"I'm thinking 'bout moving in"... An examination of the issues impacting on the recruitment of secondary school graduates to the library and information profession
Barry, Tania & Hallam, Gillian C. (2009) "I'm thinking 'bout moving in"... An examination of the issues impacting on the recruitment of secondary school graduates to the library and information profession. In Varlejs, Jana & Walton, Graham (Eds.) Strategies for regenerating the library and information professions, K G Saur, Bologna, Italy, pp. 32-45.
In recent years concern has been expressed internationally about the future of the library and information services (LIS) profession: recruitment and retention, changing skill sets and declining numbers of people choosing librarianship as a career are all factors contributing to an uncertain future. One area yet explored in any depth is the topic of why LIS studies are not perceived, let alone promoted, as a good first professional qualification for high school graduates. This paper considers the professional literature that examines the uptake of librarianship as a first qualification by school leavers and discusses, in the context of the Australian library sector, the role of professional associations, library schools, National and State Libraries, as well as individual libraries and librarians. Examples of best practice are presented to highlight the opportunities for inspiring and motivating students through well structured and stimulating work experience programs. The topic is relevant to all librarians who are interested in the future of the LIS profession. It is argued that the focus of the present conference on ‘moving up’ and ‘moving on’ can only have real significance when the profession has a more complete understanding of the barriers to and the opportunities for ‘moving in’.
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|Item Type:||Conference Paper|
|Additional Information:||In the IFLA publication, the title of the paper was shortened to 'Issues impacting recruitment of secondary school graduates'.|
|Keywords:||Library education, School leavers, Recruitment to the profession, Library and information profession|
|Subjects:||Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification > INFORMATION AND COMPUTING SCIENCES (080000) > LIBRARY AND INFORMATION STUDIES (080700) > Librarianship (080706)|
|Divisions:||Past > QUT Faculties & Divisions > Faculty of Science and Technology|
|Deposited On:||17 Nov 2009 02:26|
|Last Modified:||29 Feb 2012 14:02|
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