College and Research Libraries Sources of Professional Knowledge for Academic Librarians Ronald R. Powell More than three hundred ARL librarians were asked where they had acquired their profes- sional knowledge and where they thought it would be best to acquire it. Respondents indicated that library school and on-the-job experience provided most of their professional education and training but suggested that they would prefer to acquire more of their knowledge from continu- ing education and staff development programs than is presently the case. Other sources of in- formation investigated include nonlibrary science degree programs and internships. Earlier research on the amount and importance of university librarians' professional knowledge is summarized. • he demands being made of aca- demic librarians are changing at a rapid rate. Librarians also need to be proficient in an ever- increasing number of areas. What is not known with any certainty is exactly what skills are most important for librarians and where those skills are optimally acquired. The knowledge, skills, and/or proficien- cies needed by academic librarians have received considerable attention in the lit- erature during the past several years. Arti- cles and other reports have been authored by, among others, Millicent Abell, 1 Toni Carbo Bearman, 2 Patricia Battin, 3 Sheila Creth and Faith Harders, 4 the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), 5 and Jose- Marie Griffiths and Donald King. 6 Yet there is still a need for more specific data on the proficiencies important to univer- sity librarians. Ronald Powell and Sheila Creth con- ducted a study in 1985 designed to answer the following questions: 1. To what extent do librarians consider themselves knowledgeable in relevant ar- eas? 2. To what extent are these areas of knowledge considered important for ef- fective job performance? 3. Where do librarians tend to acquire their relevant knowledge? 4. Where do librarians think such knowledge is best acquired? In order to gather necessary data to an- swer these questions, the researchers mailed questionnaires to a random sample of 539 ARL librarians with nine or fewer years of professional experience. Three hundred and forty-nine usable question- naires were returned, representing about 65 percent of the sample. The question- naires collected information about the li- brarians' current positions, job and educa- tional experiences, sex, age, and knowledge bases. (Knowledge base denotes the proficiencies, skills, and information possessed by the participating librarians.) Ronald R. Powell is Associate Professor at the School of Library and Informational Science, University of Mis- souri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211. The author wishes to thank Sheila D. Creth, Library Director, Uni- versity of Iowa, who assisted in the research and co-authored an earlier report. This research was made possible by a Faculty/Librarian Cooperative Research grant provided by the Council on Library Resources. 332 Initial analysis of the data focused on the professional knowledge of the respon- dents and the value they attached to spe- cific knowledge bases. The results of that analysis were reported in the Janu'!IY 1986 issue of College & Research Libraries. 7 A brief summary of those findings follows. IMPORTANCE AND AMOUNT OF KNOWLEDGE For each of fifty-six knowledge bases, participants indicated how much of the . knowledge they possessed and how im- portant it was for their own job perfor- mance. The fifty-six knowledge bases are presented in table 1 (table 2 of the 1986 ar- ticle) in order of their perceived impor- tance (see the first two columns). The third and fourth columns of table 1 indi- cate how much knowledge was held by the respondents and the corresponding rankings. The importance of each knowl- edge base was measured on a five-point scale: one designates essential; two, very important; three, important; four, of little importance; and five, of no importance. The amount of each knowledge base pos- sessed by respondents was measured on the following four-point scale: one, exten- sive; two, moderate; three, slight; and four, none. In brief, an examination of the data in ta- ble 1 reveals that, generally, traditional knowledge areas tend to be ranked rela- tively high in importance by respondents. In fact, most of the top twenty areas fell into one of two categories: traditional core and management. 