G. Kim Dority - Rethinking Information Work: A Career Guide for Librarians and Other Information Professionals

Rethinking Information Work

Copyright 2016 by G. Kim Dority

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Dority, G. Kim, 1950 author.

Title: Rethinking information work : a career guide for librarians and other information professionals / G. Kim Dority.

Description: Second edition. | Santa Barbara, CA : Libraries Unlimited, [2016] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015033949| ISBN 9781610699594 (paperback) | ISBN 9781610699600 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Library scienceVocational guidanceUnited States. | Information scienceVocational guidanceUnited States. | Career development. | BISAC: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Library & Information Science / General. | LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Library & Information Science / Administration & Management.

Classification: LCC Z682.35.V62 D67 2016 | DDC 020.23dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015033949

ISBN: 978-1-61069-959-4
EISBN: 978-1-61069-960-0

201918171612345

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This book is dedicated to my father, Roy Donahue, whose unconditional love, support, and encouragement instilled in me the confidence to become who I was capable of becoming, and an understanding that success was about not the amount of your paycheck, but rather the amount of your impact.

The first edition of this book was based on a course I developed at the University of Denver Library and Information Science graduate program called Alternative Career Paths for Librarians. It was conceived as an exploration of all of the different paths one could pursue with an MLIS degree, and each year, it has expanded to incorporate new insights contributed by the previous class members. Thus, it is important to acknowledge the extraordinary contribution each group of students has made over the past 15 years to the body of knowledge presented here. I am deeply grateful to the students who have shared their questions, ideas, and experiences over the years, as they have led to deeper insights for all of us. As students in all of our many MLIS programs have gone on to become practitioners, they have contributed their unique skills and insights to the ever-changing LIS landscape and created new career paths in the process. Those of us in the profession as well as those who will enter it owe them our appreciation and applause.

In addition, I would like to acknowledge the tremendous support provided by the profession for the idea of alternative LIS career paths. A bit of an oddity when we first starting talking about them, alternative LIS career paths have now gained traction and are opening up expanding job opportunities in large part thanks to the willingness of librarians and other information professionals to test out new ideas and approaches. Thank-you to all of the fearless individuals who have scouted the territory for us and then reported back. We are in your debt.

As with the previous edition, this book draws on the knowledge I have gained from many, many wise and supportive colleagues throughout the years. Together, we have been exploring as many ways as we can devise for using LIS skills to create rewarding careerswith, no doubt, many more ways to come. Special thanks to Mary Ellen Bates, Marcy Phelps, and Scott Brown for your wise counsel and ongoing support here.

Lastly, I would like to thank my extraordinarily patient and insightful editor, Barbara Ittner, who not only helped me shape the original manuscript into a coherent whole but then also, flying in the face of good judgment and previous experience, was again willing to go through the process with me for a second edition. Barbara, you are patience and the triumph of faith over experience personified. And I am grateful.

In 1977, Marc Porat coined the term information economy while working on his economics doctorate at Stanford. In 2014, Aaron Hurst, Dr. Porats nephew, social entrepreneur, and founder of the Taproot Foundation, described what is perhaps our next defining phase, the purpose economy. In his book The Purpose Economy: How Your Desire for Impact, Personal Growth, and Community Is Changing the World (Elevate), Hurst describes a new approach to work that is grounded in and reflective of the basic human need to be doing something worthwhile with our skills and knowledge. Purpose, he asserts, will increasingly become the driver of our careers.

That being the case, library and information science (LIS) professionals should be, as they say, in the sweet spot.

Few career paths offer the potential for creating meaning and purpose from our daily engagements as does information work. Information is a change agent; our skills enable us to be change agents who add value to lives, communities, organizations, and nations. We can do that as public, school, or academic librarians, as information specialists in for-profit and nonprofit settings, for government agencies, and for organizations of every type. We can help drive local economic development, instill confidence in a hesitant community college student, provide the market intelligence that lets a start-up succeed, or help a nonprofit attain the funding it needs or disseminate the knowledge those funds have enabled. And thats just a beginner list.

Thats the good news.

On the other hand, launching, growing, or transitioning an LIS career has probably never been more of a challenge. Traditional librariesespecially public and schoolare undergoing disruptive changes that affect who gets hired, what they get hired for, and whether or not those hires are required to be graduates of MLIS programs. Competition is fierce for plum jobsdefined as a full-time position that pays a decent salary, comes with benefits, and has at least some potential for growth and professional engagement. Unpredictability may be the new normal when it comes to LIS employment.

For example, the American Library Associations State of Americas Libraries Report 2015 finds that public libraries continue to be valued (More than two-thirds of Americans agree that libraries are important because they improve the quality of life in a community, promote literacy and reading, and provide many people with a chance to succeed) and popular (In 2012, there were 92.6 million attendees at the 4 million programs offered by public libraries. This represents a 10-year increase of 54.4% in program attendance.).

Public library circumstances have begun to improve with the strengthening economy as some states have restored at least a modicum of previously cut funding. A positive result is that the dire trend of libraries closing outright seems to have slowed (The number of states reporting branch closures is down, from 10 states to only five this year [2014]). signal the reality of an unpredictable financial future for years to come, at best. The likelihood is that some public libraries will thrive, some will struggle, but entry-level, full-time MLIS-required positions will continue to contract due to shifting budget priorities and workplace structural changes.