the future is now: shifting demographics, emerging competencies, and the canadian library workforce...
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The Future is Now: Shifting Demographics, Emerging Competencies, and the Canadian Library Workforce
Stephen AbramSLA
June 14, 2006
Starting Question
Will there be a shortage of librarians in the next 5 to 10 years due to mass retirements?
A ‘simple’ question, no simple answers In the process we learned:
No clear succession crisis Urgency in other areas of library human resources:
Competencies, particularly management and leadership
Education and training Workloads and quality of work, work-life balance Role overlap between librarians and
paraprofessionals Focus on recruitment, not as much on retirement
Objective
o Comprehensive investigation of issues around recruitment, retention, remuneration, repatriation, rejuvenation, reaccreditation, retirement, and restructuring (the 8Rs) in the Canadian library context
The 8Rs
Recruitment Retention Remuneration Repatriation Reaccreditation Rejuvenation Retirement Restructuring
Project Scope
3-year study of unprecedented breadth and depth 167 data tables Over 900 variables 275-page report (English and French) Analyses of data by library sectors and sub-sectors
2006 Training Gaps Analysis for Librarians and Library Technicians Cultural Human Resources Council / CLA
Methods: Cdn Library HR Study
o Institutional Surveyo Phase I: 1,357 surveys sent to libraries
o 34% response rate overall (461 respondents)o 36% public libraries
o 50% academic libraries
o 26% special libraries
o Practitioners’ Survey o Web survey sent to 8,626 library workerso Response rate of 36.5% (3,148 respondents)o Additional 1,545 responses collected through
listserv o Total of 4,693 responses
Methods: Training Gaps Analysis
o Phase II Employer Surveyo 94 institutions surveyed, 58 respondents (61%
response rate)
o Student Surveyo 867 students
o 354 MLISo 503 LIT
Demographics
Percent
Professional Librarians (n=1,886)
Paraprofessional Staff (n=1,560)
Library Sector < 45 45-54 55+ < 45 45-54 55+
TOTAL SAMPLE 35 40 25 38 41 21
TOTAL ACADEMIC
34 39 27 36 40 24
CARL 32 39 29 33 42 25
Other Academic
38 37 25 42 36 22
TOTAL PUBLIC 34 44 22 42 38 20
CULC 34 47 19 42 38 20
Other Public 34 37 29 43 40 17
TOTAL SPECIAL 39 38 23 41 43 16
Government 37 37 26 42 47 11
Non-Profit 43 41 16 36 42 22
For-Profit 39 37 24 46 36 18
TOTAL SCHOOL 19 44 37 30 48 22
Table C.10: Age Category of Librarians and Paraprofessionals by Library Sector (Individual Survey)
(Lack of) Diversity in Libraries
Visible Minorities 7% of librarians and paraprofessionals 4% of all senior administrators Special libraries have slightly higher
representation of visible minority staff Aboriginal
1% of librarians across career levels 2% of paraprofessionals
Retirement
Table E.3: Librarian Age of Retirement by Library Sector (Institutional Survey; n=95)
Percent
Library Sector Before 65Years of Age
At 65Years of Age
After 65Years of Age
TOTAL 79 13 8
TOTAL ACADEMIC 82 14 4
CARL 82 13 5
TOTAL PUBLIC 73 13 14
CULC 71 10 19
Public 80 0 20
TOTAL SPECIAL 88 0 12
Table E.6 Predicted Librarian Retirements Within the Next 5 and 10 Years (Individual Survey)
Librarian Workforce Retirement
Retirement Scenario Percent
Estimated # in Librarian Population
Scenario 1: Assuming retire at 60
Retirements by 2009 25 2,250
Retirements by 2014 48 4,320
Scenario 2: Assuming retire at 62
Retirements by 2009 16 1,440
Retirements by 2014 39 3,510
Scenario 3: Assuming retire at 65
Retirements by 2009 6 540
Retirements by 2014 25 2,250
Table J.3: Predicted Future Librarian Supply
Time Period
Current Librarian Workforce
New Librarian Entrants
Departures from
Retirement
Future Librarian
Workforce
Future Librarians
as % of Current
Librarians
In 5 years (2009) 11,700 +1,600 - 1,870 11,430 98%
In 10 years (2014) 11,700 + 3,250 - 4,560 10,390 89%
Table J.5: Predicted Future Library Technician Supply
Time Period
Current Library Technician Workforce
New Library Technician Entrants
Departures from
Retirement
Future Library
Technician Workforce
Future Library
Technicians as % of Current
Technicians
In 5 years (2009) 10,360 1,200 - 1,350 10,210 99%
In 10 years (2014) 10,360 2,400 - 3,500 9,260 89%
9
10
23
3
10
31
6
8
14
5
0
TOTAL
TOTAL ACADEMIC
CARL
Other Academic
TOTAL PUBLIC
CULC
Other Public
TOTAL SPECIAL
Government
Non-Profit
For-Profit
0 10 20 30 40
Percent
Figure E.2: Organizations with Succession Plan by Library Sector (Institutional Survey; n=276)
Recruitment
Most Significant Barriers to Recruitment by Whether or Not Recruited in Past Year
60
39
36
32
33
29
29
21
40
23
41
21
32
35
33
23
74
51
33
40
34
24
27
20
Budget restraints
Small size of library
Geographic location
Hiring freeze/limit
Inadequate pay
Insufficient qualified candidates
Insufficient interested candidates
Competition from other sectors
0 20 40 60 80 100
Percent
TOTAL Recruited Not Recruited
Competencies
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Most Important AND Most Difficult to Fulfill Competencies When Recruiting Librarians by Library Sector
42
40
39
32
32
47
51
38
28
34
46
39
40
35
27
27
25
40
36
34
Leadership potential
Managerial skills
Can flexibly respond to change
Innovative
Can handle high volume workload
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Percent Reporting as 'Important' and 'Difficult to fulfil'
TOTAL SAMPLE Public Academic Special
Table G.7: Percent of Recent Librarian Entrants Agreeing that MLIS Program Provided Skills to Effectively Perform
their Jobs by Library Sector
“My Program Provided Me With . . . “
Library Sector
General Skills/
Abilities
Problem-solving
skillsIT
SkillsMgmnt Skills
Ldrship Skills
Bus. Skills
