LJ Series "Job Satisfaction": Take This Job and Love It

“You don't get rich,” says one librarian from a large university in the Pacific Northwest about her work, “but you are rewarded in so many ways.” Another, from the Northeast, says she enjoys “creating order out of chaos.” Many say they are book lovers. Others love the intellectual atmosphere. “I couldn't hit a curve ball,” concedes one librarian from the South. “Or a fast ball for that matter.”

How they came to their careers is as varied as the people themselves, but despite some often highly publicized challenges for college and university librarians in the digital age, academic librarianship is good work, according to LJ's Job Satisfaction Survey. The overwhelming majority of the 1,209 respondents, some 70% across all age groups and institution size, reported being either “very satisfied” (32.1%) or “satisfied” (37.9%) with their jobs. Just under a quarter reported they were “somewhat satisfied” (23.4%). Only 6.7% admitted they were dissatisfied with their career choice. [For an overview of the survey, see “Great Work, Genuine Problems,” LJ 10/1/07, p. 26.]

The survey, however, also amplifies some persistent challenges facing librarians, including keeping up with rapidly changing technology, stressed budgets, management and career advancement issues, campus politics, concern over their role in the academic enterprise, and, of course, low pay.

No surprise: when asked about job satisfaction—or dissatisfaction—answers frequently involved money. Overall, 50% of respondents said they were underpaid; 48% said they were fairly paid (yes, 2% said they were overpaid). Not surprisingly, salary levels were most frequently cited as the primary cause of job dissatisfaction—and the survey suggests a solid correlation between salary and job satisfaction levels: those who said they were “very satisfied” with their work had an average annual salary of $63,800, while those who said they were “not satisfied at all” averaged less than $50,000. In addition, 70% of those who said they were unsatisfied also said they were underpaid.

Between them, Eric Kidwell and Robert Burkhardt have almost five decades of directorial experience at small, academic libraries in Alabama, giving them ample perspective on the field. “Part of the salary issue, I think, we have to blame on ourselves,” Kidwell, library director at Huntingdon College, Montgomery, says flatly. “Yes, we work in a noble profession, for the public good. But I didn't join a religious order, I didn't take vows, certainly not a vow of poverty. There is nothing wrong with asking to be equitably compensated.”

In the early 1980s, when Burkhardt became Athens State library director, he did just that: asked that librarians be paid on a par with classroom faculty. With the support of the faculty senate, he succeeded. The five professional librarians at Athens State are paid commensurately with other campus departments, and it shows. “I feel we really don't have the salary issue like at so many other institutions,” Burkhardt says. “I feel I'm well paid for the work I do.”

Although most MLS-holding academic librarians have faculty rank at their institutions, pay equity with other faculty is another matter. Kidwell, like many of his peers, says librarians are not paid on a par with classroom faculty at Huntingdon.

In comments, lagging salaries emerged as the toughest test of a librarian's commitment. A librarian at a large public university in the West, for example, expressed worries that “voter attacks on public employees make every election too exciting.” Dedication to the job, says a librarian at a large, elite East Coast research library, comes with a heavy price: “the feeling that I will never really make enough money to feel comfortable about paying my bills.”

Like most respondents, however, Patricia Watkins, a librarian in a small, “heavy science” library just north of Phoenix, says her job satisfaction was not paycheck-driven. Although, she concedes, “the salary was a shock.” Watkins has a reference point: librarianship is her second career, coming after an 18-year stint in advertising and market research in the automotive industry.

In 1998, looking for a life change that would “enhance the next decade” of her working life, Watkins read an article that suggested the rise of the Internet and looming baby boomer retirements meant opportunity in the library field. “I figured on a 360° career model,” Watkins says of her move into librarianship, “one that combined all my marketing research and management experience with a secondary research degree.” She also figured her previous management experience would help her rise in the field, taking over for all those retiring boomers.

“My satisfaction comes from working with students and faculty on a smaller, get-to-know-everybodycampus,” she says, as well as being at the forefront of an “exciting” Internet-based information movement. So far, so good: Watkins says she enjoys her work, her colleagues, and her environment—and her peers largely seem to agree.

“There's no pressure to increase sales or to boost numbers,” says Claudia McGivney, an MLS student in the New York area. “And there is a constant flow of new material, ideas, and technology. Sharing that with the community and coworkers is amazing.”

