The Image of the Library and Information Profession: How We See Ourselves: An Investigation 9783110963953, 9783598217982

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International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Föderation Internationale des Associations de Biblioth6caires et des Bibliotheques Internationaler Verband der bibliothekarischen Vereine und Institutionen Me*AyHapoflHan «DenepauH« EHÖ/iHOTeHHbix AccomiauHfl η yHpe*flenHlt

Federaciön Internacional de Asociaciones de Bibliotecarios y Bibliotecas

IFLA Publications 71

The Image of the Library and Information Profession How We See Ourselves: An Investigation A report of an empirical study undertaken on behalf of IFLA's Round Table for the Management of Library Associations by Hans Prins and Wilco de Gier with the assistance of Russell Bowden

Κ • G • Saur München · New Providence • London · Paris 1!

IFLA Publications edited by Carol Henry Recommended catalog entry: The Image of the Library and Information Profession. How we see Ourselves : An Investigation / (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions). A report of an empirical study undertaken on behalf of IFLA's Round Table for the Management of Library Associations. Ed by Hans Prins and Wilco de Gier with the assistance of Russell Bowden. München, New Providence, London, Paris, K.G. Saur, 1995 86 p, 21 cm (IFLA Publications : 71) ISBN 3-598-21798-6

Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Prins, Hans: The image of the library and information profession : how we see ourselves an investigation ; a report of an empirical study undertaken on behalf of IFLA's Round Table for the Management of Library Associations / by Hans Prins and Wilco de Gier. With the assistance of Russell Bowden. München ; New Providence ; London ; Paris : Saur, 1995 (IFLA publications ; 71) ISBN 3-598-21798-6 NE: Gier, Wilco de: ; International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions: IFLA publications

Θ Printed on acid-free paper The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences - Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48.1984. © 1995 by International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, The Hague, The Netherlands Alle Rechte vorbehalten / All Rights Strictly Reserved K. G. Saur Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, München 1995 A Reed Reference Publishing Company Printed in the Federal Republic of Germany All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system of any nature, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Druck / Printed by Strauss Offsetdruck GmbH, Mörlenbach Binden / Bound by Buchbinderei Schaumann, Darmstadt ISBN 3-598-21798-6 ISSN 0344-6891 (IFLA Publications)

EDITOR'S FOREWORD The problems of image, reputation and status have been of concern to the library and information services profession for years, if not decades. The literature contains many references to these concerns and they have at various times surfaced with enough strength of feeling for something occasionally to be done about them. For instance, the Special Libraries Association in the United States from 1988-19901 undertook a study which identified many interesting factors. The study was presented to the IFLA Conference in Paris in 1988 and was reported in the IFLA Journal.2 Within IFLA the issue of status and the associated problems were formally raised at the Kanazawa IFLA Pre-Conference Seminar in Japan in 1986. It formulated a resolution that read: 'Recognising the crying problem of low status of librarians, documentalists and information specialists in some of the Third World countries, this Seminar strongly recommends that the following steps are taken by IFLA as an attempt to redress the situation: (a) That a pre-Session Seminar on the "Status of librarians, documentalists and information specialists" be organized by IFLA preferably in a Third World country. (b) IFLA should take effective steps to formulate standards relating to the status issue and circulate these standard globally.' IFLA's Round Table for the Management of Library Associations (RTMLA) offered to consider the issues and undertake action arising from them. The Nederlands Bibliotheek and Lektuur Centrum (NBLC) offered to assist by providing the services of two social scientists, Hans Prins and Wilco de Gier to undertake a major research project. Questionnaires were designed and sent out and analysed and these were followed up with visits for interviews overseas. The findings from the visits and the analysis of the questionnaire returns, which assisted the interviews overseas, formed the basis of a paper which was a major contribution to an IFLA Pre-Conference Seminar held in Delhi in August 1992 and which, with emminent librarians from all corners of the globe participating, clearly confirmed the existence of the problems and indicated clear courses of action required for IFLA and others to address. This Report, however, contains the full record of the research and the results and the analysis that it produced. It was first published in a limited edition jointly by IFLA and the NBLC in 1993 but now IFLA believes it is so important as to deserve a wider audience; hence its publication now, as a complementary volume to No. 68 in the IFLA Publications series. It is recommended that it be read in conjunction with the Delhi Pre-Conference Seminar proceedings "The Status, Reputation and Image of the Library and Information Profession" published in 1994 by K.G. Saur as No. 68 in the series IFLA Publications. The two documents make fascinating reading and provide clear directions in which IFLA, national associations and individual professionals to go if the problems of status and reputation and image are to be overcome.

Thanks are due not only to Hans Prins and Wilco de Gier but also to Rudi van der Velde, Director of the NBLC and to the NBLC itself, as well as to the Executive Committee of the RTMLA and to IFLA's Professional Board. I have great pleasure in commending this publication to all interested in the problems of the image, status and reputation of librarians.

Russell Bowden Chairman 1987-93 I FLA RTMLA

London June, 1995

1.

Special Libraries Association, 'inter-association task force report on image', (Washington, SLA, 1990) (mimeographed).

2.

Spalding, Frank, 'image of the librarian/information profession; a Special Libraries Association Presidential Task Force', I FLA Journal, 15(4), 19B9.

CONTENTS 1

Introduction

9

2 2.1 2.2 2.3

Research assignment The purpose of the study Survey questions Limitations of the study

11 11 11 12

3 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4

Concepts Image and identity Corporate identity Corporate image Status and prestige

15 15 16 17 18

4 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5

Causes of low status and poor image Invisibility Economics Quality of service Training Profession

21 21 21 21 22 22

5 5.1 5.2 5.3

Survey methods Operation Response Expert interviews

23 23 24 25

6 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8

Results of interviews Status and image problems Causes of status and image problems Economic factors Education Profession Visibility Quality of service Solutions

27 27 28 28 29 31 32 33 35

7

7

Results of survey

37

8

Conclusions

59

Appendix 1: Questionnaire Appendix 2: Subjects for Interviews Appendix 3: Acknowledgements

8

63 75 79

1. INTRODUCTION A person's occupation is an important part of his life. An occupation is an essential social indicator. It tells other people about the education that someone has had and about his or her economic position. When people are introduced, one of the first questions they are likely to ask each other is "What do you do for a living?". If an occupational group feels misunderstood and suffers from a negative image, this can have far-reaching social consequences and personal repercussions. It appears that librarians are frequently embarrassed about their profession. Many of them are unwilling to admit in company that this is what they do. If a professional group has a poor image this also has all sorts of implications for the social functioning of the group. Aside from anything else, a poor image will deter people from entering the profession. Librarians have been suffering from this poor image for many years; it seems to be an extraordinarily persistent problem. Within the profession there are all sorts of common-sense views about the status and image of the profession and the people who practice it. Whether we are dealing with stereotypes, prejudices or 'realistic' value judgements, it is clear that there is a reasonable degree of unanimity both within the profession and outside it. The RTMLA, to which some seventy-five national organisations are affiliated, wanted a study carried out with the primary goal of finding "empirical evidence" for these views and the extent to which they exist. The second question was "Why?". If people knew why the status of librarians is on the low side and their image less than sparkling, it should be possible to use the findings of the survey to come up with concrete recommendations for improvement. At the request of the Round Table for the Management of Library Associations (RTMLA) of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), the research department of the Dutch Centre for Public Libraries and Literature (NBLC) has carried out a study of the status and image of the librarian's profession and the people who practice it.

