time of decision to enter librarianship, almost one half of the students made the definite decision before college graduation. More than half of the students had worked in a library prior to entering library school. In order of frequency, the reasons given for entering the field were "love of books and reading,” "opportunity to serve people," "the nature of the work," "work experience in a library," "job opportunities," "personal qualifica tions," and "intellectual stimulation." Reagan9s study of factors that influence college students to become librarians is the most-quoted investiga tion on the subject. Prior to selecting persons for the sample, Reagan identified 51 colleges and universities whose students entered librarianship in relatively large numbers (57:11). Almost 1,000 librarians who were alumni of these institutions comprised the final sample and returned questionnaires. Five major factors were found to be chiefly responsible for influencing respondents in their choice of librarianship: (1) individuals, especially librarians, the most important factor, (2) publicity about librarianship— including exhibits, displays, films, radio, television and career conferences, plus the usual career literature issued on the profession, (3) use of libraries, 43 (4) work experience in libraries, and (3) a course or courses on libraries or library science taken in college and, more often than not, in a teachers college (57:91-2). McCreedy*s more recent study on school librarian ship as a career revealed further evidence of the impor tance of work experience in libraries and the use of libraries as among the major factors in attracting persons to a career in school librarianship (43). The Bryan study of public librarians, in addition to other topics, included a consideration of career devel opment and satisfaction with librarianship. When the respondents categorized as professional librarians were asked why they had chosen librarianship as a career, three major reasons were given: (1) they liked libraries, (2) they liked books, and (3) they liked library work (8:129). Two other reasons given most frequently for entering the field were the opportunities offered for helping people and for personal intellectual growth. Parents and relatives (rather than librarians) were the persons with the most influence on their career choice of librarianship. A third of the professional librarians had definitely decided on librarianship during high school, and more than half had made their career choices upon graduation from college. Two of five had had previous careers in other fields, particularly in teaching (8:120). The prime reason given for leaving previous careers was lack of interest in the 44 ~ occupation, and the next most frequent reason was a feeling of inadequacy or insecurity in their former career (8:116- 28). The median length of full-time employment in librarianship for the professional group was seventeen years (8:79). If faced with another career decision, 75 per cent of the professional group reported they probably or certainly would reselect librarianship as a career, as compared to 57 per cent of the subprofessional group (8:133-4). Bryan noted that those holding the top posi tions tended to be the most satisfied, while women in middle administrative positions were the least satisfied with their library careers (8:147). Bryan discovered, further, that professional librarians preferred the public library to any other type of library. They perceived their work as interesting, satisfying, important and useful to the community (8:148). While the majority of Bryan respondents would encourage their daughters or nieces, women respondents as a group were hesitant to encourage sons or nephews to enter the library field (8:135). The subprofessionals reported that job satisfaction was derived chiefly from the pleasant associations and the working conditions characteristic of their positions (8:148). A 1965 survey of more than 1,000 library school alumni from Columbia University reported by Frarey was concerned primarily with information on current employment (22:1776-81). More than 80 per cent of Columbia's graduates were not actively interested in changing posi tions and therefore it was assumed that at the time this same proportion was reasonably well-satisfied with their positions. The majority of respondents were actually employed in and expressed a preference for academic? research, and public library work (22:1779). Almost one fifth of Columbia's library school alumni preferred, and were also employed in, special libraries. Another 20 per cent were either retired, were working part-time, or were unemployed for a variety of reasons. Librarians8 Perceptions of Librarianship One of the few studies concerned specifically with attitudes of librarians toward librarianship was a master1s thesis completed at Emory University by Thornton (75). In order to measure positive and negative effect associated with librarianship, Thornton developed a Thurstone-type scale, which consisted of 46 selected statements with five response categories on an agree-disagree continuum for each (74). The sample consisted of an equal number of Georgian librarians employed in four different types of libraries: public, school, academic, and special, or 220 in all. Usable replies were received from more than half of the subjects (74:21). Thornton found that librarians' atti tudes toward librarianship varied significantly according \ I 46 to the type of library in which they were employed. The greatest intergroup difference was established between the academic and special librarians, the college and university group revealing a significantly less favorable attitude toward librarianship than librarians from special, school or public libraries (74:23). While limited use of the Thornton scale has been made to date, Emory Division of Librarianship announced that additional use of the scale in other studies was planned (38:355). Mistaras interviewed thirty special librarians in the Chicago area to ascertain their attitudes toward librarianship in general, as well as toward their actual work situation at the time (45). The majority of those interviewed perceived that as librarians, they had little status compared to those in other professions whom they served— chemists, engineers, management, social workers, and the like. They reported that their patrons did not fully understand nor appreciate librarianship as a profes sion, nor its techniques and methodology (45:52). Special librarians, when asked to define librarianship, tended to call it a profession, while describing it in occupational terms, i.e., a "skill" or techniques learned by experience or night school and applied to a subject field (45:43). Almost without exception, a close identification with the organization's aims and objectives was noted in the attitudes of the librarians interviewed (45:42). They considered that their job was important to their firm and their job satisfaction was derived from knowing that they were doing their work well, despite infrequent commendation from their ’’clients” (45:41). While admittedly proud to be special librarians, they looked on themselves as members of a subgroup of their profession as well as their corpora tion— isolated from the mainstream of both. Their isola tion was perceived as due to two main factors: (1) being a professional woman in a firm where most other professionals were men;* (2) being, more often than not, the ’’ only professional librarian” on the staff. Interviewees were inclined to be interested in the practical and technical aspects of their work and their professional activities tended to focus on associations which offered pertinent information on skills and subject matter which could be readily applied to their particular libraries (45:43). The broader and more theoretical aspects of the library profes sion evoked little interest in these respondents (45:53). Mistaras concluded that the special librarians interviewed were more closely allied to the organization for which they worked than to the profession of librarianship in general (45:52). Rossi confirmed this institutional alliance, commenting: *The Mistaras sample included twenty-nine women and one man. 48 It would seem to me to be very difficult for persons In an atomized occupation to resist being assimilated into the ranking systems of such organ izational contexts. Individuals in special service professions generally have a hard time retaining their professional identities when it is clear that they are in ancillary occupations in organizations which have other primary ones at their core. (65:381) Penalosa, in an unpublished study conducted in 1959, investigated librarians' perceptions of the relative social status of their profession (54). The sample included more than 400 library science students and currently employed librarians, who returned usable ques tionnaires. Respondents were asked to rank nine profes sions, including librarianship, according to prestige, usefulness, intellectual ability, morality and income. The overall ratings of the librarianship fell within the low or average range. The prestige ranking given librar ianship was next to the lowest of the nine listed profes sions, higher only than elementary teacher. With respect to income, ministers and librarians tied for last place. Regarding the other three factors (usefulness, intellectual ability, morality) librarians tended to rank their profes sion close to the middle. Penalosa concluded that these librarians perceived their profession "as a rather average one." / 49 Summary In summary, a review of the literature on occupa tional images revealed that studies on prestige rankings of occupations have provided the greatest amount of factual information currently available on the subject. Librar ians, however, have not been included in any known published study on occupational prestige ranking. This vacuum was mentioned previously by Goode (26:307) and by Lancour (36:377). A large body of objective information on career development, including sub-topics of vocational choice, needs and values, and job satisfaction, does not yet exist. However, a trend toward related investigations conducted by research groups offers some assurance that scientific knowledge of career development will increase in quality and quantity. The literature on librarianship revealed several studies on the background and characteristics of library science students and librarians. Several studies were also found on career choice of librarianship. Few inves tigations were found that pertained to satisfaction with librarianship as a career, or to librarians1 perceptions of librarianship. CHAPTER III PROCEDURES AND RESEARCH DESIGN ' The purposes of this study were described in the first chapter to be to (1) investigate librarians1 percep tions of librarianship, (2) study the patterns of librar ians’ career development, and (3) explore the relationship of five variables (geographical location, sex, degree in librarianship, years of library experience, and level of satisfaction with librarianship) to both the perceptions and the career development of librarians. This chapter describes the definition of the popu lation and selection of the sample, the development of the instrument, the satisfaction scale developed, and the statistical procedures employed. Definition of the Population and Selection of the Sample This study was concerned primarily with exploring the profession of librarianship as perceived by urban academic and special librarians who were currently employed in libraries at the time of study. 50 51 It was considered that the active membership lists of the Association of College and Research Libraries Divi sion of the American Library Association (ACRL) and Special Libraries Association (SLA) limited to members from Cook County, Illinois and Los Angeles County, California would constitute an acceptable source for a large number of currently-employed academic, special, and urban librarians. It was further postulated that intergroup comparisons of respondents selected from these sources (1) would be valid for the objectives of the present research. A comparable number of special libraries affiliated with academic and industrial institutions were found to exist in Cook County, Illinois and Los Angeles County, California (10). Therefore, the total population was com posed of the active membership of ACRL and SLA from Cook County, Illinois and Los Angeles County, California. While qualifications for membership vary in some other respects, neither ACRL nor SLA limit membership to those holding degrees in librarianship. According to the American Library Association (ALA), "Personal memberships • • . are open to all those who are or have been employed in library service or related activities . . ." (2:xi). Membership requirements of the Special Libraries Association are more specific and complicated. In essence, however, years of experience, knowledge acquired either 52 formally or informally, and present position held are considered to be equivalent to a degree in librarianship. For the purpose of defining eligibility for membership, all members of SLA have the right to affiliate with one of its thirty-three local chapters and one of fifteen broad subject and form divisions (70). Because neither ACRL nor SLA has geographical divisions based on county boundary lines, active members of these organizations who worked or resided in Cook County, Illinois and Los Angeles County, California were drawn from existing state membership lists, and were con sidered to be librarians for this study. The following member classifications were consid ered to be nonrepresentative of the membership at large and were omitted when it was possible to identify them: (1) full-time library educators (41), (2) members of the clergy or religious orders, and (3) persons in related activities (editing, publishing, library equipment salesmen, etc.). The remaining population was divided into the following groups: (1) ACRL, Cook County members; (2) ACRL, Los Angeles County members; (3) SLA, Cook County members; (4) SLA, Los Angeles County members. One out of every two names in this revised list was selected at random. Development of the Instrument 53 Preparing the Questionnaire Items The items comprising the questionnaire used in this study were developed to obtain information related to three major areas of research concern: 1. Background information. Included were queries on personal and educational history. 2. Career development. Included items relating to the occupational choice of librarianship, value orientations and aspirations, possession of a degree in library science, previous careers, and length of library experience. 3. Satisfaction with librarianship. Twelve items from the questionnaire served as the basis for a satisfaction scale which will be described later• The following paragraphs describe the formulation of items designed to obtain pertinent information. Items are grouped according to their relationship to one of six aspects of career development upon which the hypotheses were based. Questions designed to ascertain the relative impor tance of twenty influences on the decision to become a librarian. What are some of the major factors which attract persons to choose librarianship as a career? If 54 such factors can be identified and ranked in order of their recruitment power, the results could have valid implica tions for the profession. Respondents were asked to indicate whether the twenty "influences” listed were "very important," "rela tively important" or "not important*1 to the decision to enter librarianship: career literature, teachers (elemen tary, secondary, college/university), parents or relatives, librarians (public, school, special, college/university), guidance counselors, use of libraries (public, school, special, college/university), love of books and reading, work experience in a library (public, school, special, college/university), and library school students. Question designed to determine the time period in which the definite decision to become a librarian was made. Granting that the decision to enter an occupation is but the culmination in a life-long process of career develop ment, there is a certain period in life when a definite career choice is determined. Seven time periods related to educational history were provided so that respondents could indicate the appropriate time at which they definitely decided on a career in librarianship: (1) prior to high school, (2) during the first two years of high school, (3) during the last two years of high school, (4) during college, (5) after college: 0-5 years, (6) after college: 55 6-10 years, and (7) after college: over 10 years. The preceding information was gathered to determine whether a correlation exists between being an "early decider" or a "late decider" and the extent of one's satis faction with librarianship. Question constructed to identify personal value orientations held bv respondents. The relative importance assigned to a list of goals or opportunities as aspired to in a hypothetical "ideal" career was used to identify the values held by subjects. Respondents were given a three- way choice in indicating as "very important," "relatively important" or "not important" the following factors as each pertains to an "ideal" career: (1) earning a good salary, (2) personal development, (3) applying professional knowl edge, (4) service, (5) job security, (6) prestige, (7) creativity, and (8) professional advancement. It was assumed that respondents with different value orientations might also differ in the extent of satisfaction with librarianship. Question devised to determine whether a respondent held a degree in librarianship. The question posed to determine whether respondents held a degree in librarian ship was both simple and direct: "Do you have a degree in library science?" The purpose of the item was to make possible a division of the sample into two subgroups: 56 (1) those who held a degree in librarianship, and (2) those who did not hold a degree in librarianship. No further discriminations between the type or level of degree earned in librarianship were made in this investigation, because of the considerable changes in the degree structure of library schools during the occupational span of the older respondents in the sample. It was postulated that those who held a librarian ship degree would differ in career development and in the extent of satisfaction with librarianship from respondents who had not earned a degree in this field. Questions designed to ascertain information on previous careers in other fields. Ginzberg postulated that occupational choice is largely an irreversible process (25:186, 195-6). Is this true, then, that the majority of librarians have entered no other occupations since college? To determine the proportion of respondents who entered librarianship after former careers, and to find out from what fields they came, was information important for recruitment. To obtain the desired information on this subject, the following item was constructed: What careers (other than librarianship) did you enter since college? none First career:__________________ Second careerT ~~ It seemed likely that a difference in extent of 57 satisfaction with librarianship might be shown between respondents who had and those who had not entered a career other than librarianship. Question constructed to determine the number of years respondents had been librarians. It was assumed that librarians1 perceptions of librarianship might differ depending on the length of experience in the field. Respondents, then, were asked to check one of six cate gories in the question: How many years have you been a librarian? 0-1; 2-5; 6-10; 11-15; 16-20; over 20 years It was predetermined that comparisons based on length of experience in librarianship would be made between an equal proportion of respondents identified as most experienced and as least experienced in the field. Construction of the Satisfaction Scale As defined and used throughout this study, librar ians' perceptions of librarianship were based on their immediate judgment of librarianship. The implication was that their reactions to the questionnaire represented general rather than atomistic critiques of the profession. The study was designed primarily to determine the extent of satisfaction with librarianship as expressed by an immediate judgment. It was assumed throughout the study that these librarians' perceptions of librarianship and 58 their expressed extent of satisfaction with librarianship would be analogous. Satisfaction with one's profession implies that the field has fulfilled the aspirations or expectations anticipated and desired from an occupation. In order to measure the extent of satisfaction with librarianship as expressed by the respondents, several items were constructed and tested in a pilot study. Ques tions which were found to distinguish between the one fourth of the group that was least satisfied with librar ianship and the fourth that was most satisfied with librarianship were selected for the satisfaction scale. In order to test the consistency or stability of responses to the questions on satisfaction, twelve ques tions were posed, all of which related either directly or indirectly to career satisfaction. These items were placed on three different pages of the questionnaire as a further check on consistency. The highest possible score on this scale was fifteen points. Items in the Satisfaction Scale As illustrated in Table 1, pages 59 and 60 (items 5, 13, 14), three responses were assigned a two-point weighting, since they were considered to be of prime importance in determining the extent of satisfaction with librarianship. In essence, this trinity asks the same question: "Knowing what you know now about librarianship 59 TABLE 1 THE SATISFACTION SCALE Item Number 5. Of all the careers or professions with which you are acquainted, which would be: your FIRST choice? (if "librarianship") your SECOND choice*? (if ’'librarianship*') 6. Would you encourage your daughter to become a librarian? ("yes") 7. Would you encourage your son to become a librarian? ("yes") 8. What are the occupations of your five closest friends? (if one or more is a librarian) 12. If all of the following professions were ranked according to their prestige by assign ing each a number from "I" through "8" and using: #1 for: the HIGHEST in prestige #8 for: the LOWEST in prestige HOW WOULD YOU RANK THEM? (if "librarian" ranked 1-4) HOW WOULD THE PUBLIC RANK THEM? (if "librarian" ranked 1-4) Chemist College teacher Engineer High school teacher Librarian Nurse Psychologist Social Worker 13. To what extent do you feel that librarianship is a satisfactory career for you? The only satisfactory career Satisfactory but not the only satisfactory career Point Weight 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 TABLE X (continued) THE SATISFACTION SCADS 60 Item Point Number Weight One of several possible satisfactory careers A fairly satisfactory career It has not been a satisfactory career 14. Given a second chance, would you become a a professional librarian again? yes 2 no perhaps 23. What do you find most satisfying about your career as a librarian? {if "librarians” are referred to) 1 (if "librarianship as a profession" is referred to) 1 Given a choice, what type of library and what kind of position would you choose? 