8 Analysis of the data also indicated that several of the knowl- edge bases, especially less traditional ones, that were considered quite impor- tant did not receive correspondingly high rankings on the amount of the knowledge that the respondents reported they actu- ally possessed. The results of the analysis supported the authors' contention that not every impor- tant skill is being acquired in library school. But given that it is not possible for a student to learn in one or two years all that he or she will need throughout an en- tire professional career, we are left with the question of where the important skills can be most conveniently and effectively Sources of Professional Knowledge 333 acquired. Consequently, data relating to where the respondents had acquired their professional knowledge and where they thought it would best be acquired were analyzed. KNOWLEDGE BASES: WHERE ACQUIRED? The following analysis, a summary of the data regarding where librarians ac- quire their knowledge and where they think it should be acquired, is limited to the knowledge bases ranked among the twenty most important and the top twenty in terms of amount held. The majority of knowledge bases were acquired in library school and on the job (see table 2). (The number of "yes" re- sponses can be greater than the number of respondents as many skills were acquired from more than one source.) Almost 29 percent of all "yes" responses represent library school and about 35 percent on- the-job experiences. Continuing educa- tion and staff development combined rep- resented over 16 percent of the "yes" responses. Other degree programs, in- ternships, and "other" accounted for the remaining 20 percent. The skills reported as being most fre- quently acquired in library school were fa- miliarity with and use of: bibliographic tools, general reference sources, reference interview, cataloging codes/rules, subject cataloging, subject classification, and the structure of subject literature. All of these bases represent traditional core areas of formal library education programs. On the other hand, the proficiencies most frequently obtained on the job in- volved: oral communication skills, knowl- edge of specialized reference sources, decision-making ability, search strategy, planning, online searching, selection of materials, personnelmanagement,library automation, structure of subject literature (tie), bibliographic instruction, and staff training and development. These skills are generally less traditional in nature than those more frequently acquired in li- brary school. The two remaining profi- ciencies, writing skills and knowledge of a subject field, were most frequently gained in other degree programs. 334 College & Research Libraries July 1988 TABLE 1 RANKING AND MEAN SCORES FOR "IMPORTANCE" OF KNOWLEDGE BASE AND "AMOUNT" OF KNOWLEDGE Knowledse Base Im~ortance of Knowledge Mean core (1-5) Rank Amount of Knowledge Mean Score (1-5) Rank Bibliographic tools 1.67 1.5 1.39 1 Oral communication skills 1.67 1.5 1.76 8 Writinafl skills 1.71 3 1.53 2 Sped ized reference sources 1.95 4 1.63 4 Decision making 2.05 5 2.03 18 Search strategy 2.07 6 1.58 3 Subject field 2.10 7 1.64 5.5 General reference sources 2.17 8 1.64 5.5 Planning 2.20 9 2.12 20 Online searchin& 2.38 10 1.86 9 Reference interview 2.39 11 1.70 7 Selection of materials 2.41 12.5 1.87 10 Catalog codes/rules 2.41 12.5 1.95 13.5 Personnel management 2.42 14 2.23 27 Subject cataloging 2.43 15.5 2.01 17 Library automation 2.43 15.5 2.13 21 Subject classification 2.48 17 1.94 12 Structure of subject literature 2.53 18 1.99 16 Bibliographic/libraz instruction 2.55 19 1.98 15 Staff training and evelopment 2.56 20 2.36 