Three Rs: Retirement, Retention, and Recruitment

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Three Rs Retirement, Retention, and Recruitment

• The Future of Librarianship in Colorado

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Retirement, Retention, Recruitment The Future
of Librarianship in Colorado

• Library Research Service
• Keith Curry Lance, Director
• Nicolle Steffen, Associate Director
• Becky Russell, Senior Research Analyst
• Zeth Lietzau, Senior Research Analyst
• Partners Sponsors
• Colorado Association of Libraries - MADCAL
• Colorado State Library
• University of Denver

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The Challenge

• To take the temperature of librarianship
• in Colorado
• Who is retiring?
• Who is staying?
• Who is choosing librarianship?
• Why?
• When?

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Project Timeline

• May 2003 funded by LSTA Statewide Leadership
  Project
• Summer 2003 advisory board convened,
  questionnaire crafted pre-tested
• Fall 2003 survey promoted administered
• Winter/Spring 2004 data analyzed
• Summer/Fall 2004 final report written
• Fall 2004/Winter 2005 - dissemination

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Methodology

• Online survey
• Audience
• All library personnel
• Every part of the state
• All types of libraries
• Branching survey 3Rs
• Retirement
• Retention
• Recruitment

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Questionnaire
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Response Rate

• 1,241 Colorado librarians paraprofessionals,
  LIS students
• (26 of audience)
• 45 credentialed librarians
• 55 paraprofessionals
• Public libraries somewhat over represented
• Predominately white, women, over 30

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Retirement

• Librarians
• Of 571 responding librarians, 122 plan to retire
  within 5 years
• More than 1 in 5
• Paraprofessionals
• Of the 643 respondents, 94 plan to retire within
  5 years
• 1 in 7 retiring in 5 years

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Retirement Librarians

• Age
• 71 - 55 or older
• 29 - 45 to 54
• Significant number of retirees are younger than
  traditional retirement age

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Retirement Librarians
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Retirement Librarians
Distribution of Years of Library Employment
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Retirement Librarians

• Experience
• 3 in 5 have 20 years of library experience
• 1 in 4 have 11 20 years library experience
• 3 in 4 are supervisors

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Retirement Librarians
Area of Primary Responsibility in Current Position
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Retirement Librarians

• Primary Responsibility
• 2 in 5 are generalists
• 1 in 5 is an administrator
• 1 in 6 is in public service
• 1 in 10 is in technical services
• Significant institutional and professional
  knowledge will be lost

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Retirement Librarians

• Job Future
• After these librarians retire
• 1 in 5 expects job to be combined with another
  job or eliminated
• Almost 1 in 5 expects job qualifications to be
  lowered

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Retention

• Incumbent librarians were the largest group of
  respondents (N 525, or 42 of sample)
• Retaining incumbent librarians as important as
  recruiting new ones

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Retention Librarians

• Age
• Only 5 of incumbent librarians are under age 30
• 63 are over 45
• Experience
• 1/4 have worked in libraries 5 years or less

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Retention Librarians
Distribution by Age
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Retention Librarians
Distribution by Years of Library Employment
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Retention Librarians

• Primary Responsibility
• 1 in 3 is a generalist or in public services
• 1 in 6 is an administrator
• lt1 in 10 is in technical services
• 70 have supervisory responsibilities

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Retention Librarians

• Job Future
• If these librarians leave their current jobs
• 1 in 6 expects position to either be combined/
  reorganized with another or eliminated altogether
• 1 in 14 expects lower educational requirements
  for job
• Eastern Plains librarians more likely to expect
  their jobs will be eliminated than peers in other
  regions

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Retention Librarians

• Residence
• 3 in 4 expect to stay in CO
• But
• Academic librarians least likely to limit
  themselves to Colorado
• Younger librarians most likely to leave

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Retention Librarians

• Career Change
• As many as 1 in 10 plan to leave librarianship
• Librarians 30-44 more likely to contemplate
  leaving librarianship
• Top fields of interest business, education,
  technology

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Recruitment

• Students MLS or school library media (17)
• Paraprofessionals work in libraries in various
  capacities, not credentialed, not retiring in
  the next 5 years (83)

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Recruitment Students

• Age
• Only 16 under age 30
• 1/3 over age 45
• Experience
• 3/4 have some previous library work experience
  (1/4 have 6 or more years)

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Recruitment Students
Distribution by Age
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Recruitment Students
Distribution of Years of Library Employment
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Recruitment - Paraprofessionals

• Proportionally, paraprofessionals most
• apt to consider pursuing a library
• degree are
• Located in Mountain Western Slope communities
• Younger

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Recruitment - Paraprofessionals

• Encouraged to pursue a library
• degree by
• Availability of financial aid
• Access to online classes
• Convenient class location schedule
• Flexible work schedule

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Recruitment - Paraprofessionals

• Top 5 reasons for not pursuing a
• library degree
• Not necessary in current position
• Financial constraints
• Satisfied with current position
• Time constraints
• Would not improve compensation

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Recruitment - Paraprofessionals

• Non-metro residents were
• More than twice as likely to be discouraged from
  pursuing a library degree by inconveniently
  located educational institutions
• More encouraged by access to online classes (74
  non-metro v. 49 metro)

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Why librarianship?

• What makes librarianship an attractive
• profession?
• According to all respondents
• Service to others
• Love of books or reading
• Intellectual challenge
• Variety of work experiences
• Working with interesting people

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Why not librarianship?

• What most discourages a career in
• librarianship?
• According to all respondents
• Low financial compensation
• Misconceptions about what librarians do
• Negative stereotypes about librarians

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Recommendations

• Colorado State Library Colorado Library
  Consortium (including CoLAB)
• Advocate for librarianship
• Promote leadership development
• Provide small medium sized libraries with human
  resources support
• Professional Organizations
• Contact elected officials to advocate for
  libraries
• Sponsor conferences workshops
• Produce professional publications
• Confer awards

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Recommendations

• Libraries Decision Makers
• Recruit, hire, support credentialed libaraians
• Provide incentives support for those seeking
  library credentials
• Recruit new librarians from within
• Provide compensation sufficient to retain
  incumbent librarians
• Cultivate leadership

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Recommendations

• Library Educators
• Recruit new librarians
• Make education available statewide (extension
  online courses)
• Respect multiple learning styles
• Promote leadership
• Librarians
• Pursue appropriate credentials
• Join participate in professional organizations
• Pursue continuing education opportunities
• Volunteer for leadership roles

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Retirement, Retention, Recruitment The Future
of Librarianship in Colorado

• For more information visit
• www.LRS.org