Respondents said helping students was the number one source of job satisfaction, followed by “autonomy,” the “diversity” of the job, relationships with fellow workers, and “intellectual stimulation.” Curiously, however, while “fellow workers” was the fourth most common source of job satisfaction, “coworkers who don't pull their weight” was also the third most common source of dissatisfaction.

The survey also suggests that as careers span, satisfaction levels rise. Of librarians in the field ten years or less, 23% were “very satisfied” compared to 39% of those in the field over 20 years. “As you get older, and are married with children, you do tend to invest more in family as opposed to your job,” says Kidwell, in his current post over 20 years. “Some of it, too, is that you come to accept that you're in a profession that just isn't going to offer those high salaries.”

Watkins agrees. “Most librarians I've met like the work because it offers relatively stable hours that allow them to attend to family needs. They can take off in case of emergency and not worry about the library being unstaffed.”

Advancing in terms of pay and rank emerged as an important, complex job satisfaction issue. A glaring majority (62%) rated their chances for advancement at their institutions as “fair to poor.”

Somewhat ominously, the survey found that although advancement was a challenge, jobs are changing, mostly driven by external factors. Just 2% said their jobs changed owing to their own initiative or another proactive measure such as a library expansion (1.6%) or earning an advanced degree (1%). Some 49% said their jobs changed because of technology, followed by staff reengineering (36.3%) and downsizing (17.4%). More than 10% said they had to leave their library for another to have a chance to advance.

In 2007, Eleanor Block retired after nearly 31 years at Ohio State University, Columbus. “I did and do love being a librarian,” Block says. “I worked hard, took on service jobs, attended state, national, and international meetings, published two books and lots of articles, volunteered for this and that, and made my way up the ladder.” Yet, despite becoming head of the journalism library, her career ladder topped out in the 1980s at a three-quarter position. “I had a demanding job,” she says, “which was acknowledged, but financial problems were always cited for not bumping me up.”

Accordingly, 52% of respondents said “funding” was the top “institutional” issue bearing down on job satisfaction, followed by “perception” (21%) and “marketing/attracting patrons” (9.6%). After pay, the second most common source of job dissatisfaction was “incompetent management/lack of support,” which respondents directed more at their institutional leaders than their library leaders.

Kidwell bemoans the cycle of “cut, build, and cut” at many institutions that often leads to swelling job responsibilities, in some cases overstressing librarians. Other respondents noted that as budgets lag, library jobs frequently go unfilled, and duties get parsed out to existing staff. The result can be “disorganization and incredible bureaucracy resulting in little or no support to accomplish my job,” notes one librarian. “Danger of burnout” notes another. Respondents reported growing teaching and instruction duties, managing and training people to use electronic resources all while still buying and maintaining print, updating web sites, marketing the library, fundraising, and keeping up with professional training. For many, there is that weekly shift at the reference desk to stay in touch with patrons, too.

Kidwell, however, says there is opportunity in doing more work outside of the traditional library setting, like serving on academic committees. “There's a lot of ability that can be used by the institution,” he explains. “Classroom faculty can be soloists, but a library can't function with a bunch of soloists. We have to work as a team, and that develops some unique leadership skills.” Indeed, Kidwell has three titles: in addition to directing the library, he is “director of the core curriculum” and “director of the first-year experience.”

As librarians are expected by administrators to do more with less, the reality, respondents suggest, is that one often does less with less. For example, Kidwell recalls a mold outbreak in his library, the abatement of which was handled outside of his control. Then, with a day's notice, 1800 boxes of books were returned to the library. Weeks later, administrators expressed displeasure when all the books weren't shelved.

Perception and marketing of the library, both to administrators and to patrons, also emerged as a key issue for librarians. Earning support in the age of Google and Wikipedia, respondents said, means librarians must do a better job of proving their value. Some 43% of respondents said the profession has done “a poor job” of articulating its value so far. Only 2% said they were doing extremely well.

Again, opportunity knocks. “We make a great effort at our library to market,” former marketer Watkins says, suggesting marketing is an expansive, creative avenue for librarians. “That's one of the reasons I accepted my job. We make an effort to communicate with faculty and students constantly about services we can help them with and offer to teach students how to use the library databases and use print resources.”