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2. RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT The RTMLA formulated the research assignment as follows. The public's general image of the profession and practice of librarianship is poor. The reputation of the profession is low and as a consequence the status of workers in it is also low. The situation is not exactly the same all over the world but it does exist everywhere to varying degrees, and the picture is a fairly accurate one for most countries. The reasons for this situation are many and varied and differ from country to country depending on the political situation, and on cultural, developmental and social issues. The research project is concerned to establish the reasons more precisely. It was expressly stated that the study should address the issue on a world scale and should not be limited to particular regions of the world. 2.1 The purpose of the study The RTMLA wants to identify ways to remedy this situation in the future and over a longish time-scale, it wants to discover the real reasons for poor status, reputation and image and, having done so, to advise IFLA's Professional Board on: - the activities that IFLA should itself undertake in order to assist its affiliated library associations to take action nationally to improve the situation; - the activities that Unesco's PGI should support; - the activities that should be adopted by professionals themselves in the LIS sectors; - the activities that other organisations need to be involved with in order to remedy the situation. 2.2 Survey questions A number of problems arise when it comes to formulating the questions for the survey. The status of a profession is a social judgement. A survey into status would therefore have to be a survey of the general public. In addition, however, the survey involves a complex set of questions. Not only would it first be necessary to establish whether the status of the profession is indeed low, but the factors that affect status would have to be identified. It would be unrealistic to attempt to carry out a worldwide population survey with such an objective. Another problem that has to be recognised here is the object of the study. The literature reveals that the image of the library and the image of the librarian are effectively inseparable. A possible explanation put forward for this is that as far as the users are concerned everyone who works in a library is a librarian. A study into the image of the librarian is thus to a significant extent also a study into the image of the library. From the outset it was obvious that it would be impossible to carry out a worldwide population survey. It was consequently decided to limit the survey population to librarians. Among the motives for this decision was the consideration that the emphasis of the study had been placed very heavily on detecting factors that could possibly contribute to remedying the problem. 11

The following questions were formulated for the survey: 1. Do librarians really hold the view that the profession has a low status and a poor image? 2. If librarians do believe that their status is low, is this regarded as a significant problem? 3. Which factors, in the judgement of the librarians, are the cause of the profession's low status? 4. Are there significant differences in the status of librarians in countries with different cultures and different economic circumstances? 5. Are there differences in the status of librarians working in different types of libraries? 6. What do librarians see as solutions that could improve their status and image? 2.3 Limitations of the study The study had to address the issue on a world basis. This entails a number of major problems and limitations. If the profession worldwide is to be the subject of the study, a number of choices will have to be made. It will be necessary to establish which 'objective' data are indicators for the position in which the profession finds itself, and for the status the profession has. In making these choices a great many arbitrary decisions will have to be taken, and many culture-driven points of view represented. Comparative studies on a world scale cannot include everything. Many local and national details will inevitably be lost. Comparative studies also face the problem of "What is the basis for comparison?". The differences between Northwest Europe and Mediterranean Europe are considerable. The differences between East and West are more than considerable. The differences between North and South are immense. The development of library work in economically prosperous countries has meant that these countries regard themselves as top of the bill. They are silently convinced that they serve as the model for how it should be done. An imperative choice is offered. Librarians in developing countries are in danger of being caught in the trap of cultural imperialism. Comparative studies into the status of professional groups within one's own society are already problematic enough, without involving international aspects. In one's own society one is familiar with the trends, one knows the semiotics of the culture in the street, in magazines, on television, the clothes, the buildings, the attitudes. One has developed a nose for detecting determinants for attitudes, preferences, judgements, orientations. And this does not alter the fact that so far it has only been possible to answer to a limited extent the question of why the status judgement is as it is, even in one's own country. It was, therefore, evident at the outset that it would be impossible to produce the ultimate answer to the survey questions in a single study that had to be conducted worldwide. The survey dealt with a complex problem that had been occupying social science for decades and would not suddenly become susceptible to explanation with a single study. And there was certainly no chance that it could come up with solutions that would rid the profession of 12

its prestige problems at a stroke. Even a satisfactory analytical definition would be a step in the right direction. The best result that could be expected was a comparative definition that threw some light on the relationships between variables and on possible solutions. Both the client and the study team were very well aware of these problems, and the ambitions were modified to bring them more into line with what was possible.

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3. CONCEPTS Concepts like status, image, identity, prestige, reputation and respect are generally used in everyday speech as if they were synonyms. In this respect librarians are no exception. The low status of the librarian is often mentioned in the same breath as a poor image. This sort of uncritical use of language is not acceptable for research purposes. In the literature in this field, concepts like status, image, identity etc. are given a specific meaning. An accurate definition of concepts is an essential precondition for obtaining a better insight into the problem that is the subject of the study. The literature also reveals that there is a research tradition in the case of only a few of the concepts referred to above. In particular, the paired concepts of image and identity, and the concepts of prestige (occupational prestige) and status are important. 3.1 Image and identity Image and identity are concepts which have become a focus of interest in recent years, particularly among organisations in the business world. This interest is clearly reflected in recent management literature, where such terms as corporate image and identity are widely used. However, it has lately become noticeable that government circles and the non-profit sector are taking an increasing interest in the image of the organisation. Almost all authors link image and identity with organisations rather than occupations. This does not, however, alter the fact that the literature in this field is relevant to the present study. A great deal of what is said in this literature appears to be equally useful in analysing the image of professions. Moreover, it is difficult in practice to make a distinction between the image of the librarian and the image of the library or the sector as a whole. Definitions tend to be intertwined in the literature. Many organisations appear to be faced with an image problem. This is evident from the fact that organisations of very different types, profit-making and non-profit alike, launch media campaigns to change their image in the eyes of their target group in some specific way. Even monopolies like the utility companies feel it necessary to undertake media campaigns to improve their image with the general public. Given the cost of these media campaigns, organisations appear to attach great value to a good image. They expect to derive benefits on a number of levels from a good image. Firstly the management regards having a good image as an essential precondition for the customer to enter into a relationship with the organisation concerned. Organisations with a poor image are avoided. The target group will be less inclined to use the services of such organisations. A good image is therefore seen as an important stimulus to turnover and to building a relationship of trust. Secondly, the effects of a good image are not restricted to the outside world. A good reputation also has a positive effect within the organisation itself - for example, a good image will make it easier to recruit good quality people. People will want to work for an organisation with such a good name, so the 15

argument goes. And a good image also has a motivating effect on the staff already there. It is regarded as an honour to work for an organisation of this kind and the employees are thought to develop strong mutual ties because they can easily identify with the organisation. The concepts of image and identity are closely related. If image is defined as the way in which the outside world sees the organisation, identity is the way in which the organisation sees itself. It is evident that in many cases these two, image and identity, do not coincide, and there are numerous examples that illustrate this. The government, for example, sees itself as an organisation fulfilling essential social functions; generally speaking the public regards the government as a cumbersome, customer-unfriendly bureaucracy. The public library considers itself indispensable to the implementation of the fundamental right of the free flow of information; the public sees the library primarily as a place where leisure reading can be borrowed cheaply. The librarian sees himself first and foremost as a professional who builds collections and opens up access to them, who makes information available; the public sees the librarian as someone who stamps books. This discrepancy between the self-image of an organisation and the picture that the outside world has of it often gives rise to action, such as the media campaigns referred to above, by which it is hoped that image and identity can be made to coincide.

