College and Research Libraries JOJ:IN N. OLSGAARD AND JANE KINCH OLSGAARD Post-MLS Educational Requirements for Academic Librarians In a survey of job listings contained in two library periodicals, the educa- tional requirements for college and university librarians were evaluated for the period 1970 through 1979. It was discovered that the requirements for nondirector personnel and university director personnel rose until1976 and have since declined. It was also determined that there exist educational dif- ferences between director and nondirector positions and between college and university positions. The results of this survey are presented, and tests were performed to determine the statistical significance of the data. BY SOME ESTIMATES , upwards of 75 per- cent of academic librarians have obtained some type of faculty rank or faculty status. 1 · As a corresponding problem , academic li- brarians have had to make some difficult de- cisions concerning the educational require- ments their institutions will set with respect to employment and tenure. Although in 1975 the ACRL Board of Directors set the basic educational requirement of academic librarians as the MLS, rarely does a job list- ing come out in which one cannot find edu- cational requirements for employment being set at levels above this guideline. 2 Historically there have been several de- bates as to whether it would be appropriate for librarians also to have graduate degrees in other academic disciplines, most notable among these being the 1973 study by W. A. Moffett and the 1976 study by Rush G. Miller. 3 • 4 More recently, the Minimum Qualifications for Librarians Task Force of ALA recommended that research be com- missioned to analyze the educational credentials necessary for librarianship. 5 This paper will not enter the debate as to the desirability of additional graduate study John N. Olsgaard is documents librarian and archivist, I. b. Weeks Library , and Jane Kinch Olsgaard is acquisitions and public services li- brarian, Lommen Health Sciences Library , Uni- versity of South Dakota, Vermillion. 224 I beyond the MLS, but rather will seek to document the trends in educational require- ments for academic librarians as shown through the actual job listings for positions during the decade of the 1970s. In addition, this study will consider the differences in educational requirements for director and nondirector positions, and the educational differences between college and university positions. METHOD Job listings in the library periodicals Li- brary Journal (LJ), volumes 9~104, and College & Research Libraries News (C&RL News), volumes 31-40, were surveyed for the years 1970 through 1979. All job listings for college and university libraries consti- tuted source data. The most basic data breakdown included whether the position was in a college or university setting and whether it was a director or nondirector position. The number of entries analyzed in the ten-year · period for both periodicals totaled 5,269. The following rules were im- plemented to standardize entries: 1. Duplicate job listings for the same position within each journal were purged from the sample; interjournal duplication was not deleted. 2. The categories of educational require- ment were: no additional education beyond the MLS (no additional); second master's, Post-MLS Educational Requirements I 225 both preferred and required (2d master's); and doctorate, both preferred and required (Ph.D.). 3. Listings that stated "additional gradu- ate education" were entered as second mas- ter's. 4. The data entry for a college or for a university was taken directly from the insti- tutional name. 5. In the context of this study the job ti- tle "director" implies the chief administra- tive officer of an academic library. Job list- ings for administrative officers of depart- ments or parts of a larger library unit were not entered as directors. 6. There were no distinctions made among disciplines within each category. For instance, the requirement for a second mas- ter's degree in the natural sciences was given the same data value as the require- ment for a second master's degree in the humanities. BASIC CONFIGURATION OF EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS When this study was initiated , it was assumed that the educational requirements for academic librarians would show greater levels from year to year, with the last year surveyed showing the most stringent re- quirements. However, the data yielded some surprising information information (see tables 1 and 2). In the two higher edu- cational categories, the percentages general- ly increased from 1970 through 1976, peak- ing in 1974--76, and then generally declined for the remaining years. The results for nondirector listings in colleges and universi- ties and for university director positions re- flect this overall decline since 1976. For in- stance, the percentage of jobs for university nondirector positions that at least preferred a second master's degree fell from approx- imately 35 percent in the 1974-76 time period to 32.5 percent in the last three years of the decade. The only exception to this pattern was in the area of college direc- tor