18 October 2005

A worldwide shortage of librarians

Librarians in their traditional form are an endangered species. The library and information profession faces a potential crisis over the next decade as a large percentage of library workers retire. Currently 60 per cent of librarians are aged 45 and over, compared with the national figure of 35 per cent for all occupations, and only 14 per cent are under 35, compared with the national figure of 42 per cent.

There is evidence of a similar crisis in other countries: the United Kingdom has an anticipated shortage of 10 800 public library staff by the year 2010 - only five years away. The United States government is also funding a major study into the future staffing needs of academic libraries.

While the aging workforce will lead to a labour shortage, the problem is compounded by the changing skill set that librarians need in the Information Age. 'The modern day librarian is a dynamo' said Dr Gillian Hallam, president of the Australian Library and Information Association. 'The multidisciplinary nature of librarianship today requires knowledge and skills that cut across information technology, management, psychology and education. Librarians need to be IT savvy and Net literate, yet they also need excellent interpersonal skills to be able work with a variety of people in a range of information contexts. They need to be inquisitive and tenacious, imaginative and innovative, they must enjoy problem solving and thrive on challenge. Most importantly they need to understand the communities they are working with and the evolving nature of their information needs.'

International concern has led the library and information profession to examine the nature of the anticipated labour shortages, the types of jobs that will be available through the combined factors of retirement of workers and new job creation, the skill set required for these and future jobs. The profession urgently needs to develop effective strategies for recruitment and retention. 'The profession needs to attract new people to the world of libraries,' said Dr Hallam. 'At the same time, we need to understand the skills our current library staff will require in the dynamic information environment that we operate in.'

Workforce planning and workforce development are critical issues for the profession. The Australian Library and Information Association is co-ordinating a collaborative project to develop a framework for career long learning for the library profession, bringing together employers, educators, trainers and individual professionals.