3.2 Corporate identity The concept of corporate identity is defined in various ways. Some authors limit it to advertising; others define identity in such a way that it actually also encompasses the image of the organisation. Still others limit the concept to the house style. This makes it impossible to provide a generally accepted definition of the concept of corporate identity. In line with a number of authors, we define 'identity' as a concept covering not only the picture that an organisation has of itself but also the way in which the organisation manifests itself. The way in which an organisation advertises, presents itself, deals with its customers ('the whole outward conduct') should ideally coincide with its self-image. An organisation which considers itself to be dynamic and innovative ought to stress this in all forms of contact with the outside world and recognisably project it. Two elements are important in projecting the self-image of an organisation. They are: - the behaviour of the organisation, by which we mean everything that the organisation does in direct contacts with the target group. In the case of libraries, this is the way the user of the library is treated by the organisation. It is what an organisation actually does that governs the way its target groups will evaluate it. - The organisation's media expressions. An image of the organisation can be created in the minds of the target group by advertising without there having to be any direct contacts between them. The advantage of putting identity across in this way is that a large proportion of the target group can be reached in a short time.

16

As we have said, it is extremely important that the actual conduct of the organisation is in line with its media expressions. If a library presents itself as very customer-friendly in a media campaign, this had better be the actual practice in the library itself. If it is not, such an advertising campaign will be entirely counterproductive. In the final analysis, the target group will judge the organisation on what it actually does. It is crucial that the self-image accords with the actual situation. In many cases it will be difficult for the people who form part of an organisation to distance themselves sufficiently from ideology, culture and tradition to give a realistic description of the identity of the organisation. It will also often be difficult to distinguish between the actual identity and the desired identity. This will undoubtedly be the case in the library sector, where all sorts of ideological views about the profession play a major role. In library circles, for example, great emphasis is placed on the informative function of the library. Whether such a view of libraries corresponds to the reality in all cases is open to doubt. To a large proportion of the users of public libraries, for instance, the function of the library is primarily recreational. Determining the identity of an organisation is likewise not easy in terms of the methodology. The research instruments developed so far do not enable us to establish the identity of an organisation objectively. The different methods of determining identity appear to a significant extent to be complementary. Each research method seems to measure only part of the identity. 3.3 Corporate image We define the image of an organisation or profession as the image that the target group has of it. In many cases the image will be a very limited picture and, almost by definition, will not be very subtle. It is often confined to a number of buzzwords that people consider apply to an organisation. As someone gains more experience in direct contact, so the picture will take on more detail and become more complete. Images are functional because they simplify human actions, but in fact they entail a reduction of the reality. On the basis of general knowledge contained in buzzwords, people will for example decide to shop in a certain store because it has the image of being cheap. Images have their own reality. In its home country of the Netherlands, the beer produced by the Heineken brewery has the image of an ordinary beer, whereas in the United States Heineken has the image of a status beer for the better-off. This is one and the same product with totally different images in different countries. Nor are images the same within one country. One person, for example, will regard the ownership of a Mercedes as a symbol of social success, while someone else will see it as an ostentatious vehicle for capitalists. In business, images also often have the function of setting an organisation apart from its competitors. One department store tries to establish the image of selling exclusively high quality goods, while another builds its profile around low prices. Libraries have a harder time of it in this respect. The library has no competitors and is consequently a monopoly. This makes it impossible for a library to establish a clear profile of itself as distinct from alternative providers of the same services. 17

The image of an organisation is not determined and influenced by the particular organisation alone. All sorts of other players likewise have an effect on the image. The appearance of a stereotypical strict librarian in a television series, for example, will have as great an effect on the image of the library as a balanced publicity campaign mounted by the libraries. Negative images seem to lead a long and obstinate life. If a collective image of an organisation or a profession exists, it often appears to be extremely difficult to steer this image in the desired direction. Numerous organisations and professional groups can testify to this. A great many professions are burdened with an image which, so the people in the profession say, is based on outdated cliches from the past. For example, notary publics in the Netherlands are using television commercials in an attempt to shake off their dry and stuffy image. For years doctors have been trying to change their image of being unapproachable and of superior status to a more customerfriendly one. Professional engineers want to lose their image of fastidious number-crunchers. Even the commercial sector, which usually has more funds available for changing images, evidently finds it very difficult to change a poor image. Research also reveals that even if an organisation performs well this is certainly no guarantee of a good image. There does not appear to be any clear correlation between the financial performance of a commercial enterprise and whether or not it has a good image. A fairly extensive range of methods and study techniques for measuring images has meanwhile been developed. Here again there is no question of a single, unambiguous measuring method. The various researchers involved in the measurement of images hold widely differing views on what the correct method should be. There has clearly been far less experience of measuring the images of professions or occupations. In almost all cases, these studies have been of the type in which respondents are asked to ascribe certain characteristics to professions. 3.4 Status and prestige Research into the status or prestige of occupations has a long tradition in social science. This is research into social inequality that arises out of the degree to which respect is accorded to an occupation. Research into the status of occupations usually uses an occupational prestige ladder. Occupations are ranked by respondents from high to low on the basis of the prestige associated with the occupations. The prestige of an occupation is thus determined in relation to other occupations. This means that prestige is always a relative concept. The research tools for this sort of study have effectively been developed as far as they can go. The prestige ascribed to a profession or occupation is the end product of the evaluation of an occupation in terms of a number of underlying characteristics. Important characteristics include the education and training needed for the occupation, the income associated with the occupation, the social security offered by the occupation and also whether it is white collar or manual work, a clean or a dirty job. All these sorts of characteristics are factors in respondents' assessments of the prestige of an occupation. Some 18

characteristics, however, are more significant factors than others. Income and education appear to be particularly strong indicators of the prestige accorded to an occupation. Needless to say, the position of occupations on a prestige ladder is subject to change. Over time, occupations can move up or slide down the ladder. After all, it is not so long ago that dentists travelled around with the fair. In addition there are new occupations that appear on the scene. The computerrelated professions of recent years are a case in point. In terms of the present study, an important question is the extent to which these prestige ladders are internationally comparable. Can the prestige ladders in countries with different political systems, cultures and economic conditions be compared with one another? Is the relative prestige accorded the librarian in Malaysia the same as that of a librarian in the United States or Brazil? In answering these questions Treiman's study Occupational prestige in comparative perspective'1 is of great importance. In this study, Treiman compared the occupational prestige ladders of sixty countries. By comparing the position of the same occupations on the different ladders, he was able to establish the extent to which differences occur. Treiman concludes on the basis of this analysis that the occupational prestige ladders largely correspond. He did, however, find that economic circumstances have some effect on the degree of correspondence. The greater the differences in the economic development of countries, the greater the differences in the rankings. Other studies into this problem reveal that the political regime of a country affects the degree to which the ranking of the prestige of occupations differs. Despite these nuances, which are important in themselves, it can be said that the occupational prestige ladders of different countries largely correspond. On the basis of these similarities, Treiman has been able to construct a worldwide prestige ladder. Research into the prestige of occupations produces results which differ from those of research into the attractiveness of an occupation. Attractiveness is defined in terms of whether a respondent would want to pursue a particular occupation if he were free to choose. High-prestige occupations turn out to score lower on an attractiveness scale. A dentist, for example, has relatively high prestige, but not many people would actually want to take up the profession.