25. TYPE OF LIBRARY 26. TYPE OF POSITION College Administration University______________Readers Services School __Circulation Services Public Reference Services Special Technical Services Other: General or variety of duties Other: 27. What type of library and what kind of library position describes your current career? TYPE OF LIBRARY (when same as checked in 25) 1 TYPE OF POSITION_(when same as checked in 26) 1 Total maximum point weight 15 61 as a career, would you choose it again?*1 It was believed that the most positive (or two-point) responses to these queries would tend to divide respondents into two groups: (1) those who would voluntarily and unhesitatingly re-enter the profession of librarianship, and (2) those who may have entered the field through chance, or who may not have known much about the work, or who remain in the field involun tarily for motives other than job satisfaction. Several questions in the satisfaction scale were **people-oriented,*’ Would librarians tend to encourage their children to enter the profession? (Items 6 and 7J Do librarians tend to prefer or avoid members of their profession as social companions? (Item 8.) Are the interpersonal relationships or the professional activities two of the most satisfying aspects of librarianship? (Item 23.) When confronted with the task of ranking eight professions including librarianship according to prestige, do respondents perceive librarians as ranking closer to the top or the lower half? (Item 12.) For comparisons based on prestige rankings with librarians, seven other emerging professions that showed a variance in level and length of professional training of its members were chosen ( 6) . It was postulated that, when given a choice, the most satisfied librarians were most likely to be the ones who preferred the type of library and the type of position 62 in which they were actually engaged at the time of study. When aspiration and actuality coincided as measured by the hypothetical reselection of the same type of library and/or position, each coincidence was credited with one point on the scale. The above items were devised to evaluate satis faction as related to the type of library and the type of position (Items 25 and 26). The actual items included in the satisfaction scale are presented in Table 1, and responses which are credited with a point weight are identified. Pilot Study To assist in refining and validating the items con structed, a pilot study was conducted by mailing a prelim inary questionnaire to forty currently-employed academic, public, school and special librarians in one city in Los Angeles County during the first week in April, 1965. An analysis of the responses led to the revision, rejection and addition of items. Mailing and Follow-up of the Final Questionnaire During the month of August, 1965, a printed explan atory letter, the questionnaire (in duplicate) and a stamped postcard addressed to the investigator, in the event respondents desired a summary of the study, were mailed to subjects. A month later, a postcard was sent to all subjects who had not returned the initial postcard containing their name and address, the only means of identifying whether or not an individual had returned the questionnaire. Prior to the September follow-up, 60 per cent of the respondents had returned questionnaires. Within two weeks after this reminder, another 5 per cent had responded. By the end of December, at least an acknowledg ment had been received from 80 per cent of the population. Thirty per cent of the original sample of 455 did not participate in the study. Of this percentage, one fifth failed to reply. Despite the anonymity of the ques tionnaire, some nonrespondents were tentatively identified as having moved from the area, being employed in related activities, deceased, or being full-time students with no library experience. Another 5 per cent acknowledged receipt of the questionnaire but were unable to participate for a variety of personal reasons: illness, lack of time, contemplated job change. Unusable questionnaires were returned by another 5 per cent, the majority of which were considered too incomplete to be included in the data. Table 2 presents a detailed summary of the selec tion of the sample and the percentage of usable returns on which the analysis of data was based. 64 TABLE 2 SELECTIVITY OF THE SAMPLE AS INDICATED BY THE PERCENTAGE OF USABIE RETURNS OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE Number Usable Per Mailed Returns Cent 1. Total number selected for the sample (1) Association of College and Research Libraries Members (a Division of the American Library Association) (ACRL) (a) Cook County members (b) Los Angeles County members (2) Special Libraries Associa tion (SLA) Illinois Chapter and Southern California Chapter members from 455 320 70 189 142 75 99 73 74 90 69 76 (a^ Cook County Los Angeles County 2. Total number selected by Counties (a) Cook County (b) Los Angeles County 121 74 61 145 104 71 455 320 70 220 147 67 235 173 73 65 Method of Analyzing the Data It was postulated that five variables may represent determinants of differences in the career development and in the librarianship perceptions of the respondents. These five variables were designated as (a) extent of satisfac- tion with librarianship, (b) geographical locale, (c) sex, (d) possession of a library science degree, and, (e) years of library experience. It was further postulated that these variables could be used to divide the sample into ten subgroups for purposes of comparison in analyzing the career development of librarians and their perceptions of the librarianship. Extent of Satisfaction with Librarianship In order to identify and compare those who are least satisfied and those who are most satisfied with librarianship, a satisfaction scale (described earlier in this chapter) was designed and used to select the one fourth of the group that was least satisfied and the one fourth that was most satisfied. Geographical Locale Do librarians working in different parts of the country tend to differ in patterns of career development and in their perceptions of librarianship? In order to consider this question, separate samples were drawn from 66 two large metropolitan areas: (1) Cook County, Illinois, and (2) Los Angeles County, California. Sex Do the men and the women in librarianship have a different perception of their profession? Is there a recognizable pattern in career development which can be related to the sex of the librarian? Although no attempt to select subjects according to sex was made, once the usable returns were identified, the sample was divided according to the sex of the respondents. Possession of a Library Science Degree Education for librarianship has changed consider ably during the professional careers of many currently- employed librarians. With this in mind, one criterion employed to divide the sample was the possession of a degree in library science or its equivalent. One subgroup was composed of all respondents who had earned either an undergraduate or a graduate degree in librarianship, an undergraduate degree with a major in librarianship, or a certificate in librarianship for a one-year postgraduate program. The other subgroup included all respondents not included in the former group. 67 Years of Library Experience That differences between neophytes and experienced librarians regarding career development and perceptions toward librarianship can be found was considered logical. One fourth of the respondents were shown to have had no more than five years of library experience; they were cate gorized as the least experienced group. Another fourth of the respondents had had at least twenty years of library experience; they formed the most experienced group. Statistical Procedures The main purpose in analyzing the data was to determine whether the responses would support or refute the hypotheses. A secondary purpose for the analysis was to ascertain the extent of intergroup differences in patterns of career development and in perceptions of librarianship. It was postulated that evidence derived from intergroup analysis would furnish additional information pertaining to each hypothesis. Tests of Significance of Differences The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used in the analy sis of the data to determine whether the responses given to the same item by participants from two different subgroups would differ significantly from chance expectation (67:12). 68 The Spearman Rank Order Correlation method was also used to measure the extent of agreement between variables, such as the extent of satisfaction with librarianship and the per ceived importance of selected factors in influencing career decisions (28:285-8). Electronic Data Processing The facilities of the Western Data Processing Center, University of California at Los Angeles, were employed in the analysis of the questionnaire data. The statistical computations were performed by the IBM-709 at the Center. A prewritten program, Questionnaire Analysis Program-4 (QUAP-4), served as the guide for the format used in coding the raw data for punching onto Hollerith cards for machine calculations. QUAP-4 provided several statis tical analysis formats for questionnaire data which were used in the study: frequency counts, means, and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (79). One other program using Fortran IV was written in order to obtain certain calcula tions required for the satisfaction scale.* The latter program was written to conform with the User*s Manual provided by the Center (80). *Mr. James Johnston programed the scale for this study. 69 Data Analysis Related to the Hypotheses of the Study In this section the statistical tools used to analyze each hypothesis are discussed briefly. Hypothesis 1. There is no relationship between the relative importance of influences on the decision to become a librarian and the degree of satisfaction with librarianship. In addition to applying the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to the comparisons between the least-satisfied and the most-satisfied groups, the Spearman Rank Order Correlation method was used to determine the extent of agreement between pairs of subgroups on the influences considered to be important to the decision to enter librarianship. Hypothesis 2. There is no relationship between the time o£ decision to become a librar ian and the degree of satisfaction ' with librarianship^ The hypothesis was checked for the total group and the least-satisfied and the most-satisfied groups. The eight other subgroups categorized by county, sex, degree in librarianship and length of library experience were com pared regarding the time the definite decision to become a librarian was made. Frequency distributions by number and per cent are shown in tabular form for the total group and subgroups so that intergroup differences can be noted. Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests were used to determine whether the proportion of librarians deciding to enter this field at 70 three different time periods— before, during and after college--differed significantly from chance. Hypothesis 2 was supported if no significant difference was found between the least-satisfied and the most-satisfied groups regarding the time the decision to become a librarian was made. Hypothesis 3. There is no relationship between personal value orientations ancf" the degree of satisfaction with librarianship. The Spearman Rank Order Correlation coefficients were calculated and applied in the same manner as was described in the first hypothesis. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was also employed to determine the significance of group differences. Significant levels of agreement and differences were described. Omitted from the final tabular presentation were the rankings of personal values by sub groups categorized by county and degree in librarianship, because no significant differences were found when compari sons were analyzed. Hypothesis 4. There is no difference in the degree of satisfaction with librarianship between librarians who hold or who lack a degree in library science."" The hypothesis was applied to subgroups categorized by the possession or lack of a degree in librarianship. The satisfaction scale (previously described) was used to classify two groups: subgroup that was least satisfied and the subgroup that was most satisfied with librarianship. Frequency distributions and percentages were presented. The formula used to determine the signifi cance of differences between percentages was as follows: P1 “ P2 CR - ■ - SDp . p P1 2 n i~i P Q — + — U N 1 + n2J where SD^ „ « F1 ' 2 ^ N. P1 + N« P9 and ---- and Q - 100 - P This formula was also applied to responses from the eight other groups. Hypothesis 5. There is no difference in the degree of satisfaction with librarianship between librarians with or without previous careers in other fields. The same formula used for the fourth hypothesis was used here to determine the significance of differences between percentages. Hypothesis 6. There is no relationship between years of experience in librarian- ship and degree of satisfaction with librarianship. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was applied as previ ously described for former hypotheses. Subgroups catego rized by years of experience were formulated so that the fourth of the group that was least experienced and the fourth that was most experienced could be compared, once identified. The hypothesis was upheld if no correlation was found between length of library experience and extent of satisfaction with librarianship. CHAPTER IV PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE FINDINGS An analysis o£ the data representing the responses of the sample of librarians to the special instrument developed for this research is presented in this chapter. The data have been analyzed primarily in relation to the extent of satisfaction with librarianship and to six aspects of career development. These aspects, each of which serves as a focal point for one of the major hypoth eses of the study, are: 1. Influences on the decision to become a librarian. 2. Time of decision to become a librarian. 3. Personal value orientations. 4. Possession of a degree in librarianship. 5. Previous careers in other fields. 6. Years of experience in librarianship. Subgroup comparisons and related data are summa rized within sections devoted to each of the six aspects of career development investigated. The data on perceptions 73 74 of librarianship as measured by the satisfaction scale are presented first in every instance. Data on other sub groups— categorized by geographical locale, sex, possession of a degree in librarianship, and years of experience in librarianship--are presented following the data on the least-satisfied and the most-satisfied subgroups to contribute additional information about librarians' percep tions of librarianship and career development. In addition, a number of topics which are directly related to librarians' perceptions of librarianship and which were included in the satisfaction scale, are tested. These include findings related to prestige rankings of professions, to reselection of librarianship as a career, to the extent of perceived career satisfaction with librar ianship, and to the results obtained on the satisfaction scale by subgroup membership. Description of the Subgroups It was hypothesized that significant differences in perceptions of librarianship and career development would be found between respondents who also differed according to: (1) extent of satisfaction with librarianship, (2) geographical locale, (3) sex, (4) possession of a degree in librarianship, and (5) years of experience in librarian ship. Two subgroups were defined for each of the five variables, thus producing ten subgroups which served as 75 bases for an analysis of the data, A description of the subgroups follows. Subgroups Based on Ead&ent <of»»Satisfaction with Librarianship The satisfaction scale, described in Chapter III, was developed to identify the fourth of the total sample considered to be least satisfied and the fourth, most satisfied with librarianship. Fifteen points was the high est possible score in this scale. Least-satisfied subgroup. Twenty-seven per cent of the total sample formed the subgroup classified as the "least satisfied" group, i.e., those who scored five or fewer points on the satisfaction scale. Most-satisfied subgroup. The subgroup categorized as "most satisfied" consisted of the 26 per cent of the total sample who scored ten or more points on the satis faction scale. Subgroups Divided by Geographical Locale The original sample was drawn from the active mem bers of the ACRL Division of the American Librarian Association and the Illinois and Southern California chapters of the Special Libraries Association. The sample was further delimited to those members who worked or resided in Cook County, Illinois or Los Angeles County, 76 California. Approximately one half of the active members from each of the two counties were included in the sample. Cook County subgroup. The Cook County subgroup comprised 46 per cent of the persons in the final sample. This group represents 67 per cent of the total number, drawn randomly to constitute the original sample from this Illinois county. Los Angeles County subgroup. The Los Angeles County subgroup comprised 54 per cent of the persons in the final sample. Usable returns were received from 73 per cent of the persons in the randomized sample to whom questionnaires had been mailed. Subgroups Based on Sex No attempt was made in the original sampling process to select subjects according to sex. Once the usable returns were identified, however, the final sample was divided according to the sex of the respondents. Two respondents failed to indicate their sex. Men as a subgroup. One third of the respondents in the final sample were men. Women as a subgroup. Two thirds of the persons comprising the final sample were women. 77 Subgroups Classified by the Possession of a Degree in Librarianship The population was divided into two subgroups: those who lacked a degree in librarianship and those who held a degree or its equivalent in librarianship. Respondents with no degree in librarianship. In the final sample, 22 per cent of the respondents made up the "nondegreed in librarianship” subgroup. Respondents with a degree in librarianship. About four fifths of all respondents in this study held a degree in librarianship. Criteria for inclusion in this subgroup were completion of any one of the following programs in librarianship: an undergraduate degree with a major in library science, a postgraduate certificate in library 7 - science, a professional bachelor's degree in librarianship, or a graduate degree in librarianship. Subgroups Categorized According to Years of Library Experience In the analysis of the data, respondents with less than average experience and those with more than average experience in the field were selected to form two sub groups . Least-experienced subgroup. The least-experienced subgroup included respondents who had had five or fewer 78 years of library experience. This subgroup included approximately one fourth of the final sample. Most-experienced subgroup. The most-experienced subgroup was composed of respondents who had had more than twenty years of library experience. This subgroup, too, comprised about one fourth of the sample. Summary As is illustrated in Table 3, five variables were used to formulate ten subgroups in order to compare respondents who differed according to these variables: (1) extent of satisfaction with librarianship, (2) geo graphical locale, (3) sex, (4) possession of a degree in librarianship, and (5) years of experience in librarian ship. All respondents in the study were included in one of two subgroups based on: (1) geographical locale, (2) sex, and (3) possession of a degree in librarianship. At least half of the total sample was represented in the two subgroups composed of the fourth of the sample that was least satisfied, and the fourth that was most satisfied with librarianship. Subgroups selected on the basis of years of experience also included half of the final sample: the fourth with the least experience, and the fourth with the most experience in librarianship. 79 TABLE 3 NUMBER AND PER CENT OF THE TOTAL SAMPLE REPRESENTED IN TEN SUBGROUPS AS BASED ON FIVE VARIABLES Variables and Subgroups Number Per Cent Satisfaction with Librarianship Least satisfied 88 27 Most satisfied 85 26 Geographical Locale Cook County, Illinois 147 46 Los Angeles County, California 173 54 Men 106 33 Women 212 66 Degree in Librarianship Nondegreed 71 22 Degreed 249 78 Years of Experience in Librarianship Least experienced (5 years or fewer) 80 25 Most experienced (20+ years) 79 25 TOTAL GROUP 320 100 aTwo respondents failed to indicate sex. 80 The Relative Importance of Selected Influences on the Decision to Become a Librarian This section is concerned with identification of the influences that were of major or minor importance in choosing the career of librarianship, as perceived by the respondents. The findings reported were based on evaluations checked by the respondents in reply to Question 9 of Part I of the questionnaire: "How important were the following as influences on your decision to enter librarianship?" Respondents were asked to check "very important" or "rela tively important" or "not important" with respect to twenty listed influences that might have affected their choice of career. These twenty influences are shown in rank order of importance in the discussion of the subgroups that follows. Hypothesis 1. There is no relationship between the relative importance of: influences on the decision to become a librarian and the degree of satisfaction with llbrarlansElp. ----------------- Table 4 presents a rank-order listing of the impor tance of twenty possible influences on the decision to enter librarianship, as perceived by the least-satisfied and the most-satisfied subgroups. While the subgroups were in complete agreement in their choice of the four most important motivating factors on their career selection, they differed significantly in the extent of importance attributed to some of the other influences. 81 TABLE 4 RANKINGS OF INFLUENCES ON THE DECISION TO ENTER LIBRARIANSHIP, ACCORDING TO LEAST-SATISFIED AND MOST-SATISFIED SUBGROUPS Least Satisfied Most Satisfied Group: 88 Group: 85 Influences Average Rating Rank Average Rating Rank Love of books and reading 1.31 1 1.48 1 Use of college/university libraries .90 a 2 1.28 a 2 Use of public libraries .74 b 3 1.04 b 3 College/university librarians .63 4 .78 4 Use of school libraries .53 5 .41 8 Work experience in college/ university libraries .51 b 6 .73 b 5 Work experience in special libraries .34 7 .26 12.5 Public librarians .32 b 9 .58 b 6.5 Work experience in public libraries .32 b 9 .58 b 6.5 Use of special libraries .32 9 .24 15 Parents and relatives .30 11 .39 9 Work experience in school libraries .28 12 .21 16.5 College/university teachers .27 13 .36 10 School librarians .24 14 .26 12.5 Library school students .22 15 .27 11 Special librarians .18 16 .25 14 Guidance counselors .15 17 .12 19 Career literature .14 18 .13 18 Secondary teachers .10 19 .21 16.5 Elementary teachers .05 20 .07 20 Sum of the ratings Mean rating 7.85 .39 Spearman Rank rs " 9.65 .48 Correlation .89 Significant at .0005 level Significant at .05 level. 