Craft and Librarianship: A Reconsideration of the Sources of Librarian Job Satisfaction

• Published in: Journal of library administration Vol. 54; no. 8; pp. 637 - 658
• Main Author: Morgan, Chad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 17.11.2014
• Subjects: craft; Crafts; Dynamic tests; Flexibility; Graduates; Impact analysis; intrinsic rewards; Job satisfaction; librarians; librarianship; Libraries; Perception; Perceptions; Schools of library and information science; WILIS study
• ISSN: 0193-0826; 1540-3564
• DOI: 10.1080/01930826.2014.965096

This article surveyed the sources of job satisfaction among 1,833 library and information science (LIS) master's program graduates in North Carolina from 1964-2009. The study examined the effects of traditional work-related variables such as income, flexibility, co-workers, fringe benefits, and setting on job satisfaction. In addition, the analysis introduces variables related to the notion of craft, professional achievement, and family dynamics to determine what impact they have. Craft combines the wish to perform one's work well independent of extrinsic factors or influences and the desire of the worker to create a quality final outcome or product. The major finding of the study is that craft and professional achievement are the largest determinants of job satisfaction among LIS graduates. Meanwhile, variables such as marital status, whether or not one has children, and breadwinner status had no discernible effect. Supportive co-workers, being a woman, and membership in professional organizations likewise correlate with job satisfaction, while being a full-time worker, anxiety over job security, and working in an academic library setting contributed to dissatisfaction. Although LIS graduates generally report being very content in their jobs, this study suggests that they are anxious about changes such as the increasing number of temporary and freelance jobs and the perception that full-time staff are doing more work with fewer resources.