Treiman, D.J. Occupational Prestige in Comparative Perspective. New York, 1977. 19

4. CAUSES OF LOW STATUS AND POOR IMAGE There is a significant body of literature about the poor image and low status of librarians. In addition to this, there are numerous consensus ideas and views within the profession about the factors which underlie the poor image. On the basis of these sources, supplemented by a number of interviews with experts, we have endeavoured to list the possible causes. In the case of many of the causes put forward, however, we are faced with a problem in that it is not always clear whether we are dealing with cause or effect. The low salary earned by librarians, for example, could be an effect of their low status, but it is equally conceivable that a low salary causes a low status. 4.1 Invisibility As far as the general public is concerned, the librarian's occupation is largely invisible. To the average user, the librarian is virtually indistinguishable from other library staff. In addition to this, the public have almost no idea of what it is a librarian actually does since a great deal of the work, such as collection management, is done out of sight of the users. There is also little understanding of the extent of a librarian's management responsibilities. People are not aware that libraries are sometimes very large, complex organisations with budgets and staffs to match. The social function of the library is likewise barely recognised by the general public. Libraries have an important service role in the further development of scholarship, in education, in all sorts of organisations. In more general terms they are important to the free circulation of information and hence to the democratic functioning of a society. Virtually none of these functions of the library enter into the general public's perception of the librarian. 4.2 Economics The economic function of the library is generally regarded as slight by the public. In many people's view, libraries contribute little if anything to the economic growth of a country. This could be a particularly important factor in the status accorded libraries in developing countries. From this viewpoint, a library simply represents outgoings. Government cutbacks on library activities would similarly have an adverse effect on the image since this would confirm the perception of the library as something that is just a drain on resources. The low salaries earned by librarians are also given as a possible cause of their low status. In some countries an additional factor in this respect is the high level of unemployment among librarians as a result of overproduction by library schools. 4.3 Quality of service A frequently postulated cause of low status is the quality of the service that libraries provide. Users generally have almost no idea about the sort of services that a library ought to provide, nor about the quality of these services. Where there is a certain pattern of expectation concerning the quality of library services it is usually on the low side. In this respect librarians are accused of virtually ignoring their users and concentrating too much on the collection. They are too passive in respect of the users. There appears to be an attitude towards the users of libraries which regards them as a necessary evil. A great many people feel that this sort of attitude on the part of librarians is extremely detrimental to the image of the profession.

21

4.4 Training The training for library work figures large in many possible explanations of the profession's low status. Two problems are mentioned. The quality of the training leaves a great deal to be desired; people are critical of the quality of the teaching staff and of the curriculum. Highly-qualified lecturers do not teach at the library schools. According to the critics, the courses concentrate much too much on traditional library skills such as cataloguing etc. It is felt that the training should devote much more attention to the quality of service. A second problem that is often cited is that of the quality of the students. Students who choose a course in librarianship are often thought of as second rate. People also have their doubts about the motives of many of the students who elect to train as librarians. A lot of students choose the profession for the wrong reasons. Students associate the profession with a love of books and reading. In the eyes of many people, these are not the right motives for choosing the profession. 4.5 Profession Librarian is a term that covers a very wide range of activities. Not everyone who works in a library is a librarian. Nor do all librarians do the same work. The differences in the job descriptions of librarians often appear to be greater than the similarities. The director of the national library is a librarian, but so too is the head of the catalogue department. There will be very few points of similarity in the job descriptions of these two librarians. Since there is effectively no such person as the librarian, it is also problematic to talk about the status of the librarian. This diversity in the work done by librarians also presents problems in describing the essence of the profession. There appears to be virtually no consensus on this issue within the profession. The professional status of the librarian is discussed fairly regularly within the profession itself. Some librarians do not regard themselves as professionals. They do not believe that the occupation of librarian is on a par with other professions such as doctors, lawyers, engineers etc. Over and above this, the job descriptions of many librarians consist to a significant extent of work that can also be done by non-librarians. In this respect the librarian comes off worse in comparison with other professions. In practising their profession, for example, doctors will clearly confine themselves to the work they have been trained to do and will not do jobs that can be done by a nurse. Also in contrast to other professions, virtually no country accords any sort of official recognition to the professional title of librarian. Unlike a doctor or a lawyer, for example, anyone can call himself a librarian.The last aspect that is frequently put forward as a possible explanation for the librarian's low status is the female image of the profession. In many countries a woman's status is lower than a man's and consequently 'women's' occupations likewise have a lower status. It has been established in other fields that a female image has a negative effect on the status of an occupation. The nursing profession is a case in point.

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5. SURVEY METHODS We have already explained why a population survey (a random sample from the population as a whole or from the population of users) would not be possible. The survey group was limited to librarians. Given the available budget and the fact that the survey had to have a worldwide scope, the written questionnaire was the obvious method. However, the written questionnaire is a research tool with a number of manifest limitations. It is a more or less superficial research tool that is better suited to the collection of quantitative data rather than qualitative information. In addition to this, the so-called 'hard facts' will always prove to be more ambiguous on an international scale than within a single community because of social, economic and cultural differences. The quantitative results of a written questionnaire, which are relatively easy to collect, cause problems of interpretation when they are analysed. A second, not unfamiliar, problem of an entirely different kind is the matter of the response. There are a great many surveys and there are several factors which traditionally form an obstacle to cooperating in a survey. The willingness to fill in questionnaires depends on the degree of involvement in the subject, but also on the availability of time, expertise and statistical material. It was expected that the response from southern countries, in particular, would be insufficient to enable us to make a reliable analysis. In the light of these considerations it was decided to supplement the written questionnaire with a round of oral interviews. The intention was to collect as much qualitative information as possible by means of these interviews. In selecting the respondents for these interviews we placed a strong emphasis on the less developed countries. 5.1 Operation Survey The written questionnaire (see Appendix 1 for the complete list of questions) is made up of two parts: 1. A set of questions aimed at giving an accurate picture of the state of the art in relation to library and documentation work and the provision of information. 2. A set of questions providing the opportunity, by means of a number of statements, to sound out librarians' views on problems concerned with their status as they perceive or experience it. The survey population for the written questionnaire was made up of 150 national organisations (affiliated to the IFLA) in ninety countries. The organisations were asked to complete set 1 (with the factual data) and to have set 2 (with the opinion questions), ten extra copies of which were enclosed, filled in by librarians, documentalists, information brokers and other professional colleagues. This obviously creates a methodological problem. There can be no question of a random sample because the population has not been defined and not every member of the profession has an equal chance of being included in the survey. The results of the written questionnaire therefore cannot be regarded as a representative picture of the problem. Under the circumstances, however, and given the scale of the survey, there was no other way of finding out what professionals think.