positions, which showed a continued in- crease in educational requirements through- out the surveyed period. The data would also indicate, although the actual percentage will vary a good deal from year to year, that openings for nondirector positions have re- quested more than the MLS degree approx- imately 25 percent of the time, and that the job listings for director positions have asked for more than the MLS approximately 45 percent during the 1970s. Further elabora- tion of the data is given in appendix A. In order to demonstrate the compatibility between the two periodicals a Pearson r test was conducted on the mean percentages of L] on C&RL News for each type and are listed in the last column of appendix A. This test shows that the groups with the largest sample sizes, that is, the nondirector posi- tions, tend to demonstrate the highest de- gree of correlation; whereas ·the director TABLE 1 CONFIGL1RATION OF EDl!CATIO.NAL REQUIREMENTS , NONDIRECTORS* University 1970 to 1973 1974 to 1976 1977 to 1979 Mean (%) (%) (%) (%) Ph.D 1.4 2.8 1.7 1.9 2d master's 20.5 32.1 30.8 27.0 No additional 78.1 65.1 67.5 71.1 Total percentage 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 N= 1,172 1,437 1,375 College 1970 to 1973 1974 to 1976 1977 to 1979 Mean (%) (%) (%) (%) Ph.D. 2.7 1.2 4.7 2.8 2d master's 16.1 30.4 19.4 21.4 No additional 81.2 68.4 75.9 75.8 Total percentage 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 N= 335 222 190 *In mean percentage, adjusted for rounding error. 226 I College & Research Libraries • May 1981 TABLE 2 CONFIG URATION OF ED UCATION AL REQ UIREMENTS , DIRECTORS* Unive rsity Ph.D. 2d master's No additional Total percentage N= 1970 to 1973 (%) 35.8 9. 1 55. 1 100.0 63 1974 to 1976 (%) 43 . 1 17.4 39.5 100.0 138 1977 to 1979 Mea n (%) (%) 42 .0 39.8 12.7 12.7 45.3 47 .5 100.0 ' 100.0 116 Coll ege Ph . D . 2d master's No additional Total percentage N= 1970 to 1973 (%) 19.1 4.8 76.1 100.0 87 *In mean pe rcentage, adjusted for rounding e rror . positions, where smaller shifts in data will have a greater impact, show a lesser degree of correlation between the two periodicals . DEGREE OF INTERCATEGORY SHIFT When it was discovered that the educa- tional requirements for each type tended to change a good deal from year to year, a nonparametric test was set up to determine if this shift was statistically significant or merely due to chance (see table 3). The in- formation derived from this test tends to confirm that the above results are statistical- ly significant; the requirements for all class- es of personnel have shown a significant variation over the decade of the 1970s. COMPARISON OF DIRECTOR AND NONDIRECTOR POSITIONS As one could expect, the results in tables 1 and 2 also demonstrate a large difference between the educational requirements for director positions and for nondirector posi- tions. This difference is most apparent when considering the comparison between uni- versity directors and university non- directors; the overall mean average of jobs requesting no additional education beyond the MLS for director positions is 47.5 per- cent, whereas the same average for non- director university positions is 71.1 percent. The results of the chi-square test, given in table 4, confirm the dramatic difference be- tween these two types of positions. Director positions on both the college and university 1974 to 1976 1977 to 1979 Mean (%) (%) (%) 19.9 21.0 19.9 15." 3 33.0 16.4 64 .8 46.0 63 .7 100.0 100.0 100.0 74 60 TABLE 3 CHRONOLOGICAL INTERCATEGORY SHIFT TEST OF SIGNIFICANCE Type Non director University College Director University College Degrees of freedom = 9 . H0 : I P I 2: I P11.!JI I = 16.919. H0 : I P I 2: I P11.m I = 21.666 . TABLE 4 Chi-Square 115.977 47.386 14.681 27 .578 VARIATION BE1WEEN DIRECI'OR AND NONDIRECTOR JOBS TEST OF SIGNIFICANCE Typt; University College Degrees of freedom = 2. H0 : I P 1 2: I Po.!JI I = 5.991. H0 : I P 1 2: I Pu.m I = 9.210. Chi-Square 979.500 69.756 levels show a statistically significant higher level of educational requirements over non- director positions. Although there have not been any pre- vious general surveys of job listings for academic librarians, there have been several papers devoted specifically to the require- ments for directors. Hence it was appropri- ate to compare the data derived from this study , by using the overall mean of the Post-MLS Educational Requirements I .227 combined valued of the Ph.D. category , with these previous studies (see table 5). The research by Jerry L. Parsons and Wil- liam L. Cohn reviewed the obtained educa- tional levels of Association of Research Li- braries (ARL) directors . 6 • 7 The study by Paul Metz also surveyed actual educational obtainment, but employed a nationwide sample of library director~. s The work of Herbert S. White and Karen Momenee sur- veyed job listings for directors during the period June 1976 through December 1976. 