82 In all but five instances, the most-satisfied group rated each influence as being more important than did the least-satisfied group. The greatest divergence (at the .0005 level of statistical significance) proved to be the "use of college and university libraries,*' with the most satisfied allocating this factor much more emphasis as a stimulus in their career choice than did the least satis fied. The four other influences rated more important (at the .05 level) by the most satisfied were ’’ use of public libraries,” ’ ’ work experience in college and university libraries,” ’’ public librarians,” and ’’ work experience in public libraries.” Further, ’’ use of libraries” (academic, public and school) was ranked among the eight most important factors as an influence on the career choice. Also, academic and public librarians were perceived as more influential in the decision-making process than were special and school librarians. Further agreement between least-satisfied and most- satisfied groups pertained to factors rated least important as motivating forces on career decisions: ’’ elementary teachers,” ’’career literature,” ’’ guidance counselors,” and "secondary teachers.” The Spearman Rank Order Correlation shows the amount of agreement between the least-satisfied and the most-satisfied groups to be represented by a coefficient 83 of .89— significant beyond the .01 level. The rankings represent the twenty reported influences on decisions to enter librarianship. Since the Spearman correlation between the rankings representing the relative importance of influences per ceived as affecting the decision to become a librarian, as assigned by the most-satisfied and least-satisfied groups is highly significant, the hypothesis of no overall differ ence between these groups is supported by the data. Influences Relating to the Decision to Enter Librarianship. According to Other Subgroups Geographical locale. Comparisons of responses when respondent subgroups were divided on the basis of geo graphic locale showed nonsignificant differences between Cook County and Los Angeles County respondents regarding the factors that influenced the decision to enter librar ianship. Comparison of subgroups bv sex. As is illustrated in Table 5, a high amount of agreement was found between men and women in the rankings they assigned to the factors which had influenced their decisions to enter the library field. The Spearman correlation coefficient was .92, highly significant beyond the .01 level. Almost complete consensus occurred in ranking the seven most important and 84 TABLE 5 RANKINGS OF INFLUENCES ON DECISION TO ENTER LIBRARIANSHIP, BY SEX Men: 106 Women: 212 Influences Average Rating Rank Average Rating Rank Love of books and reading 1.34 a 1 1.49 1 Use of college/university libraries 1.15 a 2 .97 2 Use of public libraries .89 3 .86 3 College/university librarians 00 . 4 .62 4 Work experience in college/ university libraries .63 5 .61 5 Use of school libraries .42 6 .50 6.5 Public librarians .41 7.5 .48 8 College/university teachers .41 7.5 .35 11.5 Work experience in public libraries .31 a 9 .50 6.5 Use of special libraries .29 10 .25 15 Work experience in special libraries .27 11 .39 10 Special librarians .23 12.5 .28 13.5 Library school students .23 12.5 .22 16 Parents and relatives .21 14 .40 9 School librarians .20 15 .28 13.5 Work experience in school libraries .16 a 16 .35 11.5 Secondary teachers .11 17.5 .20 17 Guidance counselors .11 17.5 .15 18 Career literature .10 19 .13 19 Elementary teachers .02 20 .07 20 Spearman Rank Correlation rs - Significant at .05 level. .05 value « .42. the four least Important Influences. Despite this high index of overall agreement, some significant differences between the sex groups did appear. For example, the men's ratings of "use of college and university libraries" were significantly higher (.05 level) than those of the women. On the other hand, the women believed that three of the influences had been more impor tant than did the men (the differences being significant at the .05 level): "love of books and reading," "work experi ence in public libraries," and "work experience in school libraries." Comparison of the Nondegreed and Degreed in Librarianship The most significant differences in the rankings assigned to motivational factors on career choice between respondents holding librarianship degrees and those without such degrees were related to special libraries and special librarians (see Table 6). Significant at the .0005 level was the indicated difference concerning "work experience in special librar ies," the nondegreed group perceiving it to be much more important as a stimulant to career choice than did those holding a degree in the field. "Special librarians" (.005 level) and "use of special libraries" (.05 level) were shown to have significantly greater importance to those who lacked the professional degree. 86 TABLE 6 RANKINGS OF INFLUENCES ON THE DECISION TO ENTER LIBRARIANSHIP, ACCORDING TO SUBGROUPS WHO HELD OR LACKED A DEGREE IN LIBRARIANSHIP Nondegreed Group: 71 Degreed Group: 249 Influences Average Rating Rank Average Rating Rank Love of books and reading 1.27 1 1.48 1 Work experience in special libraries .83 a 2 .21 a 14 Use of college/university libraries .77 3 1.10 2 Use of public libraries .62 4 .94 3 Special librarians .55 b 5 .18 b 17 Use of special libraries .48 b 6 .20 d 15 Use of school libraries .40 7 .49 7 College/university librarians .38 c 8 .83 c 4 Work experience in public libraries .37 9 .46 8 Work experience in college/ university libraries .32 d 10 .70 d 5 College/university teachers .30 11 .39 9 Public librarians .28 12 .50 6 Parents and relatives .27 13 .35 10 Work experience in school libraries .20 14.5 .31 11 School librarians .20 14.5 .27 12 Career literature .14 16 .12 19 Guidance counselors .13 17 .14 18 Library school students .11 18 .25 13 Secondary teachers .08 19 .19 16 Elementary teachers .06 20 .05 20 Spearman Rank Correlation Significant at .0005 level. Significant at .005 level. C.Q1 value: .54 So5 value: .42 87 The findings indicate that respondents who held degrees in librarianship were influenced to a significantly greater extent by ’’college and university librarians” (.01 level), and by "work experience in college and university libraries” (.05 level) than were those who did not possess such a degree at the time. Despite the significant differences noted, the overall rankings assigned the twenty influences by respond ents with and without library science degrees showed a moderate amount of correlation (.61 by the Spearman coeffi cient) . Subgroups categorized by a librarianship degree agreed more often than chance in their evaluation of most factors affecting their decisions to become librarians. Comparison of the Least and Most Experienced Groups As illustrated in Table 7, when comparisons were made between least-experienced and most-experienced librarians, three differences significant at the .05 level were revealed in the motivational importance attributed to influences on the choice of career. In each instance, the factor was rated more important by the most experienced subgroup: "work experience in college and university libraries,” "work experience in a public library,” and "parents and relatives." Librarians who differed on the basis of length of experience were consistently similar in their evaluations 88 TABLE 7 RANKINGS AND AVERAGE RATINGS OF INFLUENCES ON DECISION TO ENTER LIBRARIANSHIP, BY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN LIBRARIANSHIP Least Most Experienced Experienced Group: 80 Group: 79 Influences Average Average Rating Rank Rating Rank Love of books and reading 1.53 1 1.42 1 Use of college/university libraries .90 2 .99 2 Use of public libraries .80 3 .90 3 College/university librarians .61 4 .72 4 Use of school libraries .43 5 .43 9.5 Work experience college/ university libraries .40 a 6.5 .65 5 Public librarians .40 6.5 .53 7 Work experience in public libraries .35 a 8.5 .56 6 College/university teachers .35 8.5 .43 9.5 Work experience in special libraries .30 10 .30 13 Special librarians .26 11 .11 17 Parents and relatives .25 a 12.5 .52 8 Use of special libraries .25 12.5 .22 14 Library school students .25 12.5 .16 15.5 Work experience in school libraries .20 15 .38 11 School librarians .18 16 .37 12 Secondary teachers .16 17 .16 15.5 Career literature .14 18 .08 19 Guidance counselors .10 19 .10 18 Elementary teachers .09 20 .01 20 Spearman Rank Correlation Significant at .05 level .05 value = .42. 1,11 n~m— mi-in' - u u g - M ■ 89 of the influences that led to choosing librarianship as a career. The Spearman correlation of .89 reveals a high degree of agreement beyond the .01 level. Summary Analysis of librarians9 responses concerning the importance of twenty listed influences on their choice of career revealed remarkable unanimity that "love of books and reading" was the most important influence in their decisions. The "use of college and university libraries" was ranked almost unanimously as the second most important influence. The factors considered to be of least importance in affecting the choice of librarianship as a career were also found to be strikingly similar. All subgroups indi cated the unimportance of elementary and secondary teachers, career literature, and guidance counselors as influences on the decision to become a librarian. The most significant differences in the importance attributed to influences on the career choice of librarian ship occurred when comparisons were made between respond ents who held' a library degree and those who lacked a library degree, regarding their perceptions of special librarians and special libraries. Participants who did not hold a degree in librarianship perceived special librarians and special libraries as having been considerably more 90 important in attracting them to the field than did the participants who held a library degree. As is shown in Table 8, for the group as a whole, the five factors of greatest influence in their choice of librarianship as a career were: "love of books and read ing," "use of academic libraries," "use of public librar ies," "academic librarians," and *Vork experience in academic libraries." These findings tend to confirm the results of earlier studies of the major factors which attracted persons to a library career as reported by Reagan (57: 91-2), McCreedy (43), Bryan (8:129), and many others. Time of Decision to Become a Librarian One factor which was considered to be of importance in the investigation of the perceptions of librarians on librarianship was the point at which the decision was made to become a librarian. This "time of decision" was the first question in the questionnaire: "When did you defi nitely decide to become a librarian?" Possible responses included the time before entering high school, during high school, during college, or three time periods after completing college. The findings pertaining to this ques tion are presented in Tables 9 through 15, and are inter preted in this section. 91 TABLE 8 RANKINGS OF INFLUENCES ON DECISION TO ENTER LIBRARIANSHIP, ACCORDING TO THE TOTAL GROUP Influences Total Group: Average Rating 320 Rank Love of books and reading 1.43 1 Use of college/university libraries 1.03 2 Use of public libraries .87 3 College/university librarians Work experience in college/university .70 4 libraries .62 5 Use of school libraries .47 6 Public librarians .45 7 Work experience in public libraries .44 8 College/university teachers .37 9 Work experience in special libraries .35 10 Parents and relatives .33 11 Work experience in school libraries .28 12 Special librarians .26 13.5 Use of special libraries .26 13.5 School librarians .25 15 Library school students .22 16 Secondary teachers .17 17 Guidance counselors .14 18 Career literature .12 19 Elementary teachers .05 20 92 Hypothesis 2. There is no relationship between the time of decision to become a librarian and the degree of satisfaction with librarianshljT: As revealed by the data in Table 9, the least- satisfied and the most-satisfied subgroups did not differ significantly regarding the time when they made a definite decision to become a librarian. About one out of ten made their vocational choice before college. More than one fourth had definitely decided on librarianship during college. More than one half of the least-satisfied and an equal proportion of the most-satisfied subgroups delayed their definite decision to become a librarian until after college. The hypothesis as stated is tenable, since no evidence of a significant relationship between the time at which librarianship was chosen as a career and the extent of satisfaction with librarianship was indicated by the analysis. Time of Decision to Enter Librarianship According to Other Subgroups Comparison of respondents from Cook County and Los Angeles County. Cook County respondents reported signifi cantly more career decisions to enter librarianship made during college than did respondents from Los Angeles County (.01 level), as is seen in Table 10. Conversely, 93 TABLE 9 TIME OF DECISION TO BECOME A LIBRARIAN, ACCORDING TO LEAST-SATISFIED AND MOST-SATISFIED SUBGROUPS Time of Decision Least Satisfied Group: 88 Most Satisfied Group: 85 Number Per Cent Number Per Cent Before college 9 10 9 11 During college 25 28 29 3* After college: 54 62 44 52 0-5 years after college 28 33 23 27 6-10 years after college 6 7 6 7 10+ years after college 19 22 15 18 Othera 3 3 Totals 88 100 85 100 No significant differences found between least-satisfied and most-satisfied subgroups. decisions made after high school by respondents who did not attend college. f 94 TABLE 10 TIME OF DECISION TO BECOME A LIBRARIAN, ACCORDING TO RESPONDENTS FROM COOK COUNTY AND LOS ANGELES COUNTY Cook County 147 Los Angeles County 173 Time of Decision Number Per Cent Number Per Cent After high school and no college 2 1 4 2 Before college 17 12 20 12 During college 58 40a 39 23a After college: 69 47a 110 64a 0-5 years after college 38 26 53 31 6-10 years after college 12 8 19 11 10+ years after college 19 13 38 22 No answer 1 0 Totals 147 100 173 101 Significant at the .01 level. 95 significantly (.01 level) more respondents from California than from Illinois decided on the library field after com pleting college. Nonsignificant differences were found in county comparisons based on decisions made prior to attend ing college. However, comparisons based on county groups show the overall differences in the time at which librar ianship was chosen as a vocation to be significant at the .01 level. Comparison of men as a group and women as a group. Significantly more women than men arrived at their career decision before entering college (.01 level), as is shown in Table 11. Although a higher proportion of men than women decided on careers in the library field during and after college, the difference proved to be nonsignificant. The overall differences between men and women in the time that librarianship was chosen as a career were surprisingly small, and were too similar to be of signif icance (.10). Comparison of respondents who held and who lacked a librarianship degree. Respondents who possessed a degree in librarianship were almost twice as likely (.01 level) to have decided on this career during college as those who did not hold this degree, as is shown in Table 12. The most significant difference (.01 level) was found in the career decisions made more than ten years after leaving college: 96 TABLE 11 TIME OF DECISION TO BECOME A LIBRARIAN, ACCORDING TO MEN AS A GROUP AND WOMEN AS A GROUP Men: 106 Women: 212 Time of Decision Per Per Number Cent Number Cent After high school and no college 0 0 6 3 Before college 3 3a 34 16' During college 38 36 58 28 After college: 65 61 113 53 0-5 years after college 34 32 57 27 6-10 years after college 15 14 15 7 10+ years after college 16 15 41 19 No answer 1 0 Totals 106 100 212 100 Significant at the .01 level. 97 * TABIE 12 TIME OF DECISION TO BECOME A LIBRARIAN, ACCORDING TO RESPONDENTS WHO HELD AND WHO LACKED A DEGREE IN LIBRARIANSHIP Degree in Librarianship 249 No Degree in Librarianship 71 Time of Decision Number Per Cent Number Per Cent After high school and no college 0 0 5 7 Before college 32 13 5 7 During college 84 34a 13 19a After college: 132 53b 47 67b 0-5 years after college 77 31 14 20 6-10 years after college 22 9 9 13 10+ years after college 33 13a 24 34a No answer 1 0 1 1 Totals 249 100 71 101 Significant at the .01 level. Significant at the .05 level. 98 13 per cent of the degreed compared to 34 per cent of those with no degree in librarianship. Comparison of the least-experienced and the most- experienced subgroups. A significant (.01 level) trend for the least-experienced, librarians to have delayed their career choices until several years after receiving the baccalaureate degree is seen in the data summarized in Table 13. For the three main periods of decision, a significant difference (.01) is shown between the least- experienced and the most-experienced respondents. A major ity of respondents with over twenty years of experience in the field had decided on librarianship as a career either before or during college. Almost 80 per cent of those with five or fewer years in the profession had not decided to become librarians until after college. Summary Differences between subgroups regarding the time of decision to become a librarian are revealed in Table 14. No important differences were found between the least- satisfied and the most-satisfied groups, nor between men as a group and women as a group as to the time of vocational choice. However, when respondents were compared by sub group membership based on whether or not they held a degree in librarianship, and on length of library experience, according to the time of career decision, highly 99 TABLE 13 TIME OF DECISION TO BECOME A LIBRARIAN, ACCORDING TO THE LEAST EXPERIENCED AND THE MOST EXPERIENCED IN LIBRARIANSHIP Least Experienced in Librarianship 80 Most Experienced in Librarianship 79 Time of Decision Number Per Cent Number Per Cent After high school and no college 0 0 1 1 Before college 2 2a 14 » - * 00 During college 16 20a 32 41a After college: 62 78a 31 40a 0-5 years after college 27 34 21 27 6-10 years after college 12 15 4 5 10+ years after college 23 29 6 8 No answer 0 0 1 1 Totals 80 100 79 101 Significant well beyond the .01 level. 100 TABLE 14 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SUBGROUPS REGARDING THE TIME OF DECISION TO BECOME A LIBRARIAN Subgroups Compared on on* « Time of Decision to a Group Making Earlier Become a Librarian Level Decision Least and most satisfied with .800 b librarianship Cook County and Los Angeles County .01 Cook County respondents Men and women .10 b Nondegreed and degreed in .0005 nSrSrJ Library Science Library Science Least and most . experienced in .0005 ^libS^ianshin librarianship in librarianship aObtained from Kolmogorov-Smirnov teats ^Nonsignificant differences. 101 significant differences were found. Earlier decisions were made by those who held a degree and by those who had been in library work for more than twenty years when compared to those who lacked a degree in librarianship and who had been in the field for no more than five years. Librarianship as a career was chosen significantly earlier in life by those who completed a degree program in the field than by those who did not hold a degree in librarianship. Evidence of a strong trend to delay the choice of librarianship until after college is shown when those with least and with most experience were compared. The analysis of the findings indicated that respondents were relatively late in deciding on librarian ship as a career. More than half did not make the career choice until after college, almost a third decided on the career field during college, while about one tenth decided on library work either prior to or during high school. Among those who postponed their decision until after col lege, 18 per cent did not definitely choose to become librarians for at least ten years after college graduation, as is shown in Table 15. Librarianship as a profession, it appears, tends to attract the mature person, to be less attractive to college students, and to be least attractive to pre-college students. 102 TABLE 15 TIME OF DECISION TO ENTER LIBRARIANSHIP, ACCORDING TO THE TOTAL GROUP Total Group: 320 Time of Decision Number Per Cent After high school and no college 6 2 Before college 37 12 During college 97 30 After college: 179 57 0-5 years after college 91 29 6-10 years after college 31 10 10+ years after college 57 18 No answer 1 0 Totals 320 101 Personal Value Orientations 103 In order to discover the value orientations and aspirations which librarians desired from a career, the following question was asked (question 11 of Part I of the questionnaire): "Below is a list of goals which might be considered in the 'ideal' career. To what extent would each goal be important to you?" Respondents were asked to indicate whether each of the eight goals was "very impor tant," "relatively important," or "not important." The findings relating to their replies are presented in tabular form and interpreted in this section. Hypothesis 3. There is no relationship between personal value orientations and~ the degree of satisfaction with librarianship. Although it had been considered quite possible that the least-satisfied and the most-satisfied subgroups would differ significantly in aspirations and goals desired from an "ideal" career, only one significant difference was found. According to the importance assigned to eight per sonal values (see Table 16), the most-satisfied group considered "opportunity for service" significantly more important (.01 level) than did the least-satisfied sub group. The Spearman Rank Order Correlation, when applied to the rankings assigned to personal values by the least- satisfied and the most-satisfied subgroups, indicated a close agreement (.86), significant beyond the .01 level. 