By now, you've probably heard the expression that “email is for old people.” It must be true: 100% of respondents say they use email. The survey also revealed a growing adoption of Web 2.0 technologies: 71% said they read blogs regularly, and 29% actually blog themselves; 38% use podcasts, though only 7% said they actually podcast; 36% post pictures online; and 24% have a MySpace page. Smaller but no doubt increasing numbers report living on the wild web frontier: 10% are into gaming, and 7% are on Second Life.

For all the talk about Google and the Internet, just 3.8% said Google or other free resources are librarians' biggest challenge. But that's not to say the digital age is a breeze: one-third said keeping up with technology is the biggest on-the-job challenge, the top response. That percentage is significantly down from our 1994 survey, however, when 63% (also tops) said technology was their biggest challenge. That answer reflects how much more tech-savvy librarians have become and the increasing role technology plays in their work.

Although a vigorous debate continues to rage about what should be taught in MLS programs, 80% said the MLS is important; 56% said it was very important; 73% of directors said it was “very important.” Overall, 73% of respondents have earned the MLS. In addition, some 20% have other advanced degrees, either an M.A. or a Ph.D., and 77% say they still participate in professional development classes.

Like many respondents, McGivney already had an M.A. in English and was happily working in a library when she decided to pursue an MLS. McGivney says she began taking classes but, at $2500 per course, quickly realized that on her $26,000 annual salary, the degree would either bankrupt her or saddle her with paralyzing debt.

In order to solve the problem, she says, she had to quit her library job of three years, which she “loved,” and go to work at the university offering her MLS program to take advantage of tuition benefits. “I obtained my first master's degree and then worked for nearly three years at a library gaining experience at most of the tasks performed by MLS-holding librarians. “Now, in order to get paid for the work that I was already doing, I have to go back and get the MLS.”

Like McGivney, many respondents said there was one overarching reason the MLS was important to them: advancement. “I would have earned my MLS first,” notes one librarian. “I would have gotten the MLS earlier,” comments another. Indeed, McGivney says librarians she knows call the MLS “a ticket.” The degree also can seem like a barrier, however.

“I think the requirement for this specific degree prevents many people who would make wonderful librarians from even bothering,” she says. “It's a financial burden, and with the way many libraries are breaking full-time positions into two jobs with no benefits, it's a risky degree to pursue.”

Kidwell, like his director peers, is strong on the degree. “But,” he admits, “we can't always afford to hire an MLS.”

If there is one great irony in librarianship, it is this: librarians can't afford to get the MLS, and libraries can't afford to hire those with it. Nevertheless, keeping the MLS emerged as a key desire for library leaders.

“Teaching used to be in this position, and nursing too,” Kidwell explains. “Hospitals realize they cannot operate without nurses, and we have state and federal regulations about who can teach K–12. But most people still don't understand why you need an MLS to be called a librarian.”

Despite challenges in their careers, academic librarians clearly value their jobs. Three out of four respondents said they planned to remain in librarianship until retirement. Only 3% said they would likely abandon the profession; 86% said they would choose librarianship again if they had it to do it all over again. Some 87% said they would recommend a career in academic librarianship to a young person entering college. That bodes well for the future.

In fact, the change and uncertainty that can cause uneasiness on the job were also cited by many as draws. “No two days are the same, and there is enough variety that boredom is not an option,” notes one respondent from a large Southern university. “I wanted a career that changed and evolved, where I wouldn't know everything I needed to know within a year of starting,” comments another.

You won't get rich, but academic librarianship, respondents said, is a satisfying career. In a still-burgeoning information age, however, where libraries will increasingly compete for talent with nontraditional, commercial employers like Google, our survey suggests there will be critical hurdles. “Speaking with classmates, it's the idealism that drew us to the profession,” McGivney says. “It's the mundane and the bureaucracy that might drive us out.”

This is the second in a three-part series on job satisfaction based on a comprehensive survey by LJ. “Great Work, Genuine Problems” (LJ 10/1/07, p. 26) presented an overview of the survey results. The next, forthcoming in LJ 3/1/08, will focus on those who work in public libraries. Full results of the survey will be online at libraryjournal.com when the third installment is completed