32 Filing 2.59 21 1.92 11 Research methods 2.68 22 1.95 13.5 Collection evaluation 2.72 23 2.22 25 Nonbook formats 2.78 24 2.22 25 Acquisitions ~ocedures 2.82 25 2.17 22 Teaching met ods 2.84 26 2.25 28 Higher education 2.89 27 2.08 19 Computer software 3.01 28 2.53 38 Budgeting 3.02 29 2.57 40 Management theory 3.04 30 2.45 36 Foreign langua8e 3.05 31 2.21 23 Collection wee ing 3.06 32 2.37 33 Resource sharin& 3.08 34 2.33 29 Program evaluation techniques 3.08 34 2.79 49 Networks 3.08 34 2.35 30.5 Space and work environment 3.09 36 2.52 37 Publishing industry 3.12 37 2.42 34 Cataloging of ~ecial materials 3.18 38 2.62 45 Computer har ware 3.20 39 2.62 45 Indexing 3.23 40 2.35 30.5 Serials control 3.25 41 2.63 47 Preservation/ conservation 3.28 42 2.62 45 Copyright 3.29 43 2.44 35 Collection storage 3.38 44 2.59 42 Approval plans 3.39 45 2.56 39 Crrculation services 3.42 46 2.22 25 System analysis 3.48 47 2.86 53 Circulation systems 3.62 48 2.60 43 Cooperative acquisitions 3.68 49 2.82 51 Security systems 3.74 50 2.82 51 Commercial or external cataloging services 3.76 51 2.82 51 Computer programming 3.81 52 2.99 54 History of books and printing 3.87 53 2.58 41 Inferential statistics 3.94 54 3.29 55 History of libraries 4.16 55 2.67 48 Collective bargaining 4.28 56 3.35 56 Sources of Professional Knowledge 335 TABLE2 TWENTY MOST IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE BASES AND YES RESPONSES FOR WHERE ACQUIRED Other Knowledge Source ~~~ Degree Continuing Staff Knowledse Base ProS!ams lntemshi£ Education Develo£ment On-the-Job Other Bibliographic tools 299 37 57 79 52 289 1 55 Percent 34.5 4.3 6.6 9.1 6.0 33.3 6.3 Oral communication skills 80 168 21 65 52 186 141 Percent 11.2 23.6 2.9 9.1 7.3 26.1 19.8 Writing skills 69 245 11 50 24 137 138 Percent 10.2 36.4 1.6 7.4 3.6 20.3 20.5 Specialized reference sources 241 56 44 63 46 269 30 Percent 32.2 7.5 5.9 8.4 6.1 35.9 4.0 Decision making 123 39 20 70 51 253 82 Percent 19.3 6.1 3.1 11.0 8.0 39.7 12.9 Search strategy 225 21 33 75 53 267 40 Percent 31.5 2.9 4.6 10.5 7.4 37.4 5.6 Subject field 63 222 25 101 25 185 69 Percent 9.1 32.2 3.6 14.6 3.6 26.8 10.0 General reference sources 311 29 44 48 41 260 43 Percent 40.1 3.7 5.7 6.2 5.3 33.5 5.5 Planning 161 34 16 75 59 256 71 Percent 24.0 5.1 2.4 11.2 8.8 38.1 10.6 Online searching 189 4 26 114 75 248 28 Percent 27.6 0.6 3.8 16.7 11.0 36.3 4.1 Reference interview 263 10 37 41 33 240 33 Percent 68.5 2.6 9.6 10.7 8.6 62.5 8.6 Selection of materials 213 30 28 42 19 269 44 Percent 33.0 4.7 4.3 6.5 2.9 41.7 6.8 Catalog codes/rules 298 5 31 49 41 235 38 Percent 42.8 0.7 4.5 7.0 5.9 33.7 5.5 Personnel management 141 32 12 76 78 247 65 Percent 21.7 4.9 1.8 11 .7 12.0 37.9 10.0 Subject cataloging 258 4 27 29 24 206 34 Percent 44.3 0.7 4.6 5.0 4.1 35.4 5.8 Library automation 236 3 24 95 72 279 47 Percent 31.2 0.4 3.2 12.6 9.5 36.9 6.2 Subject classification 271 13 28 27 20 220 29 Percent 44.6 2.1 4.6 4.4 3.3 36.2 4.8 Structure of subject literature 209 62 27 48 22 209 25 Percent 34.7 10.3 4.5 8.0 3.7 34.7 4.2 Bibliographic/library instruction 160 20 19 73 52 257 44 Percent 35.6 3.2 3.0 11.5 8.3 41.1 7.0 Staff training & development 71 21 9 70 90 238 49 Percent 13.0 3.8 1.6 12.8 16.4 43 .4 8.9 Totals 3,881 1,055 539 1,290 929 4,750 1,105 Percent 28.6 7.8 4.0 9.5 6.9 35.1 8.2 Table 3lists the twenty knowledge bases totals are very similar. The respondents most highly ranked on the amount of the indicated that library school was the knowledge possessed by the survey re- source of knowledge almost 30 percent of spondents. There are only three skills in the time, on-the-job experiences repre- this table that were not included in table 2. sen ted 34 percent of the sources, and con- Research methods, one of the additions, tinuing education and staff development was reported as being most frequently ac- activities accounted for over 14 percent of quired in library school. Knowledge of fil- the affirmative responses. ing rules and higher education were most KNOWLEDGE BASES: often obtained on the job. WHERE BEST ACQUIRED? In that