Employers Expectation for EntryLevel Catalog Librarians: What Position Announcement Data Indicate

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Employers Expectation for Entry-Level Catalog
Librarians What Position Announcement Data
Indicate

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• Sylvia Hall-Ellis, PhD
• Library Information Science Program

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Reasons for the study

• Preparing entry-level catalogers (part of my
  research agenda)
• Teaching cataloging course sequence
• Beginning Cataloging Classification
• Descriptive Cataloging
• Subject Cataloging
• Managing Electronic Records
• Special Topic Technical Services Administration

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Basis for the study

• New LIS Program
• Accredited June 2004
• Significant investment in cataloging courses
• Align course content learning experiences with
  employers expectations
• Ensure that employers were hiring entry-level
  catalog librarians

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Background research study 1

• The Cooperative Cataloging Council (CCC)
  suggested that library school faculty who are
  responsible for teaching basic organization and
  cataloging courses would prepare new catalog
  librarians with a list of overall skills to meet
  students and perspective employers
  expectations.

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Background research study 2

• Association for Library Collections Technical
  Services (ALCTS) issued an educational policy
  statement, June 1995.
• Theoretical framework of knowledge and skills for
  new library school graduates
• intellectual access and information organization
• preserving access
• identification, selection, and acquisition of
  information resources
• management skills
• and, research analysis and interpretation skills.

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Background research study 3

• Kellogg-ALISE Information Professions and
  Education Reform Project (KALIPER).

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Stages of cataloger education

• Formal graduate program
• On-the-job training
• Continuing education experiences throughout a
  career

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Research Question 1

• Which academic preparation, technical skills and
  competencies do employers expect entry-level
  catalog librarians to possess?

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Research Question 2

• Do employers expectations regarding the
  academic degrees and cataloging course work,
  technical skills and competencies differ among
  types of libraries (academic, special, public and
  school)?

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Research Question 3

• What are the academic preparation, technical
  skills and competencies included in a typical
  position announcement for an entry-level catalog
  librarian?

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Methodology

• Descriptive content analysis
• Review of 495 position announcements for catalog
  librarians
• September 1, 2000 through August 31, 2003
• American Libraries (print online versions)
• AutoCAT
• Colorado State Library Jobline

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Raw data set

• 151 positions
• Academic
• University 90
• 4-year College 12
• Community college 6
• Public 22
• Special 20
• School 1

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61 variables in 6 categories

• General employer description
• Academic preparation
• Cataloging, classification, authority control
• Related technical services or bibliographic
  control tasks
• Assignments outside domain
• Communication competencies and work-based
  relationships

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Definition of entry-level

• ALA-accredited MLIS (or foreign equivalent)
• Fewer than 2 years of post-MLIS experience

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Position description components

• academic preparation
• required qualifications
• preferred competencies and skills
• primary work assignment functions
• institutional information
• specific resources available through Web sites
  and hyperlinks

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What do the data indicate?
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Summary observations
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Observation 1

• Employers expect entry-level catalogers to have
  knowledge competency with cataloging tools
• Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (96)
• Library of Congress Rule Interpretations (58.6)
• Other standard cataloging tools (59.8)

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Observation 2

• Employers expect entry-level catalogers to have
  knowledge about authority work
• MARC 21 authority format
• Authority records (94.7)
• Authority files (59.3)
• Contributing
• Maintaining
• Relationship of authority records, files and
  integrated library systems (59.1)

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Observation 3

• Employers expect entry-level catalogers to have
  knowledge competency with MARC 21
• Each MARC 21 bibliographic format
• Specified formats
• Electronic resources (30.7)
• Continuing resources (23.3)
• Archival resources (12)

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Observation 4

• Employers expect entry-level catalogers to have
  knowledge competency with classification
  schemes
• Library of Congress Classification (30.7)
• Dewey Decimal Classification (94.7)
• Superintendent of Documents (59.3)

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Observation 5

• Employers expect entry-level catalogers to have
  knowledge competency with subject headings
• Library of Congress Subject Headings (91.4)

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Observation 6

• Employers expect entry-level catalogers to have
  knowledge competency with at least one
  bibliographic utility
• General use of bibliographic utility (83.7)
• OCLC (71.3)
• RLIN (8)
• OCLC RLIN (4.5)

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Observation 7

• Employers expect entry-level catalogers to be
  able to
• handle routine maintenance (69.3) and policy
  development (18) for bibliographic (69.3) and
  metadata (25.3) databases
• acquisitions (5.3) and subscriptions (10) to
  databases and electronic journals and serials
  management (23.3)
• support an ILS (12)

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• work regular shifts (frequently during evening
  and week-end hours) on a reference desk (26)
• handle collection development responsibilities
  (39.3)
• as a liaison to faculty members (28) in
  academic institutions

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Observation 8

• Employers expect entry-level catalogers to
• Be flexible regarding assignments (26.7)
• Maintain committee participation (34.7)
• Assume responsibilities for special projects
  (40.6)
• Possess effective verbal (59.4) and written
  (59.4) communication skills

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Final thoughts

• Employers expect entry-level catalogers to
  possess broad-based theoretical knowledge,
  extensive hands-on experience, mastery of
  computer-based tools and system-specific
  familiarity that appear to exceed the
  requirements and preferences stated in position
  announcements and the content of beginning
  cataloging courses

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• Descriptive Impressions of Entry-Level Cataloger
  Positions as Reflected in American Libraries,
  AutoCAT, and the Colorado State Library Jobline,
  2000-2003. Cataloging Classification Quarterly
  40, no. 2 (2005).

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Questions?