12 days of Christmas - Post 10 On recruiting to the profession

An issue that is very dear to my heart is that of using well thought out and meaningful work experience programs for secondary school students as a way to recruit more to the profession. There has been a lot of concern expressed internationally about the future of the library and information services profession; there are quite a number of factors that are contributing to an uncertain future. These include: recruitment and retention, changing skill sets and declining numbers of people choosing librarianship as a career. Library professional bodies, such as ALIA and ALA ,have encouraged considerable research into these problems so we can attempt to better understand issues of sustainability, however one area that has not been explored in any depth is the topic of why LIS studies are not perceived, let alone promoted, as a good first professional qualification for school leavers.

There needs to be some sort of development of effective career pathways which will require integrated relationships between the schools, vocational education and higher education sectors, along with employers and professional associations. I think there's quite a bit of scope for the LIS profession to develop career models that might be representative for other areas of employment.

There isn't much in the way of professional literature that examines the uptake of librarianship as a first qualification by school leavers, which is what made me take on a research study of the issues impacting on recruitment of young people. In particular, I like to look at opportunities for inspiring and motivating students through well structured and stimulating work experience programs. This topic is relevant to all librarians who are interested in the future of the LIS profession. After all, we owe it to ourselves and we owe it to our profession.

Paper at dreaming08

I mentioned in another blog post that I would be presenting a paper on 'Recruiting the next generation' at dreaming08. I have had some email queries about this now and just wanted to say that I withdrew my submission, hence why I am not in the program. So unfortunately, I won't be presenting at the Biennial, but am still writing a paper on this topic (well trying to at any rate) so stay tuned.

Recruiting the next generation

Those who know me know of my passion for recruiting new blood into the profession and how I feel it is necessary to engage with the younger generation more in order to encourage them into the industry.

The ALIA Promote LIS Career committee is working on this and are establishing a wiki to showcase the professional opportunities available in the library and information industry. See the DestinationLibrary wiki for career options, profiles and workplace examples available.

The Age VCE and Careers Expo will be held in Melbourne from Friday 11 April to Sunday 13 April (10 am to 4 pm) and the Committee would like professional involvement in the event to promote careers in the Library and Information industry. It isn't hard - I did it 3 years ago and it is really rewarding seeing the comprehension in students' eyes when they realise our profession is not just 'pearls and cardigans' and shushing all the time! Yes, I had detractors and yes, there are many that will never believe the library industry is challenging and constantly evolving, but if we do nothing then we never will make a difference. Something to think about.

If you can help with the careers expo for just a couple of hours, contact Dr Bonna Jones from RMIT University for more information. As I have said before, we owe it to ourselves and we owe it to our profession.

As an aside, I will be presenting a paper at the ALIA Bienniel Conference, dreaming08, on this topic. Hope to see you there.