the contents of the tables areal- most the same, it is not surprising that the In contrast, the responses regarding ~----------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- 336 College & Research Libraries July 1988 TABLE 3 TWnNTYTOPKNO~EDGEBASESRANKEDBYAMOUNT HELD AND YES RESPONSES FOR WHERE ACQUIRED Other Knowledge Source ~~h~ Degree Continuing Staff Knowled~e Base Pro~ams Intemshi~ Education Develo~ment On-the-Job Other Bibliographic tools 299 37 57 79 52 289 55 Percent 34.5 4.3 6.6 9.1 6.0 33.3 6.3 Writing skills 69 245 11 50 24 137 138 Percent 10.2 36.4 1.6 7.4 3.6 20.3 20.5 Search strategy 225 21 33 75 53 267 40 Percent 31.5 2.9 4.6 10.5 7.4 37.4 5.6 Specialized reference sources 241 56 44 63 46 269 30 Percent 32.2 7.5 5.9 8.4 6.1 35.9 4 .0 Subject field 63 222 25 101 25 185 69 Percent 9.1 32.2 3.6 14.6 3.6 26.8 10.0 General reference sources 311 29 44 48 41 260 43 Percent 40.1 3.7 5.7 6.2 5.3 33.5 5.5 Reference interview 263 10 37 41 33 240 33 Percent 68.5 2.6 9.6 10.7 8.6 62.5 8.6 Oral communication skills 80 168 21 65 52 186 141 Percent 11.2 23.6 2.9 9.1 7.3 26 .1 19.8 Online searching 189 4 26 114 75 248 28 Percent 27.6 0.6 3.8 16.7 11.0 36.3 4.1 Selection of materials 213 30 28 42 19 269 44 Percent 33.0 4.7 4.3 6.5 2.9 41.7 6.8 Filing 191 5 32 8 17 252 49 Percent 34.5 0.9 5.8 1.4 3.1 45.5 8.8 Subject classification 271 13 28 27 20 220 29 Percent 44.6 2.1 4.6 4.4 3.3 36.2 4.8 Catalog codes/rules 298 5 31 49 41 235 38 Percent 42.8 0.7 4.5 7.0 5.9 33.7 5.5 Research methods 214 165 15 56 20 143 46 Percent 32.5 25.0 2.3 8.5 3.0 21.7 7.0 Bibliographic/library instruction 160 20 19 73 52 257 44 Percent 25.6 3.2 3.0 11.5 8.3 41.1 7.0 Structure of subject literature 209 62 27 48 22 209 25 Percent 34.7 10.3 4.5 8.0 3.7 34.7 4.2 Subject cataloging 258 4 27 29 24 206 34 Percent 44.3 0.7 4.6 5.0 4.1 35.4 5.8 Decision making 123 39 20 70 51 253 82 Percent 19.3 6.1 3.1 11.0 8.0 39.7 12.9 H~her education 100 112 9 48 20 162 83 ercent 18.7 21.0 1.7 9.0 3.7 30.3 15.5 Planning 161 34 16 75 59 256 71 Percent 24.0 5.1 2.4 11.2 8.8 38.1 10.6 Totals 3,938 1,281 550 1,161 746 4,543 1,122 Percent 29.5 9.6 4.1 8.7 5.6 34.1 8.4 where the librarians believed the profi- of materials) were not among the skills ciencies would best be acquired produced most frequently acquired in library school. some different patterns (see table 4). The A more substantial difference was participating librarians indicated nine pro- found in analyzing perceptions of the ficiencies (of the twenty most important) knowledge bases best acquired on the job. that were best learned in library schools. In fact, the workplace was seen as the opti- Those were: bibliographic tools, search mal place to acquire only two knowledge strategy, general reference sources, refer- bases: specialized reference sources and ence interview, selection of materials, cat- selection of materials (tie). In contrast, aloging codes/rules, subject cataloging, twelve knowledge bases were reported as subject classification, and the structure of having been most frequently obtained on subject literature. Two of these areas of the job. This finding seems to correspond knowledge (search strategy and selection with White and Paris' observation that Sources of Professional Knowledge 337 TABLE4 TWENTY MOST IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE BASES AND YES RESPONSES FOR WHERE BEST ACQUIRED Other Knowledge Source ~~h~ Degree Continuing Staff Knowledge Base Pro~ams IntemshiJ:: Education Develo~:ment On-the-Job Other Bibliographic tools 303 43 93 130 88 282 28 Percent 31.3 4.4 9.6 13.4 9.1 29.2 2.9 Oral communication skills 137 176 45 138 145 155 115 Percent 15.0 19.3 4.9 15.2 15.9 17.0 12.6 Writing skills 114 228 26 127 110 126 107 Percent 13.6 27.2 3.1 15.2 13.1 15.0 12.8 Specialized reference sources 248 61 84 132 93 276 21 Percent 27.1 6.7 9.2 14.4 10.2 30.2 2.3 Decision making 200 74 64 145 128 234 54 Percent 22.3 8.2 7.1 16.1 14.2 26 .0 6.0 Search strategy 268 13 68 115 101 246 18 Percent 32.3 1.6 8.2 13.9 12.2 29.7 2.2 Subject field 73 239 39 136 40 157 51 Percent 