TOTAL 63 45 46 25 20 12
TOTAL ACADEMIC 55 42 45 23 16 7
TOTAL PUBLIC 68 46 52 27 23 16
TOTAL SPECIAL 66 52 44 29 24 12
Competency Match: MLIS Programs Students see largest gap in perceived importance
and provision of business skills, followed by leadership and managerial skills
46% of students believe their program provides a realistic depiction of what is like to work as a librarian /in a related field
68% of current students satisfied with education quality
75% of employers believe MLIS education equips graduates with the competencies required to be professional librarians at their organizations
Suggestions for improvement: Students and recent grads: more practical training Employers: improvements to management curriculum
Competencies: Library Technicians/Paraprofessionals
Important competencies: interpersonal/people skills (100%), organizational commitment (95%) and
communication skills (93%) Most important and difficult to fulfill:
ability to respond flexibly to change IT skills public service skills
Competency Match: LIT Programs
Minor gaps between key competencies and their provision in the diploma program found
78% of current LIT students believe program is providing them with a realistic depiction of what it is like to work as a library technician
83% of LIT students satisfied with program 90% of employers believe LIT diploma programs
equip students for the workplace Suggestions for improvement:
Students: better course content Employers: better IT training, specialized training
Role Shifts
Traditional librarian duties are being taken on in an increasing capacity by paraprofessional staff
78% of institutions reported that paraprofessionals have taken on more of these responsibilities over the past 5 years
Role shift expected to continue to over the next 5 years
Professional Development
Percent Needing a Significant Amount of Training
Library Sector
Recent Librarian Entrants
Mid-Level Librarians
Senior-Level Librarians
TOTAL 72 43 36
TOTAL ACADEMIC 77 46 36
CARL 89 54 40
Other Academic 69 39 33
TOTAL PUBLIC 72 44 39
CULC 97 56 46
Other Public 62 39 35
TOTAL SPECIAL 66 35 33
Government 63 35 26
Non-Profit 74 40 43
Table H.2: Librarians Needing Significant Training by Career Level of Librarian by Library
Sector (Institutional Survey; n=270)
Percent “Agreeing”
Library Sector
Recent Librarian Entrants
Mid-Career Librarians
Senior-Career Librarians
TOTAL 56 56 60
TOTAL ACADEMIC 64 61 67
CARL 73 67 70
Other Academic 46 52 61
TOTAL PUBLIC 52 51 55
CULC 46 51 56
Other Public 61 50 53
TOTAL SPECIAL 49 57 59
Government 51 61 58
Non-Profit 50 47 56
For-Profit -- -- 71
SCHOOL -- -- 42
Table H.3: Organization Provides Sufficient Opportunities to Participate in Training by Career Stage by Library Sector
(Professional Librarians Only; Individual Survey; n=1,897)
Implications Environmental factors: how to deal with limited budgets, etc. Need to attract the best and brightest to the profession and
to individual libraries Need to ensure strong candidates get leadership and
management development Much of the training and development responsibility
currently lies with libraries How can associations and library schools play a role?
How will libraries predict what competencies are needed as time goes on?
Will the knowledge economy mean greater competition for highly-skilled library staff? Large research libraries will be the winners Small or rural libraries may find recruitment & retention issues
compounding over time
Quality of Work
Job Satisfaction
79% of librarians and paraprofessionals state they are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their jobs
Workload Manageability and Stress
Agreeing workload manageable Librarians: 39% Paraprofessionals: 53%
Agreeing they have little job-related stress Librarians: 24% Paraprofessionals: 35%
Agreeing job allows work-life balance Librarians: 62% Paraprofessionals: 75%
Implications
Appears to be no imminent crisis in library staff supply and demand
We haven’t shattered the myth of a shortage in the library workforce, but softened it
Implications
Shifting roles experienced between librarian and paraprofessional staff
Access to education for all staff Base education programs Continuing professional development
Leadership and management potential and competencies of new and existing staff
Charge to the Community
Recruitment isn’t about numbers, but about qualities and competencies Management, leadership, IT
Recruitment isn’t just to institutions, but to the profession Convergence between the profession and the schools
Address the challenge of increasing and supporting diversity in the library workforce
Charge to the Community Build greater accessibility to library education
programs Commit to professional development for all
library workers Take on leadership and management development as
core competencies to be nurtured within the workforce Gain greater understanding of role shifts and how they
define core competencies What do new and mid-career staff see as necessary
competencies? How can training barriers (due to limited budgets) be
addressed?
Getting the Information Out The Future of Human Resources in Canadian
Libraries download:http://www.ls.ualberta.ca/8rs
Training Gaps Analysis for Librarians and Library Technicians download:http://www.culturalhrc.ca/research/default-e.asp
CLA President’s Council IMLS study of library workforce in the United
States: http://www.libraryworkforce.org
Study Sponsors and Supporters
University of Alberta Canadian Association of Research Libraries Canadian Urban Libraries Council Library and Archives Canada Alberta Community Development,
Government of Alberta Canadian Library Association Cultural Human Resources Council (Training
Gaps Analysis)
