Four Decades of Position Announcements for Latin American and Caribbean Studies Librarians

in U.S. Academic & Research Libraries: 1970-2009

Jesús Alonso-RegaladoUniversity at Albany, SUNYSALALM LV, Providence, RIJuly 25, 2010

Summary of the Study

► Update of the research article: “Librarian for Latin American and Caribbean Studies in U.S. Academic and Research Libraries: A Content Analysis of Position Announcements, 1970-2007.” Full text available at: http://eprints.rclis.org/17799/

► Object of study: 100 job announcements mentioning collection development as a duty and Latin American Studies as a subject responsibility.

► Sources: C&RLNews, SALALM Newsletter, and LALA-L

► Methodology: Content analysis

Variables: 121 (73 analyzed in detail)

Variables divided into the following categories:

Position description characteristics

Academic background & knowledge

Work experience

Technology skills

Language skills

Personal traits

Duties

Subject responsibilities

Position Description Characteristics

► Period:

► Job title: The most common title was “librarian”

► Institution type: public Universities (64%), private (21%), research/specialized libraries (15%)

► Geographic location: The Northeast and South accounted for 80% of the jobs offered in 2000-2009

1970-1989 1990-1999 2000-2009

25 35 40

24% (1970-89)65%(2000-2009)

Academic Requirements & Background Knowledge

► Master of Library Science: 80% of the job ads required it. 63% required an ALA-accredited MLS. 28% would accept an MLS equivalent.

► Advanced degree in a related field:

► Adv. degree in LACS or emphasis in this subject: 40%

► PhD: 19% preferred; but only 1 required.

► Knowledge of area publishing trade: Increase as required from 12% in 1970-1989 to 42.5% in 2000-2009.

1970-1989 2000-2007

14 required or preferred (56% of ads) 28 required or preferred (70% of ads)

Type of Required Prior Experience by Time Period

0

5

10

15

20

25

Num

ber o

f Job

Ann

ounc

emen

ts 70-89

90-99

00-09

Language (Required + Preferred) by Time Period

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Num

ber o

f Job

Ann

ounc

emen

ts

70-89

90-99

00-09

Personal Traits by Time Period

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Num

ber o

f Job

Ann

ounc

emen

ts 70-89

90-99

00-09

Top 10 Most Demanded Duties by Time Period

05

1015202530354045

Num

ber o

f Job

Ann

ounc

emen

ts 70-89

90-99

00-09

Subject Responsibilities

Most common subject with LACS % of job ads

Iberian Studies 43%

Spanish language and literature 20%

Portuguese language and literature 19%

U.S Latino Studies 12%

► Latin American and Caribbean Studies: 88% of the jobs require it. An additional 12% list specific countries.

1970-1989 1990-1999 2000-2009

8 18 17

► Iberian Studies over time :

Changing Role - Duties

Evolution of the position from being narrowly specialized to being more diversified

The average number of duties per announcement has increased over time

4.8(1970-89)

6.25(1990-1999)

8.1 (2000-2009)

General Trends in Job Ads for Subject Librarians

► Increased vagueness in subject responsibilities: Examples

▪“will support the curriculum of assigned departments”▪“will serve as liaison with faculty in assigned subject areas”▪“outreach to faculty/students in academic units as needed”

► Growing number of subjects: Example▪ Modern Lang. and Cultures Librarian “to collaborate with faculty in programs for Spanish, Chinese, German, Italian, and Japanese.”

► Increasing number of positions not filled after retirements and librarians leaving jobs. Some of these jobs are distributed among librarians who were already in the institution, adding more duties into their job profiles.

Current & Future Studies

► Limitations of the study: Job ads do not necessarilyreflect the actual work experience of individuals employed in this field.

Subject responsibilities can be later.

► Survey study of those librarians hired would provide a more accurate picture of the current profile.

► As globalization studies gains recognition in academic programs, how this would affect the scope of area studies positions?Example: “Global Studies & Foreign Languages Liaison Librarian”

Are LACS librarians still needed?

► Latin American Studies in the U.S. has grown significantly• Number of academic programs

From 120 in 1970 to 202 in 2010• Number of degrees conferred

From 431 in 1970-71 to 825 in 2007-08

► Volume of dissertation and thesesFrom 954 in the 70’s to 4,705 in the 00’s

► LACS library subject expertise still needed but growing number of librarians responsible for Latin American Studies WITHOUTbackground in this subject.

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© Ruby Gutiérrez

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© Anne Barnhart