Interdisciplinary librarians: self-reported non-LIS scholarship and creative work
| Pages | 547-557 |
| Published date | 10 November 2014 |
| Date | 10 November 2014 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-02-2014-0030 |
| Author | Susan E. Thomas,Anne E. Leonard |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,HR in libraries |
Interdisciplinary librarians:
self-reported non-LIS
scholarship and creative work
Susan E. Thomas
Library, Long Island University Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York, USA, and
Anne E. Leonard
Library, New York City College of Technology, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to interpret and discuss survey results of a study of academic
librarians’ scholarship and creative work outside of library and information science in order to reveal
some librarians’ motivations to perform such work as well as their perceptions of administrators’
attitudes toward it.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors published a link to a qualitative survey instrument
on COLLIB-L and ULS-L, the e-mail lists for the college libraries section and the university libraries
section of American Library Association, asking that only academic librarians engaged in scholarship
and creative work outside of library and information science participate. This paper is an explorator y
analysis of the survey results.
Findings – Librarians reported that they produce such work fo r many reasons, including personal
satisfaction, dynamic and successful liaison work, and ongoing commitment to scholarship and
creative work. Academic librarians who produce non-LIS work do so with varying levels of suppo rt,
and the recognition of such work is inconsistent among institutions.
Originality/value – The authors are the first to query American academic librarians specifically
about their scholarship or creative work outside of library and information science. Managers and
administrators will glean much about academic librarians’ attitudes toward such work and how it
adds value to the library operation and institution. Findings could affect criteria for reappointment,
promotion, and tenure.
Keywords Academic librarians, Faculty librarians, Librarian attitudes, Librarian research,
Librarian scholarship and creative work, Qualitative survey
Paper type Research p aper
Introduction
In many academic libraries it is necessary or desirable to have an additional g raduate
degree in order to be hired or retained as a full-time , permanent librarian. Clearly the
profession values additional education, so there is a need to learn about the scholarship
as well as the professional and creative work of academic librarians in fields outside
of library science. Also, consider that, arguably, librarianship is a professional degree
with the terminal MLS degree, not a scholarly field. What does this dialectical
relationship between professional practice and academic discipline mean for practicing
academic librarians? For the purposes of this discussion, non-LIS wo rk refers to
academic librarians’ scholarly o r creative activity outside of librarianship or library
science. The survey instrument included questions about professional wo rk, but no
such work was reported.
The authors sought to reveal details about librarians’ publication and presentation
activities outside of LIS, their contributions to the performing and visual arts, and their
work in other professions. Are academic librarians presenting at conferences such as
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
Received 22 February 2014
Accepted 21 April 2014
Library Management
Vol. 35 No.8/9, 2014
pp. 547-557
rEmeraldGroup Publishing Limited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-02-2014-0030
547
Interdisciplinary
librarians
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