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The first set of questions related to national statistics such as the national budget, education funding, the level of education and training, and also to library statistics. It was assumed that the way in which the government demonstrated involvement (funding, percentage of the GNP devoted to training facilities, professional opportunities etc.) would in part be an indication of the status of the profession. The questions related to, among other things: - the number and type of libraries - the range of services - the organisational structure, financing, relationship with the government - income and expenditure - the staff: number of men, women, volunteers - the educational and salary levels of the staff - the type of educational and salary levels of comparable professions. The main section of the second set of questions consisted of seventeen statements in which possible, frequently-mentioned causes of the status problem were set out. The respondents were able to indicate the extent to which they agreed with these statements. They were also asked 'in your opinion, which five statements are the most significant as causes of low status'. This was used to rank the causes in order of importance. The respondents were also asked which specific action should, in their view, be given the highest priority in order to raise the status and improve the image. 5.2 Response Despite reminders, the number of organisations that returned part 1 of the questionnaire did not exceed twenty (22% of the countries responded). Leaving aside the size of the response, the quality of the answers proved to be so poor that there was no point in analysing them or reporting on them. Leaving aside the scope of the questionnaire, it can perhaps be concluded that in many countries national statistics relating to libraries, training, subsidies etc. are underdeveloped. Another possibility is that these figures do exist, but that they are not known to many national organisations in the field of libraries, documentation and the provision of information. Part 2, in which opinions could be given, had a considerably better response. 292 forms were returned from thirty-four countries in all parts of the world with the exception of the Middle East. Opinions are, of course, easier to come up with than facts. Western countries were to some extent over-represented. Nevertheless it can be concluded that the quantitative element of the survey produced material that is interesting in itself, but less reliable in statistical terms. This also means that the results cannot simply be generalised. None of this in any way alters the fact that the results contain numerous valuable indications which deserve further analysis and point to the direction in which follow-up research should go. This is true not only of the quantitative data, but also of the eight hundred or so comments and statements about urgent problems, desirable solutions and action that should be taken.

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5.3 Expert interviews In consultation with the RTMLA and experts from IFLA HQ, a number of regions and countries were selected, together with a number of key people who should be interviewed. In making the selection, particular attention was paid to the representation of the southern and less industrialised countries. Latin America: Brazil, Venezuela, Jamaica and St. Martin. Southeast Asia: Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Africa: Nigeria and Morocco. As well as talking to the key figures in these countries (active in administration, broad vision, international experience etc.) we also endeavoured to interview a selection of people who were involved in a variety of ways in library and documentation work and the provision of information. These were people from different backgrounds: librarians working in universities or in public libraries, teachers, members of the boards of national or regional organisations, officials in regional or local government etc. They also included people like school librarians in rural areas. In the end, some seventy interviews were conducted on the basis of a structured list of items. Some interviews were one to one, others took the form of group discussions. The list of items followed the questionnaire in a modified form.

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6. RESULTS OF INTERVIEWS Altogether more than seventy interviews were conducted with librarians from a great many countries working in different types of libraries. The results of these interviews do not provide a representative picture (in statistical terms) of the status and image problem in the southern hemisphere. In our view, the interviews do provide a good overview of the opinions that exist on this subject. A second source of qualitative information is to be found in the comments that many respondents added to the written questionnaire. A report of this qualitative information can scarcely do justice to the broad range of opinions and views. In many cases these opinions are of a very specific country or situation-related character. Although these are observations that are highly relevant in the context of one particular country or situation, from a world viewpoint their applicability is often limited. The main approach in analysing the available qualitative information was to trace dominant views in the survey population. Specific country-related opinions and experiences are only relevant to our purpose if they can serve as examples. 6.1 Status and image problems The interviews revealed that there is no homogeneity in the perception of status and image problems even within a single country. The opinions of librarians in any given country differ significantly and may even be diametrically opposed. Even in one and the same library sector in a country, there are major differences of opinion about the nature and seriousness of the problem. It is therefore not surprising that nothing emerged in any of the interviews about specific action being undertaken by librarians for a joint approach to status and image problems. The great majority of the respondents generally subscribe to the contention that librarians are faced with problems of status and image. However, the significance attached to these problems differs. A number of them regard the status problem as so important that almost all the problems confronting the library are attributed to the low status and the poor image. This group of respondents also thinks, for example, that the library's budgetary problems are largely caused by these factors. Another group of respondents acknowledges that there is a problem but gives it less weight. Opinions to the contrary were also expressed. In Hong Kong, for example, librarians apparently experience few if any problems in relation to their status and image. At least no more than any other civil servants. In Hong Kong, working for the government is accorded appreciably less respect than a job in commerce. Hong Kong society is very much orientated around doing business. Enterprising people would therefore never go to work for the government. Within these limitations, librarians in Hong Kong feel that they are highly valued. Government expenditure on library work has increased sharply. The number of public libraries has doubled in the space of five years and it is intended to double the number again over the next five years. The university library is getting a completely new building with every imaginable facility. Library work in Hong Kong is going through a period of tremendous growth. Respondents also referred to the problem that they did not actually know what status they ought to have or to strive for. This makes it difficult to make statements about too low a status. 27

In many cases, librarians in special libraries (company libraries) feel that they are regarded as inferior to other employees in the organisation. Although the library is an integral part of the organisation, they see that it is treated very differently from other parts of the organisation. They feel that the library is not seen as part of the organisation's core business. This feeling of operating on the periphery of an organisation is perceived as a status problem by librarians working in special libraries. In many countries librarians working in university libraries or libraries in further education institutes complain about a lack of recognition of their qualifications. Although in many cases they have the same university qualifications as the teaching staff, they are rated lower than the latter category. In universities in Malaysia and Thailand, for example, librarians cannot be appointed as university librarians. This post is by definition reserved for a member of the teaching staff. A second element of this inferior rating is the salary paid to library staff. They are often classified together with the clerical staff. This means that the salaries of librarians are lower than those of teaching staff with equivalent qualifications. 6.2 Causes of status and image problems A proportion of respondents do encounter status and image problems and some of them also consider this problem to be a very important one, but they are not able to suggest any possible causes of the problem. Another, not insignificant proportion of the respondents locate the causes of these problems primarily in the library sector itself. A number of themes predominate: - economic factors (money, government) - training - profession - the quality of the service. 6.3 Economic factors A relationship can be found between the extent to which librarians see status as a problem and the extent of the available resources. In countries where library work is growing (the government is spending more money on libraries), the librarians seem to attach less weight to the problem of status. This is not to say that there is no status problem, only that they perceive it as being less important. Where funds are stagnating or being cut back, people are more concerned about status, in institutions that are dependent on the government, the amount of money spent on library work will depend primarily on the state of the economy. Generally speaking, more money is spent on libraries when the economy is doing well. In some countries the extent to which the government funds library work also depends very largely on the political climate. A change of mayor can often be enough to put a stop to local government funding. Thoughts vary about the salaries of librarians and their status. In some countries librarians' pay lags well behind that of other professional groups, whereas in other places there is no difference in pay levels. Generally speaking, however, people attach little importance to the question of salary where the status problem is concerned.

