Specialties and strategies in academic libraries: a cluster analysis approach
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-10-2017-0114 |
| Pages | 45-58 |
| Date | 14 January 2019 |
| Published date | 14 January 2019 |
| Author | Masanori Koizumi,Michael Majewski Widdersheim |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,HR in libraries,Library strategy,Library promotion |
Specialties and strategies in
academic libraries: a cluster
analysis approach
Masanori Koizumi
Faculty of Library, Information and Media Science, University of Tsukuba,
Tsukuba, Japan, and
Michael Majewski Widdersheim
School of Library and Information Management, Emporia State University,
Emporia, Kansas, USA
Abstract
Purpose –Professional work is becoming more specialized and diffused, with new specialties emerging on
the boundaries of established professions. The purpose of this paper is to examine current specialties in
academic librarianship in order to infer what strategies they employ.
Design/methodology/approach –This research uses a sample of 6 0 US research libraries to investigate
current specialties in ac ademic librarianship, in order to analyze and classi fy the specialties into
groups based on simila rities, and categori ze academic librarie s based on the staffing p atterns
identified, and illus trate the challenges an d strategies of each cl assification. The samp le was selected
from the membership of the Association of Research Libraries, and designed to include both large and
medium-sized resear ch libraries. 888 diffe rent job titles were ide ntified for 2,074 spec ialist positions
extracted from staff directories containing information on 11,688 librarians. The positions were
analyzed and classified using the framework provided by Cox and Corrall (2013), and the specialty
composition of the libra ries was investigated with Ward’s (1963) hie rarchical method of clu ster analysis,
using 28 variables.
Findings –The cluster analysis identified subspecialties within the groups and revealed seven distinct
staffing strategies of the libraries.
Originality/value –Describing specialties and strategies in academic libraries by cluster analysis based on
huge data is a significantly novel and effective approach for capturing the concept of specialization.
Keywords Academic libraries, Information professional, Specialization, Organizational strategy, Cluster analysis
Paper type Research paper
1. Background
An emphasis on data and digital information has caused changes in information
organizations and platforms. Academic libraries especially have adapted to an increasingly
digital economy by adopting new organizational strategies and establishing new
specializations. A recent review of the evolution of academic library specialties by Cox and
Corrall (2013) identified eight specialist roles in academic libraries, including both long
established and newly emerged examples: systems librarians; electronic resources librarians;
digital librarians; institutional repository managers; information and knowledge managers;
digital curators/research data managers; teaching librarians/information literacy educators;
and clinical librarians and informationists. These specializations reflect the digital and
data-centered nature of scholarly work.
Library Management
Vol. 40 No. 1/2, 2019
pp. 45-58
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-10-2017-0114
Received 25 October 2017
Revised 4 February 2018
Accepted 9 February 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
The authors would like to thank Sheila Corrall (Professor at the University of Pittsburgh) for her
valuable input and assistance in wording choices, structure of the research, as well as suggestions for
enhancing the literature review. The authors also like to thank Nicholas DeDomenico (Alumnus of the
iSchool at the University of Pittsburgh) for his excellent help with wording choices and proof reading.
This research was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant No. 16K16161.
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Specialties and
strategies
in libraries
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