104 TABLE 16 RANKINGS OF PERSONAL VALUES IMPORTANT IN IDEAL CAREER, ACCORDING TO LEAST-SATISFIED AND MOST-SATISFIED SUBGROUPS Opportunity Least- Satisfied Subgroup: 88 Most- Satisfied Subgroup: 85 Total Group: 320 for: Average Rating Ranka Average Rating Rank Average Rating Rank Applying professional knowledge 1.63 2 1.82 1 1.71 1 Personal development 1.65 1 1.72 3 1.68 2 Service 1.40b 4 1.73b 2 1.55 3 Creativity 1.43 3 1.41 4 1.43 4 Professional advancement i.31 5 1.26 5 1.28 5 Earning a good salary 1.30 6 1.14 7 1.21 6 Job security 1.01 7 1.22 6 1.10 7 Prestige .74 8 .84 8 .79 8 Spearman Rank Correlation r *= .86 s aRank: Most important 1 Least important 8 ^Significant at the .01 level 105 Both groups tended to value the rewards related to job performance as more important than such extrinsic rewards as advancement, salary, security and prestige. No positive correlation was found between aspirations for goal achievement and degree of satisfaction with librarianship, in seven out of eight instances. In every evaluation, according to the average ratings assigned by the two subgroups, more importance was expressed for each goal or value by the most-satisfied subgroup than by the least- satisfied. On the basis of the evidence gathered, the hypoth esis stating that no relationship exists between personal value orientations and the degree of satisfaction with librarianship is upheld. Comparison of Other Subgroups According to Personal Value Orientations Geographical locale. Replies from Cook County and Los Angeles County respondents revealed strikingly close agreement in their personal evaluations of the career goals that are "ideal.1 1 Therefore, data are not itemized and reported for the separate counties, but are presented together for the total group. Subgroups categorized by sex. As is reported in Table 17, questionnaire responses showed that men and women 106 TABLE 17 RANKINGS OF PERSONAL VALUES IMPORTANT IN IDEAL CAREER, ACCORDING TO MEN AS A GROUP AND WOMEN AS A GROUP Men: 106 Women: 212 Opportunity for: Average Rating Rank3 Average Rating Rank3 Applying professional knowledge 1.63 2 1.75 1 Personal development 1.65 1 1.70 2 Service 1.44b 3 1.62b 3 Creativity 1.42 4 1.43 4 Professional advancement 1.35 5 1.25 5 Earning a good salary 1.23 6 1.21 6 Job security 1.17 7 1.06 7 Prestige .86 8 .75 8 ■ Biig"mjj,in,,:r,ll j n u s s m a c a u'isirg,, im u 1 , 1 1 1 „ Spearman Rank r£ " * Correlation 98 aRank: Most Important «= 1 Least Important «= 8 ^Significant at the .05 level. % 107 were in almost complete agreement in their evaluations of the relative importance of personal values in the ideal career. One value, however, ’’opportunity for service,” tended to be rated significantly more important (.05) by women than by men. The Spearman Rank Order Correlation of .98 indicates an extremely high agreement between the overall ratings assigned to personal values in the ideal career by the men as a group and by the women as a group. Subgroups classified by whether or not respondents held a degree in librarianship. No significant differences were found in the rankings of personal values by respond ents when classified according to the presence or absence of a library science degree. Subgroups categorized by length of library experi ence. As is summarized in Table 18, when respondents who differed considerably in the years of library experience were compared with respect to the goals important in an ideal career, the variable of experience did not prove to be an important factor. The one divergence between the least-experienced and the most-experienced groups pertained to ’’creativity.” Those with the least experience (five or fewer years) perceived ’’creativity” to be significantly (.05) more important in an ideal career than did those with the most experience (over 20 years) in librarianship. The Spearman Rank Correlation indicated agreement 108 TABLE 18 RANKINGS OF PERSONAL VALUES IMPORTANT IN IDEAL CAREER, ACCORDING TO SUBGROUPS CATEGORIZED BY YEARS OF LIBRARY EXPERIENCE Least Experienced Subgroup: 80 Most Experienced Subgroup: 79 Opportunity for: Average Rating Rank3 Average Rating Rank3 Applying professional knowledge 1.72 1 1.68 1.5 Personal development 1.70 2 1.68 1.5 Service 1.43 4 1.60 3 Creativity 1.49b 3 1.25b 4 Professional advancement 1.11 6 1.20 5.5 Earning a good salary 1.24 5 1.20 5.5 Job security .97 7 1.19 7 Prestige .76 8 .72 8 Spearman Rank Correlation aRank: Most important «= 1 Least important ■» 8 ^Significance at the .05 level. 109 at the .96 level between the two subgroups regarding the importance o£ the eight personal values ranked. Summary The findings show a striking agreement in the value systems of a large majority of the respondents— whether considered by the extent of satisfaction with librarian** ship, county, sex, library degree, or years of library experience. However, "opportunity for service" was signifi cantly more important as a career goal to the most satis fied than to the least satisfied, and was significantly more important to women than to men. "Opportunity for creativity" was considered significantly more desirable in a career by those least experienced than by those most experienced in library work. As a total group, respondents assigned more value— as career goals— to opportunities for using acquired knowledge, for personal development, for service to others, and for creativity than to prestige, security, salary or professional advancement. Degree in Librarianship 110 In this investigation of librarians' perceptions of librarianship, it was assumed that one of the major deter minants of differences found between respondents would be related to whether or not subjects held a degree in librarianship at the time. In order to dichotomize the sample, respondents were asked: "Do you have a degree in library science?" with the request that they check either "yes" or "no." Replies from this question are summarized in Table 19 and interpreted in the following section. Hypothesis 4. There is no difference in the degree of satisfaction with librarianship between librarians who hold or lack a degree in library science. “ Comparison of Subgroups According to Degree in Librarianship Satisfaction with library career. Is it possible to attain above-average satisfaction in a library career without holding a library science degree? According to the data presented in Table 19, the lack of a degree in library science apparently does not prevent a respondent from being classified among the segment that is most satisfied with the career. However, the likelihood of gaining above- average satisfaction in a library career is four times greater for librarians who hold a degree than it is for Ill TABLE 19 DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS WITH AND WITHOUT A DEGREE IN LIBRARIANSHIP, BY SUBGROUPS Subgroups Number of Respondents Respondents with a Degree in Librarianship Number Per Cent Respondents with No Degree in Librarianship Number Per Cent Least satisfied 88 59 67a 29 33a Most satisfied 85 69 81a 16 19a Cook County 147 111 76 36 25 Los Angeles County 173 138 80 35 20 Men 106 89 84 17 16 Women 212 158 75 54 26 Least experienced in librarianship 80 61 76 19 24 Most experienced in librarianship 79 65 82 14 18 Total group 320 249 78 71 22 Significant at the .01 level. Significance level based on a formula for differences in percentages. 112 those who lack a degree in library science, the difference being significant at the .01 level. Conversely, is there a greater likelihood that respondents who do not hold a librarianship degree would be among those least satisfied than they would among those most satisfied with the profession? The results indicate that persons in the library field who do not hold a library degree are twice as likely to derive less than average satisfaction than above-average satisfaction in a library career. A significant relationship (.01) was determined between dissatisfaction with librarianship and lack of a degree in library science. A degree in librarianship, then, significantly increases the chances for satisfaction with the profession, and acts as a deterrent against dissatisfaction in the field. Hypothesis 4 is rejected, since the analysis of the data shows a significantly greater likelihood of satisfac tion with librarianship for librarians who hold a degree than for those who do not hold a degree in library science. Other subgroups. As is illustrated in Table 19, no significant relationships were determined from the evidence gathered between possessing a degree in librarianship and membership in the subgroups based on geographical locale, sex, and years of experience in library work. Summary The findings indicate that slightly more than 75 per cent of the respondents held a degree in librarianship at the time of study. Furthermore, a similar ratio of degrees in library science was found among respondents in subgroups categorized in terms of county, sex, and length of library experience. Attainment of satisfaction with librarianship was found to be significantly more likely for members who hold a library science degree than for members who do not possess such a degree. The results suggest that a fairly high proportion of the respondents (more than one fifth) did not have sufficient opportunity, ability or motivation to earn a degree in library science, and for them the choice of librarianship as a career was more likely to be accidental than for members who completed a degree program in library science. Previous Careers in Other Fields In order to determine the prior employment pattern of the sample, respondents were asked: "What careers (other than librarianship) did you enter since college?" Respondents were offered the option of checking "none" or writing in the occupation or field of employment prior to librarianship. Replies from this question are shown in 114 Tables 20 through 25, and are discussed in the following section. Hypothesis 5. There is no difference in the degree of satisfaction with librarianship between librarians with or without previous careers in other fields. The evidence regarding prior employment of respond ents categorized as least satisfied and as most satisfied is depicted in Table 20. More than one half of the sub jects from both groups reported previous experience in other careers before entering the library field. A slightly higher proportion of those in the most-satisfied than in the least-satisfied group had not had former careers, but the difference was nonsignificant when tested by a formula for differences between proportions. The results, then, indicate that there is no rela tionship between the extent of satisfaction with librarian ship and previous career experience. The hypothesis, therefore, is tenable. Fields of Prior Employment A higher proportion of former teachers from both groups became librarians than of those representing any other occupational group. Those who were least satisfied came into librarianship from a greater variety of fields than did tlfiose most satisfied with librarianship. No striking differences were noted between those least satis- v" fied and those most satisfied when compared according to 115 TABLE 20 PREVIOUS CAREERS IN OTHER FIELDS, ACCORDING TO LEAST-SATISFIED AND MOST-SATISFIED SUBGROUPS Least-Satisfied Subgroup: 88 Most-Satisfied Subgroup: 85 Fields Number Per Cent Number Per Cent Teaching 15 17 21 25 Business and Sales 4 5 4 5 Office Work 6 7 6 7 Chemistry 7 8 3 4 Other Fields 19 21 10 11 Total with previous careers 51 58 44 52 No other careers 37 42 41 48 Totals 88 100 85 100 No significant differences were found between least- satisfied and most-satisfied subgroups. 116 the proportion of respondents who reported prior employment in teaching, business and sales, office work, and chemis try. Comparison of Respondents from Cook County and Los Angeles County As is revealed in Table 21, when the variable of geographical locale was introduced as a basis for comparing respondents with respect to the proportion of previous careers in other fields, a slightly higher (.05 level) per centage of those from Los Angeles County than from Cook County reported former careers. More former teachers from both groups became librarians than the combined totals of recruits from the fields of business and sales, office work and chemistry. Comparison of Men and Women As is illustrated in Table 22, the highest degree of correlation between subgroups regarding previous careers in other fields was found between the sexes, only 2 per cent more men than women reporting former careers prior to entering the library field. As many men (16 per cent) were formerly teachers as the combined percentage of men who reported former careers in business, office work and chemistry (16 per cent). Men as a group had a much higher proportion of careers in a variety of fields than did women as a group. Although a 117 TABLE 21 PREVIOUS CAREERS IN OTHER FIELDS, ACCORDING TO COOK COUNTY AND LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUBGROUPS Los Angeles Cook County: County: 147 173 Fields Number Per Cent Number Per Cent Teaching 30 20 44 25 Business and Sales 10 7 9 5 Office Work 6 4 11 6 Chemistry 6 4 8 5 Other Fields 20 14 28 17 Total with previous careers 72 49a 100 < 8 00 m No other careers 75 51 73 42 Totals 147 100 173 100 Significant at the .05 level based on formula for differ ences between proportions. 118 TABLE 22 PREVIOUS CAREERS IN OTHER FIELDS, ACCORDING TO MEN AND WOMEN Fields Men: Number 106 Per Cent Women: Number 212 Per Cent Teaching 17 16 57 27 Business and Sales 9 9 10 5 Office Work 3 3 14 7 Chemistry 4 4 10 5 Other Fields 25 23 22 9 Total with previous careers 58 55 113 53 No other careers 48 45 99 47 Totals 106 100 212 100 No significant differences were found group and women as a group. between men as a ) 119 higher percentage of women had originally been teachers than men, teaching was still more than twice as likely to have been the previous field of men than any other occupa tion. Comparison of Respondents Who Held or Lacked a Degree in Librarianship In the case of subgroups categorized by whether or not a library science degree was held, it was tentatively suggested that those who formally prepared through comple tion of a degree program for a library career would reveal a lower incident of prior careers than those who did not possess a professional degree in the field at the time. The data in Table 23 support this assumption. In fact, the most significant subgroup differences regarding prior employment were found between respondents who differed in holding or lacking a library science degree (.01 level). Over 20 per cent more of the respondents without the pro fessional degree reported former careers than did those who held a degree in librarianship. Almost half of the previous careers reported by those with library science degrees had been in the field of teaching, compared to less than a third of the respond ents who lacked a librarianship degree. Twice as high a proportion of those without the degree than those holding the degree had had careers in office work, chemistry and other fields. 120 TABLE 23 PREVIOUS CAREERS IN OTHER FIELDS, ACCORDING TO RESPONDENTS WHO HELD AND WHO LACKED A DEGREE IN LIBRARIANSHIP Held Lacked a Degree in a Degree in Librarianship Librarianship 249 71 Fields Number Per Cent Number Per Cent Teaching 59 24 15 21 Business and Sales 15 6 4 6 Office Work 9 4 8 11 Chemistry 6 2 8 11 Other Fields 33 13 15 21 Total with previous careers 122 49a 50 70a No other careers 127 51 21 30 Totals 249 100 71 100 Significant at the .01 level ences between proportions. based on formula for differ- 121 Comparison of Those Least and Most Experienced in Librarianship As is illustrated in Table 24, persons who entered librarianship within the past five years were significantly (.01 level) more likely to have had prior employment than those who entered the library field at least twenty years ago. In fact, 22 per cent more of those in the least- experienced subgroup had had a former career in another field. Teaching had been the former occupation of more than half of those most experienced, in contrast to one third of those least experienced in librarianship. Both groups included between 3 and 6 per cent of librarians who had had previous employment in business and sales, office work, and chemistry. Those least experienced were three times more likely to have had careers in other fields than were those in the most-experienced group SjSBSg As is shown in Table 25, respondents as a total group were more likely than not to have had prior employ ment in another field before entering the library field. More than half of the sample had had work experience in another field since college. The majority of the respond ents not only had seriously considered other occupations, but had actually been employed in at least one other field 122 TABLE 24 PREVIOUS CAREERS IN OTHER FIELDS, ACCORDING TO THE LEAST EXPERIENCED AND MOST EXPERIENCED IN LIBRARIANSHIP Least Most Experienced Experienced Group; 80 Group: 79 Fields ter Per Number Cent Number Cent Teaching 17 21 16 20 Business and Sales 4 5 2 3 Office Work 5 6 2 3 Chemistry 5 6 4 5 Other Fields 17 22 6 7 Total with previous careers 48 60a 30 38a No other careers 32 40 49 62 Totals 80 100 79 100 Significant at the .01 level ences between proportions. based on formula for differ- 123 TABLE 25 PREVIOUS CAREERS IN OTHER FIELDS, ACCORDING TO THE TOTAL GROUP Total Group: 320 Fields Number Per Cent Teaching 74 23 Business and Sales 19 6 Office Work 17 5 Chemistry 14 4 Other Fields 48 16 Total with previous careers 172 54 No other careers 148 46 Totals 320 100 124 prior to working in a library. These findings confirm Morrison's (46:204) study of academic librarians, reported in 1960. Of the total group, almost half of those who had had previous careers had been teachers. Three other fields— business, office work and chemistry— accounted for almost as many recruits as did all other fields of employ ment for those who reported former careers before becoming librarians. A significantly higher proportion of previous careers were reported by respondents who lacked a degree in librarianship and who had five or fewer years of library experience than by those who held a degree in the field and to those who had at least twenty years of experience in the field. A slightly lower proportion of respondents from Cook County than from Los Angeles County reported former careers. Nonsignificant differences regarding the percentage of former careers held were revealed when subgroup compari sons based on extent of satisfaction with librarianship and on sex were analyzed. 125 Years of Experience in Librarianship In order to compare respondents on the basis of length of experience in the profession, question 37 of Part I of the questionnaire asked: "How many years have you been a librarian?" Possible answers provided were: "0-1," "2-5," "6-10," "11-15," "16-20," and "over 20 years." The following section is concerned with the find ings and interpretations based on responses to this question. Hypothesis 6. There is no relationship between years oi: experience in librarian ship and the degree of satisfaction with librarianship. As is disclosed in Table 26, the data indicate that the first five years of librarianship offer less job satis faction to members than do later periods in the field. Twice as many neophytes were classified in the least-satisfied as in the most-satisfied group, a differ ence significant at the .05 level. Conversely, the most- satisfied group revealed that almost twice as many members had been in the profession for more than twenty years as those who had five or fewer years of library experience. The results suggest that those with the least experience in the field tend to find significantly (.05 level) less job satisfaction in librarianship than do those who have been librarians for a considerable number of years. 126 TABLE 26 DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS CATEGORIZED AS LEAST EXPERIENCED AND MOST EXPERIENCED IN LIBRARIANSHIP, BY SUBGROUPS Number of N=80 Least Experienced 0-5 years N=79 Most Experienced over 20 years Subgroups Respondents Per Number Cent Number i Per Cent Least satisfied in librarianship 88 29 33a 18 20 Most satisfied in librarianship 85 14 16a 26 31 Cook County 147 29 20 38 26 Los Angeles County 173 51 29 41 24 Men 106 26 25 18 17a Women 212 54 25 61 N> OO Nondegreed in librarianship 71 18 24 14 20 Degreed in librarianship 249 62 25 65 26 Total group 320 80 25 79 25 Significant at the .05 level. 127 Based on the data analysis, then, the hypothesis that predicted no relationship between the length of work experience and the extent of satisfaction with librarian ship must be rejected. Comparisons of Members of Other Subgroups According to Years of Experience in Librarianship When respondents from Cook County and Los Angeles County were compared regarding the proportion of members who were least and most experienced in librarianship, the differences were found to be nonsignificant, as is illus trated in Table 26. Little variation between those who held and those who lacked a degree in librarianship was revealed when comparisons were made regarding the percentages of those with least experience and those with most experience in the field. When men as a group and women as a group were compared on the basis of length of library experience, a significantly higher proportion of women (.05 level) were shown to have had more than twenty years of experience as librarians. Summary The analysis of responses of the total group revealed that one fourth of the respondents had had no 128 more than five years of experience as librarians and one fourth had had at least twenty years of library experience. A significant relationship was found between years of library experience and the extent of satisfaction with librarianship, those with least experience tending to derive less satisfaction (.05 level) from librarianship. Significantly more women (.05 level) than men had had more than twenty years of library experience. No significant relationships were found between length of library experi ence and geographical locale or the presence or absence of a degree in librarianship. Findings on Prestige Rankings of Eight Professions In an attempt to explore librarians' perceptions of librarianship, librarians were asked to assign prestige ratings to eight emerging professions, one of which was librarianship. This study hypothesized that if librarians them selves perceived librarianship as having a higher prestige rating than they accorded to other comparable professions, then their morale as librarians could be interpreted as being relatively high. It was also desired to ascertain by this means whether librarians themselves were free from the unfortunate "librarian" stereotype or image attributed to the general public. 129 Question 12 of Part I of the questionnaire asked respondents to rank, according to prestige, the following eight professions: chemist, college teacher, engineer, high school teacher, librarian, nurse, psychologist, and social worker. Respondents were asked to rank each profes sion twice: (1) according to their personal opinion and (2) according to the rank they thought the general public would assign to the professions. The numerals one through eight were used, one designating the profession with the highest prestige and eight representing the profession perceived as having the lowest prestige rating. Respond ents who ranked "librarian" among the first four profes sions, either in the rank they personally assigned or the rank they thought the public assigned to the profession, were credited with one point on the satisfaction scale for each such rating attributed to "librarian." Comparison of Prestige Rankings According to Subgroups The results of subgroup comparisons based on pres tige rankings of eight professions, including "librarian," are presented in the following tables according to the variables used throughout this study in comparisons made between respondents who differed on the basis of: extent of satisfaction with the librarianship (Table 27), geographical locale (Table 28), sex (Table 29), profes sional degree in library science (Table 30), and years of library experience (Table 31). For comparative purposes, the mean or average group rankings and the rank order are presented for both the personal and the perceived public's image of prestige attributed to the professions rated. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests were used to measure the significance level between subgroups and to determine whether differences found were significant. Prestige rankings of "librarian." As revealed by the data exhibited in Tables 27 through 31, no significant differences in rankings assigned to the "librarian" were found between groups, whether divided by county, sex, professional degree in library science, or length of experience in librarianship. The only significant difference found in the pres tige ranking of "librarian" was between the personal ratings assigned by those who were least and those who were most satisfied with librarianship. The most satis fied believed that their profession had a much higher prestige rating (.0003) than did the least satisfied group. As was explained earlier, the rank order assigned to "librarian" is related to the satisfaction scale, so a significant difference between these two groups was expected. However, no significant difference was discov ered between the least-satisfied and most-satisfied groups TABLE 27 PRESTIGE RANKINGS OF SELECTED PROFESSIONS GIVING RESPONDENTS1 PERSONAL RANK ORDER AND THE RANK ORDER THEY PERCEIVED TO BE THAT OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC. ACCORDING TO THE LEAST SATISFIED AND THE MOST SATISFIED SUBGROUPS Selected Professions Personal Public*s Personal Public* s Rating Rank Rating Rank Rating Rank Rating Rank Chemist 2.83a 3 2.55 2 3.53a 3 2.37 2 College teacher 2.20 1 2.85 3 2.18 1 2.81 3 Engineer 2.82 2 1.89 1 3.57 4 1.75 1 High school teacher 5.22 5.5 5.33 5 5.50 6 5.25 5 Librarian 5.22° 5.5 6.76 8 3.33c 2 6.46 7 Nurse 6.55 8 6.21 6 6.57 7 6.39 6 Psychologist 3.87a 4 3.59a 4 4.69a 5 4.31a 4 Social worker 6.43 7 6.36 7 6.64 8 6.67 8 Prestige ranking: Significant at the cSignificant at the “I” highest; .05 level. .0005 level. figii lowest. 