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One frequently voiced complaint is that the government does not regard the provision of information as an economic factor. People have difficulty convincing the government to invest in libraries because they cannot demonstrate that it will have a positive effect on economic growth. Brazil: "Library associations must be concerned about the necessity of political actions between librarians and the society, trying to develop a consciousness about professional library education, libraries' social role and information as the key to social and economic development. It is important for us to get back the results of this research." Antigua: "Most librarians are women and the status of the profession reflects the position professional women occupy. Most politicians do not rank libraries, or information generally, very high in terms of resources." 6.4 Education There is library education in virtually every country, albeit that the standard and quality vary and many of these courses are of relatively recent date. In sub-Saharan Africa there are ten educational establishments that provide education for librarians. Six of these ten institutions are in Nigeria. Virtually all respondents have serious criticisms of the relationship between education and practice (actual and desirable). Overall, according to teachers and people in the profession, the education is not very popular. This is partly the fault of the image of the profession, but also of the curricula which have not kept pace with developments. There are consequently major problems with the courses. Well-qualified students tend as a rule to opt for other faculties. Library science courses usually get the students with the poorest qualifications, who sometimes see a library course as their last chance to get some sort of academic qualification. In Thailand there is a serious shortage of teaching capacity in the universities. This is being solved by making the students take an entry examination. The students who get the best results are given first choice of the faculty in which they wish to study. Almost all students have a strong preference for 'hard' faculties like medicine, technical subjects, economics etc. Library and information sciences is the least popular course. Students who opt for this faculty are often the ones with the poorest qualifications. For this category of students a course in library science is usually their last chance to get a degree. The entry qualifications ought to be raised, but this does not happen because then the number of students would drop too low. The respondents referred not only to the intellectual capabilities of the library science students, they also said that the personalities of the students left a great deal to be desired. In the opinion of teachers and people in the profession, many of them lack dynamism and enterprise. Poorly motivated students with inferior qualifications are subsequently taught by teachers who in many cases are themselves second rate. The education programmes also attracted a lot of criticism. The complaint is that too much attention is paid to the traditional skills of the librarian, such as cataloguing, and too little to service. This opinion was put forward in the Latin American countries and in Africa.

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Despite the fact that, as we have said, librarians have virtually no status problems in Hong Kong, even here people found that the quality of students did not come up to expectations, specifically in terms of the type of people who were studying to become librarians. It is extremely difficult to find a librarian with initiative. In a number of countries, education as an information specialist has been introduced alongside the existing courses. These new courses appear to be successful in attracting good students. They are being given in colleges where the governing body is made up of representatives from the business community, social groups, educational specialists, technologists, authorities and sector organisations. Courses of this kind are in a position to periodically coordinate the actual needs in practice and the curriculum, as is the case in Morocco, for example. A similar development has also taken place in Nigeria. The University of Ibadan has started a course to train students as information specialists. The course has been set up with the aid of foreign financiers and is targeting all the English-speaking African countries, not just Nigeria. This course is entirely separate from the regular library school although the people behind the initiative have all previously been teachers at the library school. Graduates of this course are not librarians, they are information specialists, and they are not expected to work in a traditional library. Their jobs will consist of collecting and analysing information and presenting it in the required form. The course places a great deal of emphasis on using computers and is geared to the needs of business, as the future employers of the graduates. The selection criteria for admitting students are exceptionally strict. In addition to other entry requirements, students must in any event have a first degree in one of the 'hard sciences'. There are some five would-be students for every available place. Graduates' job prospects seem to be very good. Although nobody has yet graduated several students on the course are being sponsored by a company, and companies are already recruiting students now to start work when they graduate. This is all in sharp contrast to the experiences of graduates from the traditional library school, who are faced with growing unemployment. Mexico: "To improve the quality of educational programs in librarianship and increase the number of qualified personnel at professional and postgraduate levels. In Mexico for a general population of more than 80 million inhabitants we have 800 trained persons in the professional and postgraduate programs in Mexico and abroad." Lesotho: "High-quality professional training is urgently required; this will give librarians the power and confidence to demand their rights. It would be easier for a librarian with a Ph.D. to reach and talk to senior people (decision makers) and they would be more likely to pay attention to what he says, because they would respect his Ph.D. If many librarians could get a high level of education it would be easier to achieve objectives by working as a team." Nigeria: "Librarians have to redefine their role. They now define their role very narrowly. They have to define their role as providers of information in whatever environment. Library schools ought to encourage their students to play a part in information provision to the non-reading public. Librarians are too much orientated on books." 30

Thailand: "The popularity of the profession is coming down. Students think that working in the library is not so exciting. Next year we will have no students at a masters level in this University." Venezuela: "A great problem is the low quality of the students, the second choice they make. That's why they become librarians, therefore they cannot meet the needs and the changes. There is a gap. That's why professionals of other areas come to the work. They pick over. That's what you feel." "The library school must change or otherwise it will disappear. That's a reality. Change! otherwise nobody will want librarians from that kind of school within a few years." USA: "We need to be more aggressive in our training of new professionals and weed out those who do not see and understand the need for creative information providers. The schools do the profession no favor by graduating all-comers." 6.5 Profession The terms 'librarian' or 'information specialist' are not very specific indicators of a profession. The profession actually covers a very broad spectrum of tasks. This diversity not only presents a problem where education is concerned, it also makes it very difficult for the profession to define itself. It emerged that librarians and those who considered themselves members of the profession were effectively incapable of describing the essential features of their job. Opinions on this were very varied. And there were various views about what would make the occupation a profession, bearing in mind the similarities and differences between it and other professions. This also has implications for the relationship with the authorities. In a great many countries in both Latin America and Asia the profession is not recognised as such by the government. There is frequently no relevant legislation or regulation, and in most cases the profession even lacks an occupational statute. It was widely felt that the profession has lagged behind social developments, is out of step with the demands of the times, has been too inward-looking, and has lost touch with the wishes of a changed and changing society. The cause, according to our colleagues, is to be found in the people who work in the profession. This self-reproach also emerges in the observation that other people have kept pace with social and technological developments. The reference here is to new professionals with a very different education from that of the traditional librarian. These 'other people' focus entirely on providing information in the broadest sense and have developed a different view of the way the profession is practised. A growing gulf is thus being seen between old-style librarians (who regard themselves and their colleagues as second rate) and the new information broking in all its forms. Here and there this does produce rapprochement, but also disputes over areas of responsibility. To some people, the serious doubts that librarians themselves express about their professional status and the schism between the old and new styles are the major causes of the current status problem. Brazil: "I could say that this 'low status' begins at university, where one hardly ever sees the librarian having coffee or dining with the teachers and this happens at the school of Library Science, too."

