Other duties as assigned: Emerging trends in the academic library job market

Abstract

Nine hundred job announcements published in four journals in 1996 were examined using content analysis to compare requirements and benefits among various positions in academic libraries. This study updates the article The Academic Library Job Market: A Content Analysis Comparing Public and Technical Services, in which authors David W. Reser and Anita P. Schuneman analyzed 1,133 job advertisements published in 1988 to compare public and technical services positions.1 A growing number of electronic-related advertisements in the past decade has led to the addition of a third division to be investigated, namely the systems and automation librarian. For purposes of comparison with Reser and Schuneman's article, the authors retained the same research design and variables. These variables include levels of computer skills, foreign-language requirements, previous work experience, educational requirements, and minimum salary offered.