131 TABLE 28 PRESTIGE RANKINGS OF SELECTED PROFESSIONS GIVING RESPONDENTS' PERSONAL RANK ORDER AND THE RANK ORDER THEY PERCEIVED TO BE THAT OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC, ACCORDING TO COOK COUNTY AND LOS ANGELES COUNTY GROUPS Cook County: 147_______ Los Angeles County: 173 Selected Professions Personal Public' s Personal Public* s Rating Rank Rating Rank Rating Rank Rating Rank Chemist 3.21 3 2.18 2 3.28 3 2.60 2 College teacher 2.16 1 2.89 3 2.21 1 2.98 3 Engineer 3.16 2 1.89 1 3.27 2 1.95 1 High school teacher 5.17 6 5.35 5 5.43 6 5.45 5 Librarian 4.23 4 6.57 8 4.38 5 6.40 7 Nurse 6.59 7 6.32 6 6.68 8 6.30 6 Psychologist 4.34 5 3.87 4 3.93 4 3.67 4 Social Worker 6.53 8 6.55 7 6.46 7 6.44 8 Prestige ranking: "1" highest; "8" lowest. No significant differences found between Cook County and Los Angeles County respondents. TABLE 29 prestige rankings of selected professions giving respondents' personal rank order AND THE RANK ORDER THEY PERCEIVED TO BE THAT OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC, ACCORDING TO MEN AND WOMEN Men as a Group: 106_____ Women as a Group; 212 Selected Professions Personal Public* s Personal Public* s Rating Rank Rating Rank Rating Rank Rating Rank Chemist 3.52a 3 2.55 2 3.10a 2 2.36 2 College teacher 2.07 1 2.65 3 2.23 1 3.08 3 Engineer 3.29 2 1.86 1 3.20 3 1.97 1 High school teacher 5.27 6 5.46 5 5.35 6 5.36 5 Librarian 4.04 4 6.57 7 4.41 5 6.41 8 Nurse 6.38 7 6.20 6 6.77 8 6.37 6 Psychologist 4.24 5 4.03 4 4.08 4 3.65 4 Social worker 6.76 8 6.68 8 6.34 7 6.36 7 Prestige ranking: "1" highest; Significant at the .05 level. ”8" lowest. K - * LO TABLE 30 PRESTIGE RANKINGS OF SELECTED PROFESSIONS GIVING RESPONDENTS' PERSONAL RANK ORDER AND THE RANK ORDER THEY PERCEIVED TO BE THAT OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC, ACCORDING TO SUBGROUPS COMPOSED OF THOSE WHO HELD OR LACKED A DEGREE IN LIBRARIANSHIP Selected Professions Nondegreed Group: 71 Decreed Group: 249 Personal Public's Personal Public's Rating Rank Rating Rank Rating Rank Rating Rank Chemist 3.16 3 2.34 2 3.28 3 2.46 2 College teacher 2.31 1 2.89 3 2.14 1 2.95 3 Engineer 3.13 2 2.13 1 3.24 2 1.87 1 High school teacher 5.30 6 5.29 5 5.33 6 5.42 5 Librarian 4.40 5 6.53 7 4.27 5 6.45 8 Nurse 6.71 7 6.15 6 6.60 8 6.36 6 Psychologist 3.97 4 3.65 4 4.17 4 3.81 4 Social worker 6.93a 8 6.83a 8 6.35a 7 6.38a 7 Prestige ranking: "1" highest; "8" lowest. Significant at the .05 level. TABLE 31 PRESTIGE RANKINGS OF SELECTED PROFESSIONS GIVING RESPONDENTS' PERSONAL RANK ORDER AND THE RANK ORDER THEY PERCEIVED TO BE THAT OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC, ACCORDING TO THOSE LEAST EXPERIENCED AND MOST EXPERIENCED IN LIBRARIANSHIP Selected Professions Least Experienced Group: 80 Most Experienced Group: 79 Personal Public' s Personal Public' s Rating Rank Rating Rank Rating Rank Rating Rank Chemist 3.45 2 2.41 2 3.29 3 2.39 2 College teacher 2.07 1 3.09 3 2.36 1 3.05 3 Engineer 3.55 3 1.70 1 2.91 2 1.85 1 High school teacher 5.24 6 5.53 5 5.28 6 5.41 5 Librarian 4.71 5 6.52 8 4.02 4 6.48 7 Nurse 6.31 8 6.16 6 6.78 8 6.74 8 Social worker --------- 1 ------------- - 6.15 7 6.38 7 6.42 7 6.18 6 Prestige ranking: "1" highest; "8" lowest. No significant differences found between the least and the most experienced respondents. 136 in the prestige rankings of "librarian*3 they attributed to the general public. What is the self-image of librarianship when com pared to seven other professions according to the prestige rankings assigned by librarians themselves? The average personal rank order accorded to librarianship was fifth place, as shown by the total group (Table 32), among eight possible positions. Librarians, then, personally perceived that the following professions ranked higher in prestige than did their own profession: "college teacher,*1 "engineer," "chemist" and "psychologist." Those profes sions personally perceived to have less prestige than librarianship were: "high school teacher,*' "social worker" and "nurse," in that descending order. Were there any differences in the personal rank orders assigned to "librarian" between groups? As expected, the highest rank order assigned to the "librar ian** by any group was attributed by those most satisfied— second highest of the eight professions ranked according to prestige. Three groups ranked it in fourth place: Cook County, men as a group, and the most experienced librar ians. The least-satisfied group accorded "librarian" between fifth and sixth place in their personal rating. It was expected that the least-satisfied group would assign a much lower personal rank order to the profession in which 137 TABLE 32 PRESTIGE RANKINGS OF SELECTED PROFESSIONS, GIVING RESPONDENTS' PERSONAL RANK ORDER AND THE RANK ORDER THEY PERCEIVED TO BE THAT OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC, ACCORDING TO THE TOTAL GROUP ______Total Group:__320_______ Selected Professions Personal Public's Rating Rank Rating Rarilc Chemist 3.25 3 2.41 2 College teacher 2.18 1 2.94 3 Engineer 3.22 2 1.92 1 High school teacher 5.31 6 5.41 5 Librarian 4.31 5 6.51 8 Nurse 6.63 8 6.31 6 Psychologist 4.12 4 3.76 4 Social worker 6.49 7 6.49 7 Spearman correlation: rg - .76 Prestige ranking: "1" highest; "8" lowest. 138 they found below-average job satisfaction. Who is more aware of the general public's stereo type of a profession than those actually in that profession themselves? When librarians were asked to rank eight professions, including their own, according to prestige as they perceived the public would rank them, the total average group ranking showed "librarian" to be lowest (Table 32). All groups assigned "librarian" either to seventh or eighth place. In other words, librarians per ceive that the general public accords little prestige to librarianship as a profession. There was a greater divergence between the personal rank orders and the public's rank orders assigned to "librarian" than to any other profession rated according to prestige. Librarians personally perceived librarianship as having more prestige than attributed to it by the general public, as the personal rank order was shown to be fifth place compared to eighth or last place perceived as the rating assigned by the public. These results indicate that librarians themselves rate their profession higher in prestige than they believe the public rates it. It could be assumed, then, that the morale and job satisfaction of librarians is comparatively strong, as is shown by their prestige rankings of several professions, including librarianship. 139 Prestige ranking of other professions. The corres ponding tables (Tables 27 through 31) indicate close agree ment in the prestige rankings assigned to the seven other professions by respondents divided by subgroup membership. "College teacher" was ranked first by all groups of librarians themselves, and they perceived it to be third in prestige, in the minds of the general public. While nine groups personally accorded the "engineer" second position, all groups concurred that the public would assign first position to the engineer. "Chemist" was assigned third place in personal ratings by all but two groups, and all ten groups believed that the public would assign second place to the chemist. The "psychologist" was personally ranked in either fourth or fifth place and all groups concurred that the public would accord psychologist fourth place. "High school teacher" was personally ranked in sixth place and accorded fifth place by the general public by all ten groups. The "nurse" was personally assigned either seventh or eighth position and considered to be rated in sixth place by the general public, by all but one group. Librarians personally accorded the "social worker" the seventh or eighth position and believed that the public would concur. Some subgroup differences between prestige rankings assigned to the "chemist," the "psychologist" and the "social worker" were found to be barely significant at the .05 level. The least satisfied group perceived the '’chemist” and the ’’ psychologist” as having slightly more prestige (.05) than was assigned to these professions by the most satisfied group. Respondents who held a degree in librarianship perceived the profession of ’’social worker” to have a higher prestige rating (.05 level) in the personal and public rankings assigned by them when compared to respond ents who did not hold a professional degree in the field. Women accorded a slightly higher personal ranking to the ’’chemist” (.05) than did the subgroup composed of men. No significant differences between respondents classified by county or years of library experience were evident in prestige rankings assigned to the professions. Summary An analysis of the data pertaining to the prestige rankings of eight professions, including librarianship, revealed close agreement when respondents were compared according to subgroup membership. Librarians themselves attribute considerably more prestige to their own profession than they perceive is accorded librarianship by the general public. As indicated by the prestige rankings assigned, 141 professions composed predominantly of raen--college teacher, engineer, chemist, and psychologist— are perceived by librarians as having more prestige than professions with a predominance of women*”*librarian, nurse and social worker. Librarians' Perceptions of Librarianship Findings on Reselection of Librarianship as a Career Question 13 in Fart I of the questionnaire asked respondents to answer "yes," "no," or "perhaps," in response to the question: "Given a second chance, would you become a professional librarian again?" Respondents who answered "yes" to this item were given two of fifteen possible points on the satisfaction scale. The results of subgroup comparisons based on atti tudes toward a hypothetical reselection of librarianship are summarized in Table 33. Subgroups classified according to county, sex, professional degree in librarianship, and years of library experience were in close agreement on attitudes expressed toward a possible reconsideration of a library career. About two thirds would definitely select the field again, more than one fourth "might" re-enter the field, while approximately 5 per cent definitely would not reselect librarianship as a career, given another chance. Differences found between these subgroups were not significant. 142 TABLE 33 RESPONDENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARD A HYPOTHETICAL RESELECTION OF LIBRARIANSHIP AS A CAREER, ACCORDING TO SUBGROUPS Attitudes of Toward Reselection Librarianship Yes Na Perhaps Subgroups Number of Responses Num ber Per Cent Num ber Per Cent Num ber Per Cent Least satisfied 88 14 16a 13 15a 61 70a Most satisfied 85 85 100a 0 0a 0 0a Cook County 147 98 67 7 5 42 28 Los Angeles County 173 114 66 9 5 49 28 Men 106 68 64 4 4 34 32 Women 212 143 67 12 6 57 27 Nondegreed in librarianship 71 44 62 4 6 23 32 Degreed in librarianship 249 167 67 12 5 70 28 Least experienced 80 50 62 3 4 27 34 Most experienced 79 55 70 6 8 18 22 Total group 320 212 66 16 5 92 29 Significance level .0005. 143 The only significant difference (.0005) in the attitudes reselection of librarianship as a career was found between the least-satisfied and the most-satisfied subgroups. Inasmuch as one of the criteria used in defin ing the most-satisfied group was that its members would choose to re-enter librarianship if given a second chance, this accounts, in part, for the highly significant differ ences between the least-satisfied and most-satisfied sub groups. Evidence that respondents identified as those least satisfied with librarianship are not as dissatisfied with their career as might be expected is shown by the comparatively small proportion who would definitely not reselect the library field— 15 per cent. The participants in this "Study were shown to be well satisfied with their library career, as 95 per cent would certainly or probably reselect the field. Bryan found that three out of four of the public librarians surveyed would reselect librarianship (8:133). Douglass reported that 80 per cent of the library students studied were satisfied with their choice of career, and nonsignif icant differences between men and women librarians were revealed (18:147). The present study, then, offers confirmatory evidence that persons who choose librarianship as a career are not likely to regret their vocational choice. 144 Findings Related to Extent of Satisfaction with Librarianship as a Career To enable respondents to express the extent of their satisfaction with librarianship as a career, respond ents were asked to check one of five levels of satisfac tion: (1) the only satisfactory career, (2) satisfactory but not the only satisfactory career, (3) one of several possible satisfactory careers, (4) a fairly satisfactory career, and (5) it has not been a satisfactory career. Respondents were scored two points on the satisfac tion scale if they evaluated librarianship as "the only satisfactory career," and one point if they judged it to be "satisfactory but not the only satisfactory career." As was to be expected, the two subgroups that were categorized as most satisfied and least satisfied showed a highly significant difference (.0005) on their evaluations of career satisfaction (Table 34). Despite this in-built difference, surprisingly few (5 per cent) of the least- satisfied group admitted that librarianship had not been a satisfactory career. Aside from the least-satisfied and most-satisfied subgroups, fairly close agreement was noted between sub groups differing according to geographical locale, sex, and professional degree when compared on the basis of expressed career satisfaction (Tables 35, 36 and 37). The great 145 TABLE 34 RESPONDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE EXTENT OF SATISFACTION WITH LIBRARIANSHIP AS A CAREER, ACCORDING TO THE IE AST AND THE MOST SATISFIED SUBGROUPS Extent of Satisfaction Least Satisfied Group: 88 Most Satisfied Group: 85 with Librarianship as a Career Num ber Per Cent Num ber Per Cent The only satisfactory career 0 0b 43 51b Satisfactory but not the only satisfactory career 19 22b 38 45b One of several possible satisfactory careers 46 52b 4 5b A fairly satisfactory career 19 22b 0 0b It has not been a satis factory career 4 5 0 0 Total 88 101 85 101 ^Significant at the .0005 level using Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. 146 TABLE 35 RESPONDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE EXTENT OF SATISFACTION WITH LIBRARIANSHIP AS A CAREER, ACCORDING TO COOK COUNTY AND LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUBGROUPS Extent of Satisfaction with Librarianship as a Career Cook Group Num ber County : 147 Per Cent Los Angeles County Group: 173 Num- Per ber Cent The only satisfactory career 28 19 35 20 Satisfactory but not the only satisfactory career 68 46 79 46 One of several possible satisfactory careers 39 27 47 27 A fairly satisfactory career 11 8 9 5 It has not been a satis factory career 1 1 3 1 Total 147 101 173 99 No significant differences found between Cook County and Los Angeles County respondents. 147 TABLE 36 RESPONDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE EXTENT OF SATISFACTION WITH LIBRARIANSHIP AS A CAREER, ACCORDING TO MEN AND WOMEN Extent of Satisfaction with Librarianship as a Career Men Group Num ber as a : 106 Per Cent Women Group: dum ber as a 212 Per Cent The only satisfactory career 18 17 45 21 Satisfactory but not the only satisfactory career 53 50 94 44 One of several possible satisfactory careers 28 27 57 27 A fairly satisfactory career 5 5 14 7 It has not been a satis- factory career 2 2 2 1 Total 106 101 212 100 No significant differences found between men as a group and women as a group. 148 TABLE 37 RESPONDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE EXTENT OF SATISFACTION WITH LIBRARIANSHIP AS A CAREER, ACCORDING TO THOSE WHO HELD OR LACKED A DEGREE IN LIBRARIANSHIP Extent of Satisfaction Nondegreed Group: 71 Degreed Group: 249 with Librarianship as a Career Num ber Per Cent Num ber Per Cent The only satisfactory career 12 17 51 21 Satisfactory but not the only satisfactory career 26 37 122 49 One of several possible satisfactory careers 27 38a 58 23a A fairly satisfactory career 6 9 14 6 It has not been a satis factory career 0 0 4 2 Total 71 101 249 101 aSignifleant at .05 level using a formula to determine the significance of differences in percentages. 149 majority of respondents expressed satisfaction with their careers in librarianship. Between one third and one half rated this profession as "satisfactory but not the only satisfactory career." About one fifth considered librar ianship as "the only satisfactory career." Almost a fourth believed that library work was "one of several possible satisfactory careers." From 5 to 10 per cent of subjects evaluated their occupation as a "fairly satisfactory career." A significantly (.05) larger percentage of respond ents who did not hold a degree in librarianship than those who held such a degree perceived the occupation as "one of several possible satisfactory careers." As is seen in Table 38, among groups divided according to years of experience in library work, one third of the most experienced and one sixth of the least experi enced evaluated librarianship as "the only satisfactory career," the difference barely reaching significance at the .05 level. In summary, then, as is revealed in Table 39, librarianship was perceived to be a satisfactory career by more than nine tenths of all respondents, to be "a fairly satisfactory career" by 6 per cent, and to be "unsatisfac tory as a career" by a negligible one per cent of the sample. The great majority of the librarians, thus, were found to be satisfied with their career. Satisfaction with 150 TABLE 38 RESPONDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE EXTENT OF SATISFACTION WITH LIBRARIANSHIP AS A CAREER, ACCORDING TO THOSE LEAST AND MOST EXPERIENCED IN LIBRARIANSHIP Extent of Satisfaction with Librarianship as a Career Least Experienced Group: 80 Num- Per ber Cent Most Experienced Group: 79 Num- ter ber Cent The only satisfactory career 13 16a 25 32a Satisfactory but not the only satisfactory career 30 38 30 38 One of several possible satisfactory careers 27 34 19 24 A fairly satisfactory career 9 11 4 5 It has not been a satis factory career 1 1 1 1 Total 80 100 79 100 Significant at the .05 level using a formula to determine the significance of differences in percentages. 151 TABLE 39 RESPONDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE EXTENT OF SATISFACTION WITH LIBRARIANSHIP AS A CAREER, ACCORDING TO THE TOTAL GROUP Extent of Satisfaction with Librarianship as a Career Total Group: 320 Num- Per ber Cent The only satisfactory career 63 20 Satisfactory but not the only satisfactory career 147 46 One of several possible satisfactory careers 86 27 A fairly satisfactory career 20 6 It has not been a satis factory career 4 1 Total 320 100 152 a career in librarianship is significantly more likely (.05) to be attained by those with a degree in the field and by those with at least twenty years of library experi ence than by persons with no library degree or by persons with no more than five years of library experience. Satisfaction with Librarianship Findings on Satisfaction with Librarianship as Measured by the Satisfaction Scale Table 40 presents the results obtained on the satisfaction scale, when respondents were grouped according to subgroup membership. The scale was described in Chapter III. Least-satisfied and most-satisfied subgroup member ship was based on the scores achieved on the satisfaction scale. The one fourth of respondents who had the lowest scores (with five or fewer points) were classified as those who were least satisfied, while the one fourth who had the highest scores (with ten or more points) were classified as those who were most satisfied with librarianship. The actual significance level of the difference between these two groups was .0005. Satisfaction with librarianship (as measured by the scale developed for this study) was not related to geographical locale nor to the sex of the respondent, as was shown by strikingly similar mean scores attained by TABLE 40 153 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SUBGROUPS ON THE EXTENT OF SATISFACTION WITH LIBRARIANSHIP, AS MEASURED BY THE SATISFACTION SCALE Satisfaction Scalea Group Found More Satisfied Subgroup Responses Counted Mean SiS‘b Level0 with Librarianship Least satisfied Most satisfied 88 85 3.41 10.52 .0005 Most satisfied Cook County Los Angeles County 147 173 7.35 7.31 .600 c Men Women 106 212 7.34 7.36 .600 c Nondegreed in Library Science 71 6.66 Degreed in Library Science 249 7.52 .05 Degreed in Library Science Least experienced 80 6.57 Most experienced 79 7.90 .05 Most experienced Total group 320 aMaximum points possible on Satisfaction Scale: 15. ^Measured by Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. Nonsignificant differences. 154 Cook County and Los Angeles County residents and by men and women respondents. A degree in librarianship offers its recipients a significantly (.05 level) greater chance for satisfaction with the profession than is likely for those who lack the degree. Respondents with at least twenty years of library experience were found to be significantly (.05 level) more satisfied with librarianship than those with no more than five years of experience. \ CHAPTER V SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Recapitulation Purpose The purposes of this study were to (1) investigate the perceptions of librarians towards librarianship, (2) find out whether there are differences in their expressed satisfaction with librarianship when respondents are com pared according to the variables of geographical location, sex, possession of a library degree, and length of library experience, and (3) study the career development of librar ians as revealed in self-reported data. Summary of Procedures Selection of the population and samples. Partici pants in the study were selected randomly from the 1965 membership lists of two national library associations: ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries Divi sion of the American Library Association) and SLA (Special Libraries Association) and limited to members from Cook 155 156 County, Illinois and Los Angeles County, California. A questionnaire was mailed to one half of both membership lists, or 455 members in the two counties. The final J sample consisted of 320 persons, which was 70 per cent of the original sample, of whom 147 were from Cook County and 173 from Los Angeles County. Development of the instrument. A questionnaire was prepared for distribution by mail. Items related to three main areas: (1) background information, (2) extent of satisfaction with librarianship, and (3) career develop ment. A satisfaction scale was devised, based on an analysis of the responses to questionnaire items, which made it possible to identify those who were among the least satisfied (i.e., the lowest one fourth of the total sample) and those who were among the most satisfied with librarian ship (i.e., those in the highest one fourth), so that further comparisons related to career development could be made. Methods of analysis. The sample was divided into ten subgroups: (1) the one fourth who were least satisfied with librarianship, (2) the one fourth who were most satis fied with librarianship, (3) Cook County respondents, (4) Los Angeles County respondents, (5) men as a group, (6) women as a group, (7) respondents who lacked a degree in 157 library science, (8) respondents who held a degree in library science, (9) the one fourth who were least experi enced in librarianship (those with no more than five years in the field), and (10) the one fourth who were most experienced in librarianship (those with at least twenty years in the field). Subgroup comparisons were made on the extent of satisfaction with librarianship and on the career develop ment of respondents who differed according to geographical locale, sex, possession of a library degree, and length of library experience. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to determine the level of statistical significance represented by the differences based on various group comparisons. Major Findings According to Subgroup Membership Cook County and Los Angeles County Respondents Respondents from the two counties were shown to be strikingly similar in their perceptions of librarianship, and in their pattern of career development when they were compared on the basis of extent of satisfaction, factors determining occupational choice, personal value orienta tions, professional degree in librarianship, and length of library experience. 158 However, Cook County librarians were shown to be almost twice as likely as those from Los Angeles County to have decided on a library career during college. Confirma tory evidence regarding the time of vocational choice of librarianship was found in the significantly higher ratio of previous careers among Los Angeles County librarians than among Cook County librarians. The data indicate that the choice of and the entry into librarianship as a career tended to have been made later in life by respondents from Los Angeles County than by Cook County respondents, and the likelihood of prior employment in another field before entering library work was shown to be greater for the former than for the latter. No clues were found to explain the significantly higher proportion of Cook County than of Los Angeles County respondents who decided on librarianship as a career during college. Respondents from the two counties agreed closely in their perceptions of the rela tive importance of academic libraries, academic teachers, and academic librarians as influences on their decision to become a librarian. Two parallel samples, one from Cook County and one from Los Angeles County, were selected as a check on the reliability of the data. The close agreement between respondents from the two counties in the extent of satis faction with librarianship and in career development patterns suggests that the data are probably representative of other large metropolitan areas 159 Men as a Group and Women as a Group Relatively few differences between men and women participants were statistically significant when compared on career development patterns and career satisfaction. Several differences were noted in the career choice of librarianship between men and women. These differences pertained to the perceived importance of factors which influenced them to become librarians. Men attributed greater impact to the "use of academic libraries," while women considered "love of books and reading," and ^ork experience in public and school libraries" as more influen tial in formulating their vocational choice of librarian ship. Also, a greater proportion of the women than of the men had definitely decided to become a librarian before entering college. Some implications resulting from these findings may be drawn. Men as a group are more likely to have had satisfying experiences as patrons of academic libraries than are women. Furthermore, academic libraries seem to attract more male patrons to the profession than do other types of libraries. Women, on the other hand, seem more inclined to choose librarianship as a career because of actual on-the-job experience in libraries than do men. While "love of books and reading" was overwhelmingly the 160 most important factor determining librarians1 career choice, women place more emphasis on books and reading than do men. The value orientations, measured by the importance assigned to goals attainable from an ideal career, revealed that to women, the "opportunity for service" is more desirable as a reward for work than it is to the men. Comparisons between the sexes regarding length of library experience revealed that a higher ratio of women than men had been in the field for more than twenty years. As originally stated, considerably more agreement than divergence was found in the career development pat terns of men and women. In their evaluations of the relative importance of twenty listed factors on the decision to choose library work as an occupation, close agreement between the sexes was shown in the ratings assigned to sixteen of the twenty factors rated. The remaining four influences revealed differences significant at the .05 level. Nonsignificant differences were noted between men and women when the data were analyzed with regard to career decisions made during and after college. When personal value orientations reported by men and women were compared, there was no valid indication that the sexes differ in the rewards to which they aspire through a career as librarians. Only one career goal, 161 "opportunity for service,” was rated differently, the women valuing it more highly than the men. Neither men nor women emphasized "earning a good salary" as a primary reward from work. One of the closest areas of agreement between the sexes pertained to the incidence of prior employment before entering the library profession. Since college, more than half of the men and women had worked in another occupation before entrance into the library field. Even the four most-frequently-reported fields which they chose to leave were the same for men and women respondents. The propor tion of both men and women who were former teachers was larger than for any other occupation. Next in frequency of mention were the former occupations of business and sales, office work, and chemistry. Librarianship as Perceived by Men and by Women Because men as a group are a minority in the library profession, it seemed probable that the sex of the members might produce differences in attitudes toward librarianship. However, the present investigation revealed close agreement between the sexes as measured by scores achieved on the satisfaction scale. Included were such factors as attitudes toward the probable reselection of librarianship, perceived level of career satisfaction, and the prestige attributed to librarianship when compared with seven other professions. The sex, then, of the respondents in this study does not appear to be related to the extent of satisfaction with librarianship as a profession, because the analysis revealed no statistically reliable differences between the reported perceptions of the men and the women toward the profession of librarianship. The great majority of both men and women in the field of library work were found to be satisfied with their vocational choice. Although men as a group are in the minority, they were shown to be as satis fied with a librarianship career as were the women. Evidently the profession of librarianship offers consider able satisfaction to both the men and the women who are active in the field. Because comparatively few significant differences were found between men and women respondents regarding career development (and those found were barely signifi cant) , the evidence provides some support for the idea that the career development patterns of librarians found in this study are representative of librarians in general. More over, the process of career development does not vary to a measurable degree between men and women librarians. 163 Subgroup Comparisons Based on the Possession of a Library Degree The results showed that almost 80 per cent of the respondents held a library degree at the time of the study. A similar ratio of library degrees among respondents in subgroups categorized by county, sex and length of library experience was found, and nonsignificant differences in the proportion of library degrees held were shown. Several significant differences in career develop ment patterns were found when comparisons were made between respondents who held a library degree and those who did not. As expected, those who lacked a library degree were shown to be significantly more likely to delay their choice of and entry into a library career until several years after post-college employment in another occupation than were those who had earned a library degree. Furthermore, those who lacked a library degree attributed significantly more importance to special librarians and special libraries and significantly less importance to academic librarians as influences on the career choice of librarianship than did respondents who had earned a library degree. The evidence suggests that the field of special librarianship offers significantly greater career opportunities to those who lack a library degree than does the field of academic librarianship. More than one fifth of the respondents had not 164 earned a degree in librarianship, and thus their occupa tional choice was probably determined more by chance than it was for respondents who had completed a degree program in library science. A higher level of satisfaction with librarianship is more likely to be attained by librarians who hold a degree than by those who lack a library degree. Subgroup Comparisons Based on the Length of Library Experience By definition, respondents with five or fewer years of library experience comprised the least experienced group. They represented one fourth of the subjects in the study. These neophytes were found to be "late deciders" in the choice of a library career--four out of five delayed the decision until after college. In fact, a higher percentage waited for more than ten years after college than chose the field either before or during college. Also, a greater likelihood of prior employment before entering the library field was shown for those with no more than five years of library experience than for those with at least twenty years. For a profession with a perennial and increasing recruitment problem, late decisions to enter librarianship tend to extend the imbalance of the age distribution of members to serious proportions. Evidently, the profession 165 of librarianship is comparatively unattractive as a career to high school and college students. The profession seems to be recruiting in increasing numbers persons who have finished their bachelor degrees several years prior to entrance into the library field. Those least experienced perceived "creativity1 1 as a more important career value than did the veterans in the library field. It can be assumed, then, that in order to assist the neophytes in their goal toward a more creative career, they should be given opportunities to display and implement ideas and projects which they originate. The data suggest that librarians with no more than five years of experience in the field are more likely to find less-than-average satisfaction than above-average satisfaction with their career. This indicates that the factors perceived by the least experienced as having contributed to a comparatively lower level of career satisfaction should be identified. Such identification might well help to raise their morale and to reduce the likelihood of drop-outs among the inexperienced who may have the potentiality for contributing many years of professional service to the field. Respondents with more than twenty years of library experience were categorized as the most experienced group. They also represented a fourth of the subjects in the study. 166 Again, the outstanding trend toward significantly fewer persons choosing a library career before and during college is depicted by the data concerning the time when the vocational choice was made by those who entered the field more than twenty years ago. The decisions to enter librarianship were apparently made earlier then than now. The proportion of most-experienced librarians who delayed their career choice of librarianship until after college was less than half that reported by those who were least experienced in the field. Some tentative explanations for the 100 per cent increase in post-college career decisions can be mentioned. Twenty years ago most library schools had a maximum admissions age while in recent years this policy is no longer in force at most schools. Twenty years ago it was possible to graduate from an accredited undergraduate library school with a four-year college degree. Since 1951, however, the American Library Association has limited accreditation to graduate schools of library science which require at least one year of study beyond the bachelor's level to complete the basic program which normally leads to a master's degree. The five-year program now required by all accredited library schools may be partially respon sible for an increased delay in the time when the decision to enter the library field is made, since many potential candidates may find it necessary to obtain post-college 167 employment for several years to finance their graduate library education. Increased stipends awarded to otherwise qualified young persons who wish to enter graduate library schools would lessen the need for interim employment and would assure a larger number of professionally qualified librarians in the field. If the library profession is interested in attracting a higher proportion of college students to the field, serious re-evaluation of the policy of accrediting effective undergraduate library education programs should be considered. Since the 1951 accrediting standards were implemented, a noticeable trend toward fewer career decisions to enter librarianship made during college is shown in this study. Maximum exposure to library educa tion at the undergraduate level might motivate many students to decide on a career in librarianship who, with out the chance to enroll in formal library courses during college, might never consider the field. Significant Differences Related to Librarians* Perceptions of Librarianship. According to the Hypotheses Librarians' perceptions of librarianship, as de fined in this study, are their expressed, cognitive judgments about their own profession. In the following section, the major findings as they relate to the six hypotheses are summarized. Each hypothesis concerns not only librarians' perceptions of librarianship, as measured by the satisfaction scale devised for this study, but also one aspect of career development. Additional evidence concerning three aspects of perceptions of librarianship included in the satisfaction scale are presented separately as key factors in the evaluation of the self-image of the profession. Hypothesis 1. There is no relationship between the relative importance of influences on the decision to become a librarian and the deie;ree of satisfaction with librarians] hip. Respondent groups identified as being least satis fied and most satisfied with librarianship were shown to be in considerable agreement as to the relative importance of twenty factors on the decision to choose a library career. The four factors ranked by both groups as most influential in the career choice process were: "love of books and reading," "use of college and university librar ies," "use of public libraries," and "college and univer sity librarians." However, those who were most satisfied with librarianship assigned significantly greater impor tance than did those who were least satisfied to the use of academic and public libraries, to work experience in academic and public libraries and to public librarians, as motivational forces on their vocational choice. The results indicate that those who were most 169 satisfied with librarianship were, considerably more likely than those who were least satisfied to choose the career because of their experiences as patrons and employees of academic and public libraries. Furthermore, the most- satisfied group tended to establish closer identification with academic and public libraries and public librarians than did the least-satisfied group. Close agreement between least-satisfied and most- satisfied groups was revealed in the ranking of elements that were least influential on the vocational choice: ’’ elementary teachers,” ’’career literature,” ’’ guidance coun selors,” and ’’secondary teachers.” The evidence reveals considerable agreement between least-satisfied and most-satisfied members concerning the relative importance of fifteen of the twenty listed factors on the vocational choice of librarianship. On the whole, the evidence, while no clear rela tionship between the relative importance of influences on the choice of librarianship as a career and the extent of satisfaction with librarianship, would appear to support the first hypothesis. 170 The Relative Influence of Factors Identified as Important and Unimportant on the Choice of Librarianship as a Career, Based on Responses by the Total Sample An analysis of responses from the total sample on the comparative importance of twenty factors to the career choice of librarianship revealed that five factors are perceived as most influential in recruitment. Most impor tant to the decision to enter the profession is "love of books and reading." In addition, "use of academic librar ies," "use of public libraries," "academic librarians," and "work experience in academic libraries" are also major influences on the career choices of respondents. The findings suggest that librarians are more likely to be recruited to the profession when persons who have an affinity toward books and reading are exposed to libraries as patrons and as employees. Furthermore, a congenial identification with academic and public libraries as well as with academic librarians is generally estab lished before the decision to enter the profession occurs. A relatively minor role in the recruitment process is played by school and special libraries and their librar ians. Factors identified as exerting the least influence on the selection of librarianship as a profession are: elementary and secondary teachers- career literature and guidance counselors. The evidence indicates that 171 librarianship as a career is not emphasized by teachers and counselors on the secondary and elementary levels, and that comparatively few respondents formulate their career choices during these years. Hypothesis 2. There is no relationship between the time of decision to become a librarian and the degree of satisfaction with librarianship. This investigation produced no evidence that satis faction with librarianship is related either positively or negatively to the time of life when the definite decision to become a librarian is formulated. More than half of the least-satisfied group and a similar proportion of the most-satisfied group did not decide to become librarians until after college. More than one fourth of each group decided on the profession during college, while about one tenth of both groups definitely decided to become a librarian before entering college. Moreover, similar proportions of both groups delayed their career choice until more than ten years after college— approximately one fifth ok each group. Neither early nor late decisions in the choice of librarianship as a career were correlated with above-average or less-than-average satisfaction with the profession. Therefore, the hypothesis, postulating no relation ship between the time of decision to become a librarian and the extent of satisfaction with librarianship, is tenable. 172 Findings Related to the Time the Decision to Become a Librarian Was Determined, According to the Total Sample The majority of respondents did not definitely decide on librarianship as a career until after college; in fact, almost one out of five delayed their decision for more than ten years after they had completed their years in college. Fewer than one third of the subjects had decided on the field during college, while fewer than one sixth had determined to become a librarian before entering college. From the evidence, then, librarianship as a profes sion tends to attract comparatively few aspirants during elementary and secondary school years. Almost twice as many delay their choice of librarianship until some time after college as make the choice during college. More often than chance, the library profession tends to appeal to the mature adult who has finished college; has less attraction for college students; and has little appeal for elementary or secondary school students. Therefore, the data imply that (1) there is a tendency for imbalance of the age distribution among librarians, and (2) the likelihood of interim employment after college prior to entering the library field. 173 Hypothesis 3. There is no relationship between -personal value orientations aticTthe degree of satisfaction with librarianship. The criterion used to determine the personal value orientations of respondents was the level of importance assigned to eight goals considered in an ’’ideal” career. Respondents who differed significantly in the extent of satisfaction with the profession were shown to be in considerable agreement in their aspirations for goal achievement in an occupation. Only one significant differ ence was found between the groups: those most satisfied perceived the ’’ opportunity for service” as considerably more important in an ideal career than did those least satisfied with librarianship. Whether least or most satisfied with librarianship, respondents considered the attainment of rewards related to the work itself (applying professional knowledge, personal development, service, creativity) as more desirable in a career than the extraneous rewards derived from the work (prestige, security, earning a good salary, advancement). Based on the close similarity of the importance perceived in occupational goal aspirations between the least-satisfied and most-satisfied respondents, the hypoth esis is upheld that no relationship exists between personal value orientations and the degree of satisfaction with librarianship. 