Courses Studied by New York Librarianship Students Affect Their Perceived Readiness for Employment

Abstract

Objective – To investigate whether librarianship students felt ready to enter the workforce, and whether practitioners felt recent graduates were suitably prepared.

Design – Survey.

Setting – A university in New York City, and school and public librarians working in the New York metropolitan area.

Subjects – 55 MLS students, 167 school library practitioners, and 181 public library practitioners.

Methods – Students surveyed practitioners about new graduates’ readiness to work as librarians. The students also assessed their own readiness.

Main Results – Detailed analysis of differences between the responses of the four subject groups – public librarians, school librarians, public library students, and school library students – for each of six survey statements is provided. Practitioners and students felt that school librarianship graduates were more prepared for work than public librarianship graduates. This may have been due to differences in the practical components of their courses.

Conclusion – Preparedness for library employment is related to the courses studied by librarianship students.