9 The results indicate a close relation be- tween the data from the Parsons , Cohn, and Metz studies and the data from this study. There is a high degree of difference be- tween this study and the White and Momenee study; however, the period sur- veyed by White and Momenee not only represented a small sample , but also hap- pened to be taken 'during a year in which the educational requirements in all catego- ries were unusually high. COMPARSION OF UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE JOB LISTINGS The last question considered is the de- gree of statistically significant difference be- tween the educational requirements for uni- versity librarians and college librarians. Again a nonparametric. test was used against the data to make this determination. The results of this test are given in table 6. For both director and nondirector positions there was a significant difference between the requirements for college librarians and for university librarians. The results in table 2 demonstrate this variation by showing a much higher level of educational require- ments for university director positions as opposed to college director positions. TABLE 5 CmiPARISON OF DIRECTOR PH . D . REQ UIREMENTS WITH PREVIO US STUDIES Study Parsons Cohn Metz White and Momenee This study Hav ing or at Leas t Preferring Ph . D . by Pe rcentage 37.0 31.0 21.0 49. 1 29.9 TABLE 6 VARIATION BETWEEN COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY JOBS TEST OF SIGNIFICANCE Type Non director Director Degrees of freedom = 2. H0 : I P I ~ I P0. 05 I = 5.991. H0 : I P I ~ I P11•01 I = 9.210. CONCLUSION Chi-Square 36.689 32.936 The purpose of this study was to examine the trends in educational requirements for academic librarians. By way of the tabular data presented, it was determined that the post-M LS requirements for both non- director categories and for university direc- tor positions rose steadily until 1976, and have declined since then. It was also deter- mined that this rise and decline was statisti- cally significant and not due to chance. It ·was further found that the post-MLS educa- tional requirements for director positions are significantly higher than the require- ments for nondirector positions, and that these post-MLS requirements for director positions are generally compatible with pre- vious research in this area. Last, it was de- termined that the educational requirements for university positions as a class are more stringent than for college positions, and that these differences are also statistically signif- icant. This study does not attempt to determine the causation of the patterns that have been established. However, if it is true, as many academic librarians believe, that the educa- tional requirements for employment and tenure are becoming increasingly tougher, then it is incumbent upon the profession to delineate adequately the growth and makeup of these requirements. This study represents merely the first step in a process of research on a topic that will inevitably affect every academic librarian. REFERENCES l. C . James Schmidt , "A Letter to H. W. Ax- ford ," in H . William Axford, ed. , "The Three Faces of Eve: or The Identity of Academic Li- brarianship ; a Symposium," The Journal of Academic Librarianship 2:281 Gan. 1977). 228 I College & Research Libraries • May 1981 2. "ACRL Board of Directors-Highlights of the 1975 Midwinter Meeting," College & Research Libraries News 36:69 (March 1975). 3. W. A. Moffett, "The Academic Job Crisis: A Unique Opportunity, or Business as u·sual?" College & Research Libraries 34:191-94 (May 1973). 4. Rush G. Miller, "The Influx of Ph . D.s into Li- brarianship: ·Intrusion or Transfusion?" College & Research Libraries 37:158-65 (March 1976). 5 . Keith Cottam, "Minimum Qualifications and the Law: The Issue Ticks Away for Librar- ians," American Libraries 11:280-81 (May 1980). 6. Jerry L. Parsons, "Characteristics of Research Library Directors, 1958 and 1973," Wilson Li- brary Bulletin 50:613-17 (April1976). 7. William L. Cohn, "An Overview of ARL Directors, 1933-1975," College & Research Libraries 37:137-44 (March 1976). 8. Paul Metz, "Administrative Succession in the Academic Library, " College & Research Li- braries 39:358--64 (Sept. 1978). 9. Herbert S. White and Karen Momenee, "Im- pact of the Increase in Library Doctorates ," College & Research Libraries 39:207-14 (May 1978). APPENDIX A COMPARISON OF TYPES OF POSITIONS BY YEAR , USING MEANS OF COLLAPSED CATEGORIES Pt>arson r 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 Mean Standard (Lj on Typt> of positions (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) De, ·iution C&RL .\'ercs ) Nondirector University At least 2d master's preferred 9.4 25.5 22.4 30.0 31.7 36.5 36.4 35.6 30.8 31.0 28 .92 Non director University No additional Nondirector College At least 2d 90.6 74 .5 77.6 70.0 68.3 63.5 63.6 64.4 69.2 69.0 71.08 master's preferred 7.8 23.0 24.1 20.4 22.4 33.4 39.0 19.0 18.6 34.6 24.23 Nondirector College No additional Director University At least 2d 92.2 77.0 75.9 79.6 77.6 66.6 61.0 81.0 81.4 65 .4 7.5. 77 master's preferred 46 .6 62 .3 21.1 48.7 55.9 69.2 56.0 48 .8 62 .5 52.5 52.36 Director University No Additional Director College At least 2d 53.4 37.7 78 .9 51.3 44 . 1 30.8 44.0 51.2 37.5 47.5 47.64 master's preferred 23.8 18.1 33.3 20.2 28.6 32.1 44 .9 31.0 52. 1 78.9 36.30 Director College No additional 76.2 81.9 66.7 79.8 71.4 67.9 55.1 ·69.0 47.9 21.1 63.70 3.88 0.8038 4.47 0.767.5 6.77 0.5.517 9.2.5 0.6036