Introduction: Workforce Issues in Library and Information Science, Part 2

This double issue represents a continuation of our first collection of research articles on workforce issues published in Library Trends, Volume 58, Number 2, Fall 2009. Concerns about the current and future state of the library workforce continue to grow as greater numbers of Baby Boomers move closer to their retirement years. As Manjarrez, Ray, and Bisher point out in this issue, half of librarians were over age fifty in 2007, and a fifth of librarians were over age sixty. A number of factors have made librarianship one of the occupations with the highest proportion of older workers: many librarians enter the profession as a second career; reductions in hiring in public and academic libraries during the 1970s and 1980s resulted in fewer hires of younger librarians; and high levels of job satisfaction contribute to worker longevity in positions. The complexity of the library workforce situation is also increased by the greater proportion of women in the profession who are more likely than men to have career interruptions and caregiving demands for both child care and elder care. In some cases, these responsibilities, or even being married to an older spouse, may result in some women retiring at an earlier age. While there has been much discussion and speculation about workforce issues in the past, research data on the subject has been sparse. Most studies have been limited in size and scope and have produced snapshots from narrow or focused angles rather than comprehensive and wide-angle pictures of the changes that are occurring in the library workforce over time. Since librarianship is not a licensed profession requiring annual registration and submission of job information, as is the case in the health professions, we have not had a strong body of workforce data to draw upon for educational and workforce planning. Nor is it easy for policy makers or even prospective recruits to find out about workforce needs