Remembering Research: Becoming a Librarian and a Scholar

Article by Sarah Crissinger

GSLIS student, class of 2015; ACRL Co-Chair, Student Division; Graduate Assistant in Reference, Research, and Scholarly Services

When I started my journey at GSLIS as a Master’s student and graduate assistant in the Reference, Research, and Scholarly Services department, I started to skim relevant job postings in order to make a list of skills and competencies that I hoped to acquire before graduation. The list included skills that I was already familiar with, like reference, as well as items that I could improve upon, like web design and statistical analysis. Before I started in the fall, I made sure that both my coursework and my assistantship projects aligned with this list. I quickly realized that I left out an important skill—research.

Many academic LIS students make a similar oversight.  We are so focused on acquiring the skills that we think employers want—the ability to do instruction, a familiarity with assessment, and an understanding of web design—that we completely forget that many of us will be scholars as well. The most recent survey from the Association of Research Libraries concludes that ~ 35% of academic libraries offer tenure to their librarians (Gilman). That means that I have almost a one in three chance of being asked to come up with a research agenda and fulfill that agenda or risk losing my job.

A mentor of mine once asked me if I was interested in applying to institutions that granted tenure. I told her that it didn’t matter and jokingly replied that I would take a job anywhere I could get one! Her response was interesting. She insisted that deciding on what “type” of academic librarian I wanted to be should not be left to chance. She contended that there was a distinct difference between the two.  Being on a tenure track meant a significant sacrifice in personal time and work/life balance but it also meant recognition from the field and the satisfaction of adding to a body of work that you care about. I thought a lot about her point over the next couple of months.

During my first semester the Instructional Services Librarian, Merinda Hensley, asked me to assist her with a large research project that she was beginning before being reviewed for tenure the following year. The University of Illinois has very rigorous tenure requirements for their librarians and she found a great research niche to add to her publication list. The topic she chose was both original and substantial: how librarians participate in and facilitate formal undergraduate research. She wanted to explore how, and if, librarians are active in formal undergraduate research initiatives like the McNair Scholars Program or Honors Thesis programs.

My job as her hourly assistant was to perform a pearl-growing informational search for her literature review. I started with two related articles and then tracked down all of their citations, formatted them, and then annotated them. Merinda was then able to look at the list and discern what she could include in her review and what avenues she might want to explore more. While some could say that my role was somewhat menial and repetitive, it taught me a lot about research. This process has to be done for every literature review and smaller libraries probably do not give scholars the funds to hire GAs for hourly help. But beyond that, it taught me how systematic and time-consuming research is. It taught me the fundamentals of having a definitive research question. It also taught me how to think critically about engaging and conversing with other scholars.

An article in College and Research Libraries entitled “Publish or Perish” states that many think that applying tenure performance standards to librarians is harmful. Why? Because they are often ill-equipped to conduct the level of research that faculty members do (Mitchell and Reichel 233). They might not have the skill set because it is not addressed in the LIS curriculum or because they don’t think of it as being important. My hourly work convinced me to re-think the importance of scholarship. Next fall I will be taking LIS 519: Social Science Research in LIS, which introduces students to choosing the best methodology to fit their research question and is “recommended for any students expecting to do research as part of their future work” (Full Catalog). My hourly work for Merinda really made me reconsider the importance of research in preparing for my future career.

Conducting research often leads to effective library policies and services.  When we ground our actions in research they are usually more impactful (Mitchell and Reichel 233). Research within LIS also enhances and promotes the legitimacy of our profession. Further, librarians who participate in research “are thought to be more receptive to change and have more effective relationships with other faculty than do those who do not do research” (Mitchell and Reichel 233). In addition, many, but not all, academic library job postings ask for applicants who can do research by listing requirements such as familiarity with analytic methods, ability to conduct research, interest in scholarship that leads to improved practice, or participation in professional development.  (Examples drawn from the ALA Job Listings at https://joblist.ala.org. See for more examples.) Scholarship is an integral component of academic librarianship that we as future information professionals should not overlook.

Works Cited

Gilman, Todd. “Academic Librarians and Rank.” Manage Your Career. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 4 Jan. 2008. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. Retrieved from https://chronicle.com/article/Academic-LibrariansRank/45926/

Full Catalog. Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS), n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. Retrieved from http://www.lis.illinois.edu/academics/courses/catalog

Mitchell, W. Bede, and Mary Reichel. “Publish Or Perish: A Dilemma For Academic Librarians?” College & Research Libraries 60.3 (1999): 232-243. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.

 

Recommended/ Related Readings

A Guideline for the Appointment, Promotion and Tenure of Academic Librarians. American Library Association, 2010. Web. http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/promotiontenure

Council on Undergraduate Research: Learning Through Research. The Council on Undergraduate Research, 2010. Web. http://www.cur.org/

2 Responses to Remembering Research: Becoming a Librarian and a Scholar

  1. Amy May 14, 2014 at 10:29 am #

    Great points! I wonder, though, how we get experience with research? I would very much like to be a part of research, but as a part-time student I don’t see any opportunities for me to get involved. Are there some courses to take or instructors to reach out to? Thanks for the great article.

  2. Kristen May 8, 2014 at 11:40 am #

    I think this is a good point–research is a crucial aspect of the information science professions, and I think it often gets overlooked.

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