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Japan: "Despite the professional and specialised knowledge and skills required, the librarian's job is generally considered as clerical." Venezuela: "I think the image (I'm not a librarian originally) is of a second order profession. The profession has no face at all. Perhaps we have become more professional, but we are still technicians, skilled workers. The information broker is a new phenomenon, these professionals are seeing the value of and the interest in managing information. They come from other professions. This is not a development of the old, it is a new profession." "There is a growing gap between public librarians and special librarians. Within ten years we won't speak about 'librarian' any more. Venezuela is beginning to split up." Malaysia: "The problem of the status of librarians is not a problem of salaries or terms and conditions, it is a problem of professionalism. It is still not a real profession." USA: "With a very few encouraging exceptions, librarians have low status and a very restrictive image." France: "Honorifique mais peu consider^." (Honourable but without great prestige.) 6.6 Visibility The frequently mentioned 'invisibility' of the profession can in many cases be taken literally. In many countries there are very few public libraries. A significant proportion of the population is not served by libraries. In Thailand there is a special project which uses book boxes to reach children in rural areas. In Venezuela, where a good library network has been built up relatively recently, Land Rovers are used to reach rural communities. Quite often, library work is still being developed. 'Librarian' occupies a specific rung on the occupational status ladder. The members of the profession and the general public are in agreement about the librarian's position. A considerable majority believe that the relatively low score has to do with a lack of knowledge about the profession among the public, the authorities and society as a whole. Unlike many other occupational groups, the librarian tends to do his work 'out of sight'. It is quite clear what dustmen, nurses and lawyers do. The same is not true of librarians. It is a concealed profession. The users of libraries are barely aware of 'the librarian'. There is no direct contact between the client and the librarian as there is between the lawyer and his client or the doctor and his patient. The users go to the library, not the librarian. This 'invisibility' from which the profession suffers is blamed on a tendency to be inward-looking instead of customer-oriented, on the traditional preference for managing rather than communicating and a lack of awareness of the nature of the profession and its social role. Singapore: "I personally do not think it is low. Unfortunately nonlibrarians tend to think it is so because of their ignorance of what we do. If volunteers can do the work why do libraries need librarians? The public cannot differentiate between them because they lack any real under32

standing of a true librarian's professional duties. We must make ourselves more visible and the impact of our services more strongly felt, not only to our clientele but the public as well." Iceland: "Status and prestige will be created gradually by the profession itself, when it becomes capable of answering effectively and efficiently the information needs in society." Australia: "As an occupation, librarian is named after the building rather than the work that is done, like engineer, teacher etc. It is very passive in its connotations. Perhaps a new title is required." Japan: "Library work on the whole looks not impressive and partly because it is difficult to measure and show what librarians are achieving." 6.7 Quality of service Many respondents noted that libraries are there for the users and not for the librarians; however, a similar number of librarians did not appear to regard this as self-evident. This contradiction within one professional group has an effect on the development of the service. The quality of the service in many libraries offers plenty of scope for improvement, but is regarded as crucial when talking about status. This uncertainty about 'who you work for' has a crippling effect and presents a serious obstacle not only to the improvement of the service but also to bringing about a change in status and image. People are still far too concerned about collection management and pay far too little attention to the users' information needs. In the opinion of the critics among the respondents, the service is characterised by passivity and a lack of involvement and participation in social developments. Over and above this, the quality of the service, particularly in public libraries, leaves a great deal to be desired in many cases as a result of a complete lack of resources. A specific variant of this accusation is that librarians are blind to the social situation within which the library operates. This accusation is levelled particularly at librarians working in public libraries. In countries where illiteracy is rife, librarians should drastically rethink their role. Librarians in public libraries are accused of putting the traditional library model into practice, concentrating exclusively on the better-educated, literate section of the population. The public library thus becomes an institution for an elite upper crust and has virtually no function for the disadvantaged majority of the people, particularly those in rural areas. The library ought to adapt to the people, not the other way round. This could mean that the public library is not primarily concerned with lending books, but shifts the emphasis towards other information media which are accessible to its target group. A public library that adopted this sort of position would gain a significant degree of social relevance. The reason behind the fact that this does not happen enough is considered to lie to a significant extent with the nature of the education. A large proportion of the first generation of librarians were educated abroad, particularly in the United Kingdom. Their training took virtually no account of the specific demands placed on libraries in developing countries. They were 33

in fact trained to work in a traditional library in the west. They were not trained to work in rural areas of Asia, Latin America or Africa. Back in their own countries, they applied what they had learned almost unthinkingly, without looking at the specific local problems. Present library science courses appear to a significant extent to be a copy of western courses, because the teachers are part of the first generation of teachers who were educated abroad. This perpetuates the problem and means that even a country's own training courses do not sufficiently consider the specific problems of the country itself. Librarians have to meet a very diverse range of information needs. This is even more true in developing countries. The spectrum of information needs and the diversity of the demand from the population in developing countries are greater than in the north or the west. The job of a university librarian in Africa is essentially the same as that of his counterpart in Europe. The job of a librarian in a public library in the UK or Denmark could not be more unlike that of his counterpart in Brazil or Nigeria. Brazil: "The public does not know how librarians could help them, since they have hardly any knowledge of the librarian's work. The poor quality of the service in some libraries testifies against the whole category which makes the general public underestimate the Library. Changing the librarian's image is also important in order to abolish all the mystery that surrounds them." Finland: "The libraries should be managed like business organisations and they should also formulate their goals and tasks more clearly than they are doing now. It is through the prestige of the organisation that the prestige of librarianship will improve. At least the directors of libraries should be less 'librarians' and be instead more 'managers'. I don't mean that librarians should not be directors, but as directors they should act very much as managers, and less as librarians." Venezuela: "Our services are not very much used by professionals. Professionals solve their information problems otherwise, through other kinds of organisation in the enterprises, or through personal contact. We have librarians who do not have enough experience to do their tasks." "There is a gap between the possibilities of technology, accessible to a few people and the lack of information for great sectors of the population. I see this gap becoming wider and wider." USA: "We have to stop worrying about status and devote energy to providing what our users think they need plus what we know they need." Nigeria: "The most important problem is what should be the focus of public libraries in a country where the percentage of literate people is relatively low. Should they concentrate on the elite in the urban areas who are literate or should they somehow extend their services to the people in the rural areas who are non-literate." Spain: "Librarians have to improve their attitude toward service. Librarians worry more about internal aspects of their jobs than about external ones. Thus their work benefits themselves more than the 34

community." Poland: "There is no need to enhance the status of librarians, but there is an urgent need to perform the librarian's tasks at the highest possible level to improve the quality of social activities."