9.9 32.5 5.3 18.5 5.4 21.4 6.9 General reference sources 308 22 93 112 91 267 21 Percent 33.7 2.4 10.2 12.3 10.0 29.2 2.3 Planning 230 71 63 156 134 243 38 Percent 24.6 7.6 6.7 16.7 14.3 26.0 4.1 Online searching 263 4 66 160 116 242 15 Percent 30.4 0.5 7.6 18.5 13.4 27.9 1.7 Reference interview 259 5 81 80 82 232 13 Percent 34.4 0.7 10.8 10.6 10.9 30.9 1.7 Selection of materials 245 24 70 91 71 245 14 Percent 32.2 3.2 9.2 12.0 9.3 32.2 1.8 Catalog codes/rules 294 1 59 94 82 230 13 Percent 38.0 0.1 7.6 12.2 10.6 29.8 1.7 Personnel management 205 75 50 167 150 223 36 Percent 22.6 8.3 5.5 18.4 16.6 24.6 4.0 Subject cataloging 271 10 60 72 64 216 15 Percent 38.3 1.4 8.5 10.2 9.0 30.5 2.1 Library automation 288 34 62 180 143 239 32 Percent 29.5 3.5 6.3 18.4 14.6 24.4 3.3 Subject classification 274 10 63 85 63 218 13 Percent 37.7 1.4 8.7 11.7 8.7 30.0 1.8 Structure of subject literature 236 84 47 97 47 197 17 Percent 32.6 11.6 6.5 13.4 6.5 27.2 2.3 Bibliographic/library instruction 241 15 66 131 118 233 9 Percent 29.6 1.8 8.1 16.1 14.5 28.7 1.1 Staff training and development 169 56 35 161 163 222 29 Percent 20.2 6.7 4.2 19.3 19.5 26.6 3.5 Totals 4,626 1,245 1,234 2,509 2,029 4,483 659 Percent 27.6 7.4 7.4 14.9 12.1 26 .7 3.9 II the library directors who constituted the were acquired and perceptions of where respondent population generally declared they are best acquired was that nine themselves willing to consider the transfer knowledge bases were perceived as best of certain topics or issues from what might gained in continuing education and staff otherwise be an overburdened and clut- development activities. No skills were re- tered curriculum to on-the-job training. ported as having been most frequently ac- However, when they were asked to sug- quired from these two sources, although gest specific courses or topics amenable to they represented about 16 percent of the such treatment, very few recommenda- "yes" responses (see table 2). The partici- tions emerged, and no consensus was ap- pants recommended that the remaining parent."9 proficiency, knowledge of a subject field, Another significant difference between be obtained through another degree pro- the responses for where proficiencies gram. 338 College & Research Libraries July 1988 TABLES TWENTY TOP KNOWLEDGE BASES RANKED BY AMOUNT HELD AND YES RESPONSES FOR WHERE BEST ACQUIRED Knowledge Base Bibliographic tools Percent Writing skills Percent Search strategy Percent Specialized reference sources Percent Subject field Percent General reference sources Percent Reference interview Percent Oral communication skills Percent Online searching Percent Selection of materials Percent Filing Percent Subject classification Percent Catalog codes/rules Percent Research methods Percent Bibliographic/library instruction Percent Structure of subject literature Percent Subject cataloging Percent Decision making Percent Higher education Percent Planning Percent Totals Percent 303 31.3 114 13.6 268 32.3 248 7.1 73 9.9 308 33.7 259 34.4 137 15.0 263 30.4 245 32.2 231 36.1 274 37.7 294 38.0 244 30.3 241 29.6 236 32.6 271 38.3 200 22.3 121 21.2 230 24.6 4,560 28.4 Other Degree Programs 43 4.4 228 27.2 13 1.6 61 6.7 239 32.5 22 2.4 5 0.7 176 19.3 4 0.5 24 3.2 4 0.6 10 1.4 1 0.1 177 22.0 15 1.8 84 11.6 10 1.4 74 8.2 103 18.0 71 7.6 1,364 8.5 Apparently, relatively new librarians and library directors are not in complete agreement on this issue. The librarians participating in this study supported con- tinuing education as a valuable learning experience and suggested skills best learned through such programs. White and Paris observed that library directors supported continuing education but ''there would appear to be no consensus that anything in particular should be . . . Knowledge Source Continuing Staff Internship Education Development 93 9.6 26 3.1 68 8.2 84 9.2 39 5.3 93 10.2 81 10.8 45 4.9 66 7.6 70 9.2 47 7.3 63 8.7 59 7.6 37 4.6 66 8.1 47 6.5 60 8.5 64 7.1 20 3.5 63 6.7 1,191 7.4 130 13.4 127 15.2 115 13.9 132 14.4 136 18.5 112 12.3 80 10.6 138 15.2 160 18.5 91 12.0 43 6.7 85 