174 Summary of Findings Related to Personal Value Orientations A large majority of the librarians surveyed were in close agreement in their aspirations for goal achievement from a career— and this response pattern persisted for all subgroups regardless of the extent of their satisfaction with library work, geographic location, sex, professional degree, or length of experience in librarianship. However, ”opportunity for service” was perceived as significantly more desirable in a career by the women than by the men, and by those most satisfied rather than least satisfied with librarianship. As a career goal, signifi cantly more value was attached to '’ opportunity for creativity” by those least experienced (five or fewer years) than those most experienced (over 20 years) in the profession. Intrinsic rewards inherent in the work itself (’’ applying professional knowledge,” ’’ personal development,” ’’service,” ’’ creativity”) were perceived by respondents from all groups as being more important occupational values than were the extrinsic rewards (’’prestige,” ’’ job security,” ’’ earning a good salary,” ’’professional advancement”). Hypothesis 4. There is no difference in the degree of satisfaction with librarianship between librarians who hold or lack a degree inlibrary science. When respondents identified as least satisfied and 175 as most satisfied with librarianship were compared on the basis of possession of a degree in librarianship, signifi cant differences were found between the groups. Subjects who lacked a degree in librarianship were considerably more likely to evidence less-than-average rather than above- average satisfaction with a career in librarianship, than were those who held a library degree. A degree in librar ianship, then, tends to be associated with greater career satisfaction. The hypothesis postulating no difference in the level of satisfaction with librarianship between librarians who hold or who lack a degree in the field, is rejected. The evidence shows a significantly higher level of career satisfaction for those who hold the degree than for those who have not earned one in librarianship. More than 75 per cent of respondents held a degree in librarianship at the time of the study. The profession of librarianship, then, is not limited to members who have earned a degree in library science. The findings suggest that the choice of librarianship as a career is more likely to be accidental for those who do not hold a degree in the field than for librarians who completed a degree program in library science. 176 Hypothesis 5. There is no difference in the degree of satisfaction with librarianship between librarians with or without previous careers in other fields. Similar proportions of respondents categorized as "least satisfied" and "most satisfied" with librarianship acknowledged prior employment before entering the library field. More than half of the members from each group had worked in another field since college and before entering library work. Teaching was the former career most frequently reported by both groups. The evidence shows no relationship in the extent of satisfaction with librarianship between librarians who had had previous careers in another field and those who had had no career other than librarianship. Therefore, the hypoth- esis is tenable. The majority of persons in the study had worked in another occupation since college and before entering the library field. Almost half of those with previous careers had been teachers. Three other fields— business and sales, office work, and chemistry--had been the areas of employ ment reported next most frequently by those with former careers. The findings suggest that a previous career in another field neither increases nor diminishes the extent of satisfaction with librarianship. Librarians who had no other career showed no tendency toward greater satisfaction 177 in librarianship than did those who had worked in another occupation before becoming librarians. The results indicate that the profession of librar ianship is not the primary vocational choice for a majority of its members. Almost one fourth of the respondents had been teachers before becoming librarians, and teaching is the most frequently-reported previous occupation. Recruit ment for librarianship, then, should probably include programs that would appeal to teachers. Identification of the reasons given by former teachers who entered librarian ship for changing careers would aid in the search for candidates for the library profession. Hypothesis 6. There is no relationship between years oi experience in librarianship and the degree o£ satisfaction with librarian- sEgr; ------- ---------------------- The first five years of librarianship seem to offer less job satisfaction to those in the profession than do the later years in the field. The data suggest that librarians with no more than five years of experience are twice as likely to find less-than-average rather than above-average satisfaction in librarianship. Conversely, the odds are twice as great that those most satisfied with librarianship have been in the field for twenty years or more. The career of librarianship, then, tends to offer less satisfaction to its neophytes than to its veteran members. 178 Because a significant relationship between length of library experience and the extent of satisfaction with librarianship was revealed, the hypothesis must be rejected. However, it seems likely that those least satis fied with librarianship did not survive or persevere long in the field. The increase in the extent of satisfaction evidenced by librarians who remained at least twenty years in the profession may also be a result of the selection of responses to the questionnaire. There is reason to believe that the least-satisfied among the most-experienced librar ians would be less likely to answer the questionnaire. Still, the evidence suggests that the library profession has not fully met the expectations of a fairly large proportion of its newer members. Consideration should be given to the areas of dissatisfaction among neophyte members, and, once identified, adjustments should be made when indicated to raise their morale and to lessen the likelihood of their becoming "dropouts." Research Findings Related to the Satisfaction Scale Librarians1 Perceptions of the Relative Prestige of Librarianship as a Profession As indicated by the prestige rankings assigned, professions composed predominantly of men— "college teacher," "engineer," "chemist," and "psychologist"— are 179 perceived by librarians as having more prestige than are professions with a predominance of women— ’’librarian,*' "nurse" and "social worker." Librarians personally perceived librarianship as having considerably more prestige than is customarily attributed to it by the general public. They personally considered "librarian" to outrank "nurse," "social worker," and "high school teacher" in prestige. Librarians indicate, however, that they believe the general public would assign less prestige to "librarian" than to the other seven professions rated. It can be assumed, then, that despite the perceived lack of prestige accorded their profession by the general public, the higher prestige rating ascribed to "librarian" by its own members indicates that the morale and career satisfaction of librarians is relatively strong. Extent of Satisfaction with Librarianship When respondents were asked to indicate the extent of satisfaction with librarianship as a career, more than nine out of ten expressed definite satisfaction. On the negative side, librarianship was rated as "a fairly satis factory career" by about 6 per cent and as unsatisfactory by only 1 per cent of the sample. The participants in this study perceived their career in librarianship to be unquestionably satisfactory 180 for them. Perceptions Regarding the Reselection of Librarianship as a Career Further evidence that the level of satisfaction with librarianship is relatively high is shown by the atti tudes expressed toward reselection of librarianship as a career. Two thirds of the librarians, if given a second chance, would "definitely” select the profession again, more than one fourth "might” re-enter the field, while only about 5 per cent would "definitely not” choose to be a librarian again if given the chance. For those who choose a library career and are active members of a national library association, the likelihood of attaining a high level of satisfaction with the profession is much greater than the likelihood of regretting the selection of a career in librarianship. Conclusions 1. The vocational choice of librarianship is more likely to be made by persons who have an affinity for books and reading and who have established a congenial identifi cation with libraries (primarily academic and secondarily public) and academic librarians, both as patrons and as employees. One would expect the decision to become a librarian to be associated with pleasurable experiences with libraries and librarians. Given such associations, 181 the expectations involved in choosing a library career are reality-focused and therefore more likely to be fulfilled. Persons other than librarians— teachers, parents, or relatives, library science students and guidance coun selors— have comparatively little or no influence in interesting people to enter librarianship. Career litera ture is ineffectual in recruitment of librarians. There is a considerable degree of consensus regard ing the relative importance attributed to factors affecting the vocational choice of librarianship among librarians— despite the fact that librarians may differ markedly with respect to geographical locale, sex, possession of a library degree, previous careers, and length of library experience. 2. The vocational choice of librarianship is most likely to be made after college graduation, and may occur as late as ten years after the completion of college. The trend is toward delaying the decision to become a librar ian. Librarianship as a profession is considerably more attractive to college graduates than to college students, and is least attractive to young people in their pre college years. 3. Librarianship as a profession appeals more to idealistically-oriented than to materialistically-oriented 182 persons. The library profession does not attract persons who perceive high salaries-as a major career goal. 4. Librarians who have completed a degree program in librarianship tend to derive greater satisfaction from the career than do the nondegreed. 5. Librarianship does not have to be the primary vocational choice for those who succeed in the profession and derive great satisfaction from working in it. More over, a previous career in another field neither increases nor decreases the level of satisfaction attained from a career in librarianship. 6. Librarians are actually well satisfied with their profession, in spite of a perceived lack of prestige accorded it by the general public. 7. A career in librarianship is perceived as highly satisfactory by librarians. All librarian groups concur in this high rating of the profession, regardless of their geographical locale, sex, possession or lack of a library degree, prior employment in other fields, or length of library experience. Recommendations 183 On the basis of the results revealed in the inves tigation and the conclusions drawn from them, certain recommendations are made with regard to further research. ,1. Investigations are needed to determine what kinds of experiences with libraries and librarians are perceived as determinants of the choice of librarianship as a career. What were the critical incidents considered of major importance in the decision to become a librarian as perceived by men, by women, by younger librarians, and by those who made their career choices before or during college? 2. Research which undertakes to identify the reasons for late decisions in choosing a library career should be conducted. Is it lack of awareness about the career? Is it lack of money for graduate school? For women, what proportion delay their choice until families are established and children are in school? For men, what proportion are required to delay their career until after military service? 3. Studies are needed to explore the reasons given for leaving previous occupations in favor of librarianship. Of particular importance would be an investigation of the characteristics of former teachers who became librarians. 184 From what subject fields are they more likely to come? From what types of schools? Are they better or less effec tive librarians for having followed a previous career for a time? 4. The following specific suggestions concerning recruitment and training of librarians are offered. (1) Initiate and develop greater job opportunities in libraries for high school students to serve as volunteers and as part-time employees, so that earlier identification and commitment to a career in the field can be fostered. (2) Encourage younger librarians to take an active role in the recruitment of younger persons to the profession. (3) Study ways and means of communicating the opportunities available in librarianship to guidance counselors so that they can assume a more influential role in counseling potential candidates. (4) Identify the characteristics of librarians who have been most successful in recruiting candidates to the field. (5) Explore ways of increasing the amount and the number of stipends for library education so that the necessity for interim careers can be reduced. (6) Identify the characteristics of librarians who are skilled in developing the neophytes so that the latter may be led to attain an optimum level of job satisfaction. (7) Explore the possibilities of arranging work schedules of library employees who have the qualifications for 185 graduate library education, to enable them to work toward a professional degree in the field. (8) Conduct a study of librarians who lack a degree in librarianship to ascertain if possible the major deterrents in obtaining a profes sional degree in this field. (9) Conduct a related inves tigation to determine the characteristics of individuals who worked in libraries for a relatively long period of time before entering a degree program in librarianship. (10) Study the feasibility of initiating and encouraging degree programs in library education in liberal arts colleges and teachers' colleges--especially those which offer accredited professional degrees in other fields, such as education, social work and nursing. (The evidence from this study suggests that a school of librarianship spon sored by a college might compete more successfully for younger candidates on the campus than would a university- sponsored library school. The latter may have relatively little prestige when compared to other professional schools such as medicine, law, and engineering.) (11) Explore the possibility of increasing library education programs to accelerate and augment the choice of librarianship by college students. (12) Offer more diversified programs of librarianship education on both undergraduate and graduate levels to enable students to obtain professional compe tence. Make such a program flexible enough to meet present 186 shortages and to encompass the future, when requirements of librarianship may be greatly different from those currently operative. i BI B LI O GR A PH Y BIBLIOGRAPHY A. Sources Cited 1. A.L.A. Membership 1964 Directory, ’’ Membership by States.” Chicago: American Library Association, 1964, p. 351; Special Libraries Association. Illinois Chapter Membership Directory. 1964-1965; Southern California Chapter. Special Libraries Association Bulletin, Membership Directory, 1965; Supplement to Vol. 26, No. 4, Summer, 1965. 2. A.L.A. Membership 1965 Directory. Chicago: American Library Association, 1965. 3. American Library Association. 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Final Report PC (2)-7A. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1963. Table 9.--"Years of School Completed by the Experienced Civilian Labor Force, by Detailed Occupation and Sex, for the United States: I960,1' p. 116 (male), p. 123 (female) (Professional, Technical, and Kindred Workers). 7. Blauch, Lloyd E. "Professional Education," Encyclo pedia of Educational Research. 3rd ed. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1960, p. 1056. 8. Bryan, Alice I. The Public Librarian. New York: Columbia University, 1952. 9. Caplow, Theodore. Book review of Ginzberg's book in The American Journal of Sociology, 57 (March, 1952), 522-523. 10. Cass, James, and Max Birnbaum. Comparative Guide to American Colleges. New York: Harper and Row, 1964; Directory of Special Libraries of Southern California. 2d ed., n.p., Southern California Chapter, Special Libraries Association, 1965; Special Libraries Association, Illinois Chapter Membership Directory, 1964-1965. n.p., Illinois Chapter, Special Libraries Association, 1964; U.S. Bureau of the Census. County and City Data Book, 1962. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1962. 11. Castagna, Edwin. National Inventory of Library Needs. Chicago: American Library Association, 1965. 12. Cattell, R. B. Personality. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1950. 13. Centers, Richard. "Motivational Aspects of Occupa tional Stratification," Journal of Social Psychology, 28 (1948), 187-217. 190 14. 15. 16. , 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. Cogan, Morris L. ’’ The Problem of Defining a Profes sion,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, 297 (January, 1955), 105-111. Counts, George S. ’’ The Social Status of Occupations,” School Review. 33 (1925), 16-27. Danielson, Lee E. Characteristics of Engineers and Scientists« Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1960. Davis, James A. Great Aspirations: the Graduate School Plans of America’s College Seniors. Chicago: Aldine Publishing Co., 1964. Douglass, Robert Raymond. ’’ The Personality of the Librarian.” Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Chicago, 1957. English, Horace B., and Ava Champney English. A Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychological and Psychoanalytical Terms. New York; Longmans, Green and Co., 1958. Flexner, Abraham. ”Is Social Work a Profession?” in Proceedings of the National Conference of Chari ties and Correction. Chicago: Hildmann Printing Co., 1915, 576-590. _______ . Medical Education in the United States and Canada. New York: Carnegie Foundation, 1910. Frarey, Carlyle J. ’’Profile of an Alumni Body: the Graduates of Columbia University's School of Library Service,” Library Journal. 91 (April 1, 1966), 1776-1781. Gaver, Mary V. "Masters of the Raging Book?” ALA Bulletin, 60 (September, 1966), 794-799; 802-805. Geiser, Peter. "Some Social Factors Affecting the Power Structure and Status of a Professional Association in Reference to Social Work.” Unpub lished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Southern California, 1960. 191 25. Ginzberg, Eli, and others. Occupational Choice. New York: Columbia University Press, 1951. 26. Goode, William J. "The Librarian: From Occupation to Profession?" Library Quarterly. 31 (October, 1961), 306-320. 27. Gregory, Ruth W. "Illinois Looks at Recruiting: The Results of a Questionnaire," Illinois Libraries. 30 (May, 1948), 183-186. 28. Guilford, J. P. Fundamental Statistics in Psychology and Education. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1956. 29. Higgins, Alice G. "18,000 Librarians Wanted," Library Journal, 70 (1945), 551-554. 30. Hodge, Robert W., Paul M. Siegel, and Peter H. Rossi. "Occupational Prestige in the United States, 1925-1963," The American Journal of Sociology, 70 (November, 1964), 286-302. 31. Hoppock, Robert. Occupational Information. 2d ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1963. 32. Howe, Harriet E. "Administrative Problems in Library Education," in Bernard Berelson (ed.), Education for Librarianship. Chicago: American Library Association, 1949, 254-268. 33. Howe, Mary T. "The Public Librarian in Illinois," Illinois Libraries, June, 1966, pp. 481-491. 34. Hubbard, Harold Gene. "The Career Business Executive as a Definitive Occupational Type." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University 6f Southern California, 1960. 35. Kilpatrick, Franklin P., and others. The Image of the Federal Service. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1964. 36. Lancour, Harold. "The Librarian's Search for Status," Library Quarterly, 31 (October, 1961), 369-379. 192 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. Leigh, Robert D. The California Librarian Education Survey. New York: Columbia University, 1952. ' The Public Library in the United States. New York: Columbia University Press, 1950. Letter from Patrick Bova, Librarian, National Opinion Research Center, September 20, 1966. "Library Education and the Talent Shortage,*1 Library Journal, 91 (April 1, 1966), 1761-1775. Library Education Directory. 1964-65. Coraps. Sarah R. Reed and Willie P. Toye. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Office of Education, 1965. Lyman, Elizabeth L. ’’ Occupational Differences in the Value Attached to Work,” The American Journal of Sociology, 61 (1955), 138-144. McCreedy, Sister Mary Lucille. ’’ The Selection of School Librarianship as a Career.” Unpublished D.L.So dissertation, Columbia University, 1963. Miller, Norman, and others. One Year after Commence ment (Report No. 93). Chicago: National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago, June, 1963. Table A-1.6 (unnumbered page), ’’Law & Other Professions. Current Graduate Fields 1961-62 of those enrolled.” Mistaras, Evangeline. ’’ Occupational Status of the Special Librarian.” Unpublished Master's thesis, Graduate Library School, University of Chicago, August, 1953. Morrison, Percy David. "The Career of Academic Librarian.” Unpublished D.L.S. dissertation, University of California, Northern Section, 1960. Morse, Nancy. Satisfactions in the White Collar Job. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1952. 193 48. Morse, Nancy C., and R. S. Weiss. ’’ The Function and Meaning of Work and the Job,’1 American Sociolog ical Review, 20 (1955), 191-205. 49. National Opinion Research Center. ’’Jobs and Occupa tions: a Popular Evaluation,5 1 in R. Bendix and S. M. Lipset (eds.), Class. Status and Power. Glencoe, 111.: Free Press, 1953, 411-426. 50. Nelson, Harold A. ’’Reference Group Theory, Selection and the Images of Professions.” Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Southern California, 1960. 51. Niland, Billyanna Mary. ’’Social Factors Related to Dentistry as a Career.” Unpublished Ph.D. disser tation, University of Southern California, 1963. 52. 1966 Bowker Annual. New York: R. R. Bowker Co., 1965. 53. O'Dowd, Donald D., and David C. Beardslee. College Student Images of a Selected Group of Professions and Occupations. Cooperative Research Project No. 562 (8142). Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University, 1960. 54. Penalosa, Fernando. ’’Librarians’ Perception of Social and Occupational Status.” Unpublished paper, May, 1959. 55. Pollard, Frances M. "Characteristics of Negro College Chief Librarians,” College and Research Libraries. 25 (July, 1964), 281-284. 56. ’’Professional Education of Librarians,” University of California, School of Library Service, Los Angeles, California, Information Circular. No. 4, revised August 1, 1965. 57. Reagan, Agnes Lytton. A Study of Factors Influencing College Students to Become Librarians. ACRL Monograph, Number 21. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries, 1958. 194 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. Reagan, Agnes Lytton. "Discussion on Ports of Entry to Librarianship," Library Quarterly. 31 (October, 1961), 351-355. "Recruiting for Library Service," Annual Report of the Committee, 1929-30, Bulletin of the American Library Association, 24 (May, 1930), 165-166. Reed, Sarah Rebecca. "Bachelor's and Higher Degrees in Library Science by SeK," in 1966 Bowker Annual. New York: R. R. Bowker Co., 1966. ■ "Graduate Library Education in the Fall of 1964," in Edwin Castagna, National Inventory of Library Needs. Chicago: American Library Associa tion, 1965, 69-72. Rettig, Salmon, Frank N. Jacobson, and Benjamin Pasamanick. "Status Over-estimation, Objective Status, and Job Satisfaction among Professions," American Sociological Review. 23 (February, 1958), 75-81. Roe, Anne. The Psychology of Occupations. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1956. Rosenberg, Morris. Occupations and Values. Glencoe, 111.: The Free Press, 1957. Rossi, Peter H. "Discussion on Librarians' Search for Status." Library Quarterly. 