11.7 94 12.2 124 15.4 131 16.1 97 13.4 72 10.2 145 16.1 77 13.5 156 16.7 2,245 14.0 88 9.1 110 13.1 101 12.2 93 10.2 40 5.4 91 10.0 82 10.9 145 15.9 116 13.4 71 9.3 65 10.2 63 8.7 82 10.6 67 8.3 118 14.5 47 6.5 64 9.0 128 14.2 43 7.5 134 14.3 1,748 10.9 On-the-Job 282 29.2 126 15.0 246 29.7 276 30.2 157 21.4 267 29.2 232 30.9 155 17.0 242 27.9 245 32.3 229 35.8 218 30.0 230 29.8 117 14.5 233 28.7 197 27.2 216 30.5 234 26.0 145 25.4 243 26.0 4,290 26.7 Other 28 2.9 107 12.8 18 2.2 21 2.3 51 6.9 21 2.3 13 1.7 115 12.6 15 1.7 14 1.8 21 3.3 13 1.8 13 1.7 39 4.8 9 1.1 17 2.3 15 2.1 54 6.0 62 10.9 38 4.1 684 4.3 · acquired through continuing educa- tion."10 The tables also reflect the respondents' shift from on-the-job training (see table 2) to continuing education and staff develop- ment (see table 4). While the total percent- ages of "yes" responses remained about the same for library school as a source of knowledge, total"yes" responses for "on the job'' dropped from 35 percent to about 27 percent and continuing education and . Sources of Professional Knowledge 339 TABLE6 SUMMARY OF YES RESPONSES TO WHERE KNOWLEDGE WAS ACQUIRED AND WHERE IT IS BEST ACQUIRED Knowledge Base Libra~y School Other Degree Programs Knowledge Source Continuing Staff Internship Education DevelopmentOn-the-Job Other Most important and where acquired Most important and where oest acquired Change in percentage 3,881 1,055 539 1,290 929 4,750 1,105 28.6% 7.8% 4.0% 9.5% 6.9% 35 .1% 8.2% ~~ Lru L~ ~~ ~m ~~ ~ 27.6% 7.4% 7.4% 14.9% 12.1% 26.7% 3.9% -1.0% -0.4% +3.4% +5.4% +5.2% -8.4% -4.3% Amount held and where acquired Amount neld and where best acquired Change in percentage 3,938 1,281 550 1,161 746 4,543 1,122 29.5% 9.6% 4.1% 8.7% 5.6% 34.1% 8.4% ~~ L~ Lm ~ru Lm ~m ~ 28.4% 8.5% 7.4% 14.0% 10.9% 26 .7% 4.3% -1.1% -1.1% +3.3% +5.3% +5.3% -7.4% -4.1% staff development combined jumped from 16 percent to 27 percent. Stated another way, all but two of the ten skills that dropped out of on-the-job training as an actual source of information ended up in the continuing education/staff develop- ment category as a recommended source of job skills. An analysis of the twenty top knowl- edge bases as ranked by the perception of the amount of knowledge held (see table 5) revealed few differences. Again, the use of different rankings produced only three differences: research methods, filing, and higher education replaced personnel management, library automation, and staff training and development. Filing did shift from the on-the-job training category (see table 3) to the library school category (see table 5). The total percentages of "yes" responses are about the same in ta- bles 4 and 5. A comparison of totals in ta- bles 3 and 5, however, reveal changes in percentages similar to those evidenced by tables 2 and 4. That is, internships, contin- uing education, and staff development ac- tivities were more often reported as pre- ferred than as actual sources of knowledge while the reverse was true for on-the-job training. Responses for library school again remained about the same. Table 6, which presents only the totals from tables 2 through 5, further illustrates the differences just discussed. Comparing the "where acquired" and "where best acquired" cells in the upper and lower halves of the table, the major increases are in the continuing education and staff de- velopment columns, and the major de- creases are in the on-the-job column. The increases in the percentages for the intern- ship column are significant as well. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS This article has focused on the second phase of a study of ARL librarians and their perceptions of the amount and im- portance of their professional knowledge, where they acquired such knowledge, and where they think it should be ac- quired. Findings of the first phase indi- cated that, while a traditional core of li- brary knowledge is still highly valued, proficiencies in areas such as automation and management are deemed important by this group of librarians as well. 11 Of concern, however, is the fact that these li- brarians seem to lack substantial knowl- edge in some of the areas that they per- ceive as important. Assuming that is indeed the case, it becomes critical to iden- tify where librarians are acquiring what knowledge they do have and to develop recomrri"endations for where relevant knowledge can be obtained most effec- tively. Such concerns provided the major rationale for the additional data analysis in this report. The second stage of the data analysis shed light on where librarians gain their 340 College & Research Libraries knowledge. Formal library school pro- grams and on-the-job training account for the bulk of the professional knowledge among the study's participants, with li- brary schools imparting more traditional learning. Study participants prefer to rely more heavily on continuing education and staff development programs and less heavily on on-the-job experience . Their recommendations for what should be learned in library school remain about the same as reported in the first analysis. A shortage of appropriate opportunities may be the reason why librarians have been learning more on the job than through continuing education. As White and Paris noted, "reports from profes- sional societies, state agencies, and indi- vidual libraries report a level of participa- tion [in continuing education] which touches at best only a small part of the pro- July 1988 fession and then only haphazardly.' 'U Yet academic librarians, at least, appear to prefer continuing education over on-the- job training as a mode of learning. , If librarians are not content to acquire as much of their professional expertise on the job as in the past, then appropriate agencies may need to expand their contin- uing education offerings and library ad- ministrators may need to strengthen their staff development programs and support for alternative opportunities. Schools of li- brary and information science may be well advised to take another look at the desir- ability of expanding their curricula to two- year programs, as some have done al- ready. In short, an appropriate variety of educational opportunities will be neces- sary to meet the increasing needs of librar- ians in a more complex environment. REFERENCES AND NOTES 1. Millicent D. Abell, "The Changing Role of the Academic Librarian: Drift and Mastery," College & Research Libraries 40:154-64 (Mar. 1979). 2. Toni Carbo Bearman, "The Changing Role of the Information Professional," Library Trends 32: 255-60 (Winter 1984). 3. Patricia Battin, ''Developing University and Research Library Professionals: A Director's Perspec- tive," American Libraries 14: 22-25 (Jan. 1983). 4. Sheila Creth and Faith Harders, "Requirements for the Entry Level Librarian," Library ]ournal105: 2168-69 (Oct. 1980). 5. Association of Research Libraries, Education for the Research Library Professional, minutes of the 97th meeting, Oct. 1980, Arlington, Virginia(Washington, D.C. : ARL, 1981), p.28-35. See also Maurice P. Marchant and Nathan M. Smith, ''The Research Library Director's View of Library Education,'' College & Research Libraries 43: 437-44 (Nov. 1982). 6. Jose-Marie Griffiths and Donald W. King, New Directions in Library and Information Science Education (White Plains, N .Y.: Knowledge Industry, 1986). 7. Ronald R. Powell and Sheila D. Creth, "Knowledge Bases and Library Education," College & Re- search Libraries 47: 16-27 (Jan. 1986). 8. A recent study found that the directors of large academic libraries recommended sixteen courses deemed essential for the preparation of entry-level professionals. Of those sixteen courses, ten were primarily bibliography or reference courses, two dealt with collection development, two with cataloging and technical services, one with management, and one with automation. See Her- bert S. White and Marion Paris, "Employer Preferences and the Library Education Curriculum," Library Quarterly, 55:1-33 (Jan. 1985). 9. Ibid., p.29 . . 10. Ibid., p.14. 11. Powell and Creth, "Knowledge Bases," p.25. 12. White and Paris, "Employer Preferences," p .30.