31 (October, 1961), 380-381. Schaffer, R. H. "Job Satisfaction as Related to Need Satisfaction in Work," Psychological Monographs, No. 364, 1953. Siegel, S. Nonparametric Statistics for the Behav ioral Sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1956, pp. 127-137; Western Data Processing Center. Questionnaire Analysis Program I for the IBM-709 (Mod. 4), Revised, June 1, 1960. Los Angeles: University of California, 1960. 195 68. Skipper, James E. "The Library Student Speaks," Association of American Library Schools News letter, 2 (January, 1950), Part I, 12-14. 69. Smith, Mapheus. "An Empirical Scale of Prestige Status of Occupations," American Sociological Review, 8 (April, 1943), 185-192. 70. Special Libraries Association. Membership Require ments and Privileges. New York: The Association, 1964. (Mimeographed.) 71. "Special Libraries Association Personnel Survey, 1959," Special Libraries, 51 (March, 1960), 133- 155. 72. Super, Donald E., and Paul B. Bachrach. Scientific Careers and Vocational Development Theory. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1957. 73. Super, Donald E., and others. Vocational Development. Career Pattern Study, Monograph One. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1957. 74. Thornton, Luanne. "A Scale to Measure Librarians' Attitudes toward Librarianship," Journal of Educa tion for Librarianship, Summer, 1963, pp. 15-26. 75. . "A Scale to Measure Librarians' Attitudes toward Librarianship." Unpublished Master's thesis, Emory University, 1959. 76. Tiedeman, D. V., and R. P. O'Hara. Differentiation and Integration in Career Development. Cambridge: Harvard University Graduate School of Education, 1964. 77. Ulrich, Gretchen, John Hechlik, and Edward C. Roeber. "Occupational Stereotypes of High School Students," Vocational Guidance Quarterly, 14 (Spring, 1966), 170-172. 196 78. Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language. 2d ed. Springfield: G. & C. Merriam Co., 1955. 79. Webster's Third International Dictionary. Springfield: G. & C. Merriam Co., 1961. 80. Western Data Processing Center. Questionnaire Analy sis Program I for the IBM-709 (Mod. 4). Revised, June 1, 1960. Los Angeles: University of California, 1960. 81. _______ . User's Manual. Los Angeles: University of California, n.d. 82. Williamson, Charles C. Training for Library Service. New York: Updike, 1923. 83. Winslow, Carleton Monroe. "Subcultural Characteris tics of the Profession of Architecture." Unpublished Master's thesis, University of Southern California, 1960. B. Supplementary Sources Allport, G. W., P. W. Vernon, and G. Lindsey. Study of Values. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1960. _______ . Study of Values— Manual of Directions. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1951. Anderson, Archibald W. "The Teaching Profession: An Exam ple of Diversity in Training and Function," Education for the Professions, Sixty-first Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part II. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962, 140-167. Bailyn, Lotte. "Notes on the Role of Choice in the Psychology of Professional Women," Daedalus, 93 (Spring, 1964), 700-710. Barber, Bernard. "Some Problems in the Sociology of the Professions," Daedalus, 92 (Fall, 1963), 669-688. 197 Bennett, M. (pseud.). ’’Unauthorized Report from the Committee on the Stereotyped Librarian,” Library Journal, 89 (June 1, 1964), 2285-2286. Berelson, Bernard. ’’ The Criticism of Graduate Education,” Library Quarterly, 31 (January, 1961), 45-59. Bergen, Daniel P. "Recruitment for the Profession,” Journal of Education for Librarianship, 2 (Summer, 1961), 42-46. Caplow, Theodore. The Sociology of Work. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1954. Carr-Saunders, A. M. "Metropolitan Conditions and Tradi tional Professional Relationships,” in The Metropolis in Modern Life. Ed. R. M. Fisher. Garden City: Doubleday and Co., 1955, 279-288. i Clark, Kenneth E. America's Psychologists; a Survey of a Growing Profession. Washington, D.C.: American Psycho logical Association, Inc., 1957. Cohen, Nathan M., and others. Library Science Disserta tions: 1925-60; an Annotated Bibliography of Doctoral Studies. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare (Bulletin 1963, No. 38, 0E-15044). Devereux, George, and Florence R. Werner. "The Occupa tional Status of Nurses,” American Sociological Review, 15 (October, 1950), 62S-634. Dewey, Melvil. Librarianship as a Profession for College- bred Women. Boston: Library Bureau, 1886. Downs, Robert B. "Status of University Librarians,” College and Research Libraries, 25 (July, 1964), 253-258. Eaton, Thelma. "Professional Inertia," Library Journal, 81 (April 15, 1956), 859-862. 198 Eckert, Ruth E., John E. Stecklein, and K. Bradley Sagen. ’’College Faculty Members View Their Jobs,” AAUP Bulletin, 45 (December, 1959), 513-528. Form, William H. ’’Popular Images of Librarians,” Library Journal, 71 (June 15, 1946), 851-855. _________ , and James A. Geschwender. ’’Some Reference Basis of Job Satisfaction,” American Sociological Review, 27 (1962), 228-237. Fuller, Albert Dwane. ’ ’ The Values of Social Workers." Unpublished D.S.W. dissertation, University of Southern California, 1963. Garrett, Henry E. Statistics in Psychology and Education. 5th ed. New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1958. Glass, Martin Lester. "Comparative Status of Five Profes sions as Seen by the Members Therein.” Unpublished Master's thesis, University of Southern California, 1957. Herzberg, Frederick, and others. Job Attitudes: Review of Research and Opinion. Pittsburgh: Psychological Service of Pittsburgh, 1957. Hoppock, Robert. Job Satisfaction. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1935. Hughes, Everett C. "Education for a Profession,” Library Quarterly, 31 (October, 1961), 344-351. . "Professions,” Daedalus, 92, No. 4 (Fall, 1963), 655-668. _______ , Helen MacGill Hughes, and Irwin Deutscher. Twenty Thousand Nurses Tell Their Story. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1958. Rerlinger, Fred N. Foundations of Behavioral Research. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1964. Leigh, Robert D., and K. W. Sewny. "The Popular Image of 199 the Library and the Librarian," Library Journal, 85 (June 1, 1960), 2089-2091. Liaison Committee of the Regents of the University of California and the California State Board of Education, Joint Staff. "Education for Librarianship in Southern California; a Study of the Need for an Additional School of Librarianship in Southern California." Berkeley and Sacramento, 1958. (Mimeographed.) Mack, Raymond W. "Occupational Ideology and the Determi nate Role." Social Forces. 36 (1957), 37-44. Maier, Norman R. F. Psychology in Industry. 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1965. Mallaber, K. A. "Research in Librarianship," Library Association Record. 67 (July, 1965), 222-227. Mason, J. W. "Improving the Stature of Librarians in the Public Mind," Special Libraries, 53 (November, 1962), 522-525. McDonagh, Edward C., and A. Leon Rosenblum. "A Comparison of Mailed Questionnaires and Subsequent Structured Interviews," The Public Opinion Quarterly. 29 (Spring, 1965), 131-136. McGlothlin, William J. Patterns of Professional Education. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1960. Miller, Rosalind. "Librarians: a Vanishing Breed," Library Journal. 89 (November 15, 1964), 4597-4599. Moore, Helen-Jean. "Recruiting in Urban Univeuity Librar ies: Some Suggestions," Library Trends. 10 (April, 1962), 571-572. National Society for the Study of Education. Education for the Professions. Sixty-first Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part II. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962. 200 Neiman, Lionel J., and James W. Hughes. "The Problem on the Concept of Role— a Re-survey of the Literature,” Social Forces, 30 (December, 1951), 141-149. Peterson, Esther. "Working Women," Daedalus, 93 (Spring, 1964), 671-699. Pollard, Frances Marguerite. "Characteristics of Negro College Chief Librarians." Unpublished Ph.D. disser tation, School of Library Science, Western Reserve University, 1963. Reece, Ernest J. "The Professional Person: Who He is and What to Expect of Him," Illinois Libraries, 43 (December, 1961), 764-767. Ryans, David G. Characteristics of Teachers: Their Description, Comparison and Appraisal. Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education, 1960. Segal, Bo E. "Male Nurses: a Case Study in Status Contra diction and Prestige Loss," Social Forces, 41 (October, - - 1962), 31-38. Speiden, Virginia McNiel. "The Image of the Librarian as Seen in Eight Library Career Novels." Unpublished M.S. in L.S. thesis, University of North Carolina, 1961. Swank, Raynard C. "Six Items for Export; International Values in American Librarianship," Library Journal, 88 (February 15, 1963), 711-717. Tauber, Maurice F. "A Survey of Library Surveys," Library Journal, 86 (April 1, 1961), 1351-1357. Van Zelst, Raymond H. "Worker Popularity and jjob Satis faction," Personnel Psychology, 14 (Winter, 1951), 405- 412. j Weinbrecht, Ruby Y. "What the Young Librarian Thinks of His Professional Associations," Library Journal, 88 (April 1, 1963), 1417-1420, 201 Wilson, Eugene H. "The Preparation and Use of the Profes sional Staff," Library Quarterly, 31 (January, 1961), 104-114. Winters, Joseph. "The Inventoried Interests of Male Librarians." Unpublished Ed.D. dissertation, New York University, 1962. Wittlin, Alma S. "The Teacher," Daedalus, 92 (Fall, 1963), 745-763. Wolfle, Dael. America’s Resources of Specialized Talent. New York: Harper and .Brothers, 1954. Zahedi, Hamid. "An Analytical Study of Attorney's Occupa tional Values and Satisfaction." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Southern California, 1962. APPENDIX A MEMBERSHIPS HELD BY RESPONDENTS IN TWO LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS, ACCORDING TO SUBGROUPS 203 TABLE 41 MEMBERSHIPS HELD BY RESPONDENTS IN TWO LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS, ACCORDING TO SUBGROUPS — Memberships in Library Associations Subgroups N u m b er of American Library Association Special Libraries Association Dual M em ber ship Responses N u m ber Per cent N u m ber Per cent N u m ber Per cent Degree of Satisfaction Least Satisfied. 88 43 49 57 65 12 13 M ost Satisfied 85 66 78 49 58 30 35 Geographical Locale: C ook County 147 100 71 85 58 38 26 Los Angeles County 173 103 59 108 62 38 22 ,Sex of Respondent:3 M en 106 79 75 56 53 29 27 W o m e n 212 122 58 136 64 46 21 Possession of a Degree in Library Science: Nondegreed 71 21 30 54 76 3 4 Degreed 249 182 75 139 56 72 29 Years in Librarianship Least Experienced • • 80 50 63 42 53 12 1 5 M ost Experienced 79 58 73 48 61 37 34 Total G roup 320 203 63 193 60 76 24 aT w o respondents failed to indicate sex. Note: M emberships as reported by respondents, 1965. APPENDIX B COVER LETTER ACCOMPANYING QUESTIONNAIRE 2419 Griffith Park Boulevard Los Angeles, California 90039 205 Dear Librarian: Few research studies have been m ade on librarianship as a career. Recently there have been several studies completed on other professions such as social work, engineering, dentistry and law. Because I a m a librarian as well as a doctoral candidate in Educational Psychology at the University of Southern California I have chosen as m y dissertation topic to study the perceptions of librarians on librarianship. T o carry out this study, a random sample of currently employed librarians in your area has been m ade, and your n am e has been drawn. All information received w ill be kept strictly confidential. N o attempt will be m ade to identify individual participants. It would be of great help if you would complete the enclosed forms as soon as possible and return them in the stamped, self-addressed envelope. T he value of this study is dependent upon the cooperation of altruistic, honest and prom pt respondents. If you wish to have a prepublication sum m ary of the study, please f i l l out the enclosed postcard and mail it separately from the forms, if you wish to remain anom ym ous. A n additional copy of the questionnaire is also enclosed for your file s. T he sum m ary should be available by Su m m er, 1966. Y ou should find that about thirty minutes or less w ill be adequate for this inquiry. I shall certainly try to m ake this study a real contribution to our profession. Y our generosity and cooperation are very m uch appreciated. Sincerely yours, j M J R :m s M ary Jane R yan APPENDIX C QUESTIONNAIRE: HOW LIBRARIANS PERCEIVE LIBRARIANSHIP 207 HOW LIBRARIANS PERCEIVE LIBRARIANSHIP QUESTIONNAIRE P A R T I W h en did you definitely decide to become a librarian? ( ) Prior to high school ( ) During the first tw o years of high school ( ) During the last tw o years of high school ( ) During college ( ) After college: ( ) 0-5 years ( ) 6-10 ( ) over 10 years W hat careers did you seriously consider besides librarianship? Career: W h en Considered: 1. _______________ 2. ___________________________ W hat careers (other than librarianship) did you enter since college? ( ) none #1 career:__________ for: ( ) 0-5 ( ) 6-10 ( ) over 10 yrs. #2 career:__________ for: ( ) 0-5 ( ) 6-10 ( ) over 10 yrs. If you have had a career other than librarianship since college, please answer: M y first career, com pared to librarianship, was: ( ) m ore satisfactory ( ) satisfactory ( ) less satisfactory M y second career, com pared to librarianship was: ( ) m ore satisfactory ( ) satisfactory ( ) less satisfactory O f all the careers or professions with which you are acquainted, which would be your: First choice ___________ Second_choice________________ W ould you encourage your daughter to become a librarian? ( ) yes ( ) no W ould you encourage your son to become a librarian? ( ) yes ( ) no W hat are the occupations of your five closest friends? i 208 I 9. H o w important were the following as influences on your decision ! to enter librarianship? Check one of the three possible responses for each. V E R Y R E L A T IV E L Y N O T IN F L U E N C E S I M P O R T A N T I M P O R T A N T I M P O R T A N T Career literature ( ) ( ) ( ) Teachers: elementary secondary college/university Parents or relatives Librarians: public school special college/university Guidance counselors Use of libraries: public school special college/university Love of books and reading W ork experience in a library: public school special college/university Library school students Other_______________________ : 10. T o what extent was the decision to becom e a librarian determined on your ow n ? ) entirely ) almost entirely ) to a considerable degree ) to a slight degree ) it was primarily accidental 11. O n the next page is a lis t of goals which might be considered in the "ideal" career. T o what extent would each goal be important to you? li 209 V E R Y R E L A T IV E L Y N O T I M P O R T A N T I M P O R T A N T I M P O R T A N T 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. O P P O R T U N IT Y F O R : Earning a good salary Personal development Applying professional knowledge Service Job security Prestige Creativity Professional advancement Other: If all of the following professions were ranked according to their prestige by assigning each a num ber from "1" through "8", using #1 for the Highest in prestige, and #8 for the Lowest in prestige. H O W W O U L D Y O U R A N K T H E M ? ( ) Chemist ( ) College teacher ( ) Engineer ( ) High school teacher ( ) Librarian ( ) Nurse ( ) Psychologist ( ) Social worker H O W W O U L D T H E P U B L IC R A N K T H E M ? ( ) Chemist ( ) College teacher ( ) Engineer ( ) High school teacher ( ) Librarian ( ) Nurse ( ) Psychologist ( ) Social worker T o what extent do you feel that librarianship is a satisfactory career for you? ( ) the only satisfactory career ( ) Satisfactory but not the only satisfactory career ( ) O n e of several possible satisfactory careers ( ) A fairly satisfactory career ( ) It has not been a satisfactory career Given a second chance, would you becom e a professional librarian again? ( ) yes ( ) no ( ) perhaps T o the best of your knowledge, have you ever directly encouraged anyone to enter librarianship? ( ) yes ( ) no If yes, how m any? ( ) very few ( ) several ( ) m an y H ave you ever participated in a Career D ay event? ( ) yes ( ) no H ave you ever recom m ended a candidate to library school? ( ) yes ( ) no If yes, how m any? ( ) very few ( ) several ( ) m an y D o people ask you about librarianship as a career? ( ) seldom ( ) fairly often ( ) frequently i i i 210 -19. H ave you ever contributed to a scholarship fund for librarianship? ( ) yes ( ) no 20. H ave you ever served on a recruitment committee for librarianship? ( ) yes ( ) no 21. Are you an active m em b er of your library school alumni? ( ) yes ( ) no 22. H ave you ever been consulted by the faculty — ■ — of a library school? ( ) yes ( ) no 23. W h at do you find most satisfying about your career as a librarian? 24. W hat do you find most dissatisfying about your career as a librarian? Given a choice, what type of library and what kind of position would you choose? 25. T Y P E O F L IB R A R Y ) College ) University ) School ) Public ) Special 27. 29. 26. T Y P E O F P O S IT IO N ( ) Other: Administration Readers "Services Circulation Services Reference Services Technical Services General, variety of duties Other: W h at type of library and what kind of library position describes your current career? Type of library:________________________ Type of position: __________________ 28. D p you belong to professional library associations? ( ' ) yes ( ) no. If yes, how m any? ( ) one ( ) tw o ( ) three ( ) four+ Check or lis t the library associations to which you belong: ( ) American Library Association ( ) Special Libraries ( ) California Library Association Association ( ) Illinois Library Association ( ) Others:__________ ( ) Medical Library Association ________________ iv 211 30. During the past six months, have you been able to attend any library meetings? ( ) yes ( ) no If yes, how m any? ( ) one ( ) tw o ( ) three ( ) four + 31. H ave you ever served on any library committees? ( ) yes ( ) no 32. H ave you ever held any offices in library associations? ( ) yes ( ) no 33. H ave you published any articles in professional journals? ( ) yes ( ) no 34. H ave you given papers at professional meetings? ( ) yes ( ) no If yes, how m any? ( ) one ( ) tw o ( ) three ( ) four or m ore 35. In how m any different libraries have you worked? ( ) one ( ) two ( ) three ( ) four ( ) five or m ore 36. H o w m an y library positions have you held? ( ) one ( ) tw o ( ) three ( ) four ( ) five or m ore 37. H o w m an y years have you been a librarian? ( ) 0-1 ( ) 2-5 ( ) 6-10 ( ) 11-15 ( ) 16-20 ( ) over 20 years " B A C K G R O U N D I N F O R M A T I O N P A R T II I. G E N E R A L I N F O R M A T I O N Sex: ( ) male ( ) female Age: ( ) under 25 ( ) 26-30 ( ) 31-40 ( ) 41-50 ( ) 50+ Marital status: ( ) single ( ) married ( ) widowed ( ) divorced N u m b er of children: ( ) none ( ) one ( ) tw o ( ) three ( ) four ( ) five+ II. F A M IL Y B A C K G R O U N D Are there any other librarians in your family? ( ) yes ( ) no If so, what is the relationship?__________________________ W hat was the major occupation of your: Father__________________________________________________ M o t he r__________________________________________________ Spouse__________________________________________________ v 212 III. t IV. W hat w as their educational background? S P O U S E M O T H E R F A T H E R Professional or Advanced Degree ( ) ( ) ( ) College Degree (4-year) ( ) ( ) ( ) 1-3 years in College ( ) ( ) ( ) High School Graduate ( ) ( ) ( ) 1-3 years in High School ( ) ( ) ( ) 8 years or less, Elementary School ( ) ( ) ( ) H IG H S C H O O L F rom what type of high school did you graduate? ( ) public ( ) private H o w large was the enrollment? ( ) under 200 ( ) 200-499 ( ) 500+ W hich one of the broad areas of studies did you prefer? ( ) Humanities ( ) Social Sciences ( ) Natural Sciences U N D E R G R A D U A T E E D U C A T IO N D o you have a Bachelor's degree? ( ) yes ( ) no If yes, from what type of school? ( ) public ( ) private -- , ( ) other_________________ W h en earned: ( ) before 1930 ( ) 1930-39 ( ) 1940-49 ( ) 1950-59 ( ) since 1960 Did you receive your degree: ( ) in California? ( ) Illinois? ( ) elsewhere in U.S. (where?)___________________________ ( ) outside U.S.A._____(where?)______ M A J O R F IE L D _____________ M I N O R F IE L D _______; _______ ______ L IB R A R Y S C H O O L D o you have a degree in library science? ( ) yes ( ) no If yes, highest degree earned: ( ) 4-year Bachelor's ( ) 5- year Bachelor's ( ) 5-year Master's ( ) 6-year Master's ( ) Doctorate W h en earned? ( ) before 1930 ( ) 1930-39 ( ) 1940-49 ( ) 1950-59 ( ) since 1960 Did you receive your degree: ( ) in California? ( ) Illinois? ( ) elsewhere in U.S. (where?)__________________________ ( ) outside U.S.A. (where?)__________________________ vi 213 If you do not have an advanced degree in a subject field but have taken graduate work other than in library science, indicate the approximate num ber of credits you have earned: ( ) under 10 ( ) under 20 ( ) under 25 ( ) 25+: M A J O R F IE L D _______________ M I N O R F IE L D _________________ Are you working toward an advanced degree in a subject field at present? ( ) yes ( ) no If yes, in what field?____________ W hat degree?___________ T hank you! Y our cooperation is greatly appreciated. M ary Jane R yan vii APPENDIX D SELF-ADDRESSED POST CARD REQUESTING SUMMARY 215 Miss Mary Jane Ryan 2419 Griffith Park Blvd. Los Angeles, Calif., 90039 Date________________ I have returned the questionnaire. I would like a summary. Please mail it to: Name____________________________________ . Street__________ ______________________________ City______________________ State__________ Zone Thanks for your cooperation. APPENDIX E FOLLOW-UP POST CARD REQUESTING RETURN OF QUESTIONNAIRE 217 2419 Griffith Park Blvd. Los Angeles, Calif. 90039 Probably your questionnaire is among those already returned. If so, my sincere thanks for your help. Since every survey depends for its validity on the greatest number of individuals taking part, you can understand why I want to make certain that your - answers are included. If you have not yet had an opportunity to fill out and return the questionnaire, I hope you find it convenient to do so soon. If you have mislaid it, another copy is available upon request. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. Sincerely, 9/20/65 Mary Jane Ryan
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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Ryan, Mary Jane
(author)
Core Title
Librarians' Perceptions Of Librarianship
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Degree Program
Educational Psychology
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
education, educational psychology,OAI-PMH Harvest
Language
English
Contributor
Digitized by ProQuest
(provenance)
Advisor
Lefever, David Welty (
committee chair
), Carnes, Earl F. (
committee member
), McDonagh, Edward C. (
committee member
)
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-136605
Unique identifier
UC11360114
Identifier
6710776.pdf (filename),usctheses-c18-136605 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
6710776.pdf
Dmrecord
136605
Document Type
Dissertation
Rights
Ryan, Mary Jane
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...
Repository Name
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA
Tags
education, educational psychology