6.8 Solutions Needless to say, nobody came up with any easy solutions for the problems that were identified. Improving status needs not only closer analysis but also a great deal of patience. There is a paradox in the fact that most of the problems put forward cannot be generalised, but at the same time the differences observed appear to be gradual. According to the respondents the basis of the problem is clear: - the education is not good enough: programmes are outdated, the students and the teaching staff are second rate - a significant proportion of librarians have been asleep while other professional groups have been picking up the torch - there is an impending schism between traditional librarians schooled in conventional library science and flexible, widely deployable information brokers - librarians have adhered too much and too rigidly to western ideas - professional uncertainty: there are all sorts of opinions about what the profession does and does not involve - the library is too often seen as a book repository rather than as a place where knowledge and information is transferred - the social and economic role of librarians and information specialists is unclear - the profession is unable to project itself as a profession - the public, users of services, authorities and potential LIS students have a false image of 'the profession' - if they have any image at all. A significant proportion of the solutions put forward had to do with more government recognition (in other words more money) and with PR campaigns, marketing, advertising, television commercials etc. Respondents were less outspoken about dismantling existing education courses and developing new ones. There was severe criticism, but no acceptance of responsibility for the consequences. A great many suggestions came within the existing but diffuse opinions: more money, better education, better equipment, recognition by the government etc. Some librarians feel that the status and image problem can be solved by making greater use of computers in the library. Although this opinion was put forward by a relatively small group of respondents, it was expressed by people in virtually every country. People think that more use of high-tech tools like computers would improve the status of the librarian. A few respondents regard the status problem as insoluble. They see that the status problem has existed for a very long time, and that for all these years librarians have not been able to do anything to improve the situation. This group of respondents thinks that librarians will simply have to learn to live with their low status. There is also a variant of this opinion which cropped up 35

in several countries. These respondents believe that in theory the problem could be solved by improving the service. But at the same time they point out that the quality of the majority of working librarians is so inadequate that they will never be capable of improving the service to any substantial degree. In many countries there is a poorly developed association of librarians. Many respondents think that a strong association is an essential precondition for improving the status of the profession. In a number of countries - Malaysia and Indonesia are examples - the network of public libraries is growing fast. They are in a position to serve an ever larger proportion of the population. Although this service often leaves a lot to be desired in terms of quality, people are nonetheless finding that there is a growing appreciation of librarians among the population as a result of this growth. An increase in the number of libraries depends very heavily on government funding. People therefore think that more government money is needed if they are to achieve higher status. The profession of librarian is a relatively new one in almost all Asian countries. Until a few decades ago, almost all librarians had to be educated outside the region because there were no training facilities for them in the region. Librarians have great difficulty in convincing governments of the usefulness of libraries and the professional character of the job. The successful lobbying of central government is an essential precondition for the improvement of status. Fiji: "Libraries need to show that they are committed. They must show results that are appreciated and recognised. They must make themselves so indispensable that government will have to support them. Without this happening first no amount of asking, lobbying will change the situation." Mexico: "It is necessary to establish a national law which recognises the professional status of librarians and regulates library and information activities. The degree of recognition of the library profession is the consequence of the information needs and economic development of the countries." Venezuela: "Within a few years we will have to build programs that fit practice. Change the library schools, link the specialities in practice to a strong system. The traditional solution was to send people to foreign countries. Now we organise things here. We will find the way." United Kingdom: "To redefine the responsibilities of librarians and to identify the professional core with managerial responsibilities are important issues. The core of information retrieval skills is what defines us from other professionals and will have to be stressed and reinterpreted in the information age." Malaysia: "Tell the public what a librarian is doing. Go out and tell them about the library profession. If you try hard enough you can change the image of the profession." Poland: "Any action will be fruitful." Finland: "The prestige will not rise."

36

7. RESULTS OF SURVEY The questionnaire had two parts. Part 1 consisted of factual questions about the general situation regarding libraries and librarians. Part 2 dealed with the prestige of the profession. In part two the following topics were included: • general opinion on status - opinion on status in relation to the type of library institution - agreement or disagreement with 17 statements about 'why status is low' - the most important reasons for the low status in terms of the statements - sorting a series of professions - comments The questionnaire was sent to 152 library associations in 90 countries. The second part of the questionnaire was sent in tenfold, with the request to distribute this part of the questionnaire among colleagues. Response and respondents: gender, age and region Part one of the questionnaire was very poorly returned. Only 20 copies from 22% of the countries were returned. This amount was so small that it is was impossible to analyse these data in a methodological acceptable way. Part two had a better return, 292 copies from 34 countries were returned. The maximum response, theoretically, could have been 1520. The response percentage is then 19.2%. If we look at the origin of the response, we can conclude that Europe is strongly overrepresented, 150 responses out of a total of 292. Of the respondents 68% was female and 32% male. The ratio between is fairly equable over the regions. There are two exceptions: in Asia the proportion male/female is fifty-fifty, in Central America there is a over representation (84%) of females. The distribution of age among the respondents was as follows: 37% were between 25-40 years old, 43% aged between 41-50 year, 20% were 50 year or older. There are two exceptions, in Africa 86% were between 25 and 40 year but in North America only 23% of the respondents fell into this category.

total

Sex female Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America

10 14 27 105 20 2 17

67% 50% 84% 70% 57% 67% 71%

total

195 68%

37

male 5 14 5 45 15 1 7

33% 50% 16% 30% 43% 33% 29%

92 32%

15 28 32 150 35 3 24

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

287 100

25-40 y e a r s

103 36.9%

41-50 y e a r s

121 43.4%

51 y e a r s a n d o l d e r

55 19.7%

total

279 100.0%

Opinion on the general statement Since this project started on the basis of the assumption that the general image of the profession and practice of librarianship is poor and as a consequence the status of the LIS workers is also low, the first statement the respondents had to state their opinion about was:

The status of the profession of librarian is low strongly agree

75 26.0%

agree

162 56.3%

uncertain

22 7.6%

disagree

26 9.0%

strongly disagree

3 1.0% 288 100.0%

total

An overwhelming majority, 82% or four out of five librarians are convinced status is low. Twenty-six percent of the respondents 'strongly agree' with the statement, 56% 'agree'. There was no difference in opinion between men and women. In the category "strongly agree" there is an overrepresentation of respondents from Africa (56%) and South America (48%), in North America only 6% agree strongly with the statement. In Africa and South America all repondents agreed or strongly agreed, nobody opposed the statement or was uncertain about it. A relatively large segment of librarians from Asia (34%) disagrees with the statement. Europe and Central America answered more or less in line with the overall picture. Also in Asia a majority agrees with the statement, so we can conclude that in every region a majority of librarians held the opinion that the status of the profession is low.

38

strongly agree Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America

9 6 5 39 2 2 12

56% 22% 16% 26% 6% 50% 48%

total

75 26%

agree 7 10 22 86 23 1 13

uncertain disagree

44% 37% 71% 57% 68% 25% 52%

162 56%

strongly disagree

total

0 0% 2 7% 1 3% 13 9% 5 15% 1 25% 0 0%

0 0% 8 30% 3 10% 11 7% 4 12% 0 0% 0 0%

0 1 0 2 0 0 0

0% 4% 0% 1% 0% 0% 0%

16 27 31 151 34 4 25

22

26

3

1%

288 100

8%

9%

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Type of library The second statement the respondents had to give their opinion on was "Do you think that there is an important difference in the status of librarians (comparing those at the same level) employed in different categories of libraries?" Seventy-four percent held the opinion there was a relation between the status and the type of library worked in. This opinion was the most strongly expressed by the respondents from South America, 96% stated that there is a difference in status between the different categories of libraries. In Asia it is the other way around, only 52% of the respondents from this region agreed with the statement. yes Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America

11 14 23 110 25 4 23

73% 52% 77% 74% 71% 100 96%

total

210 74%

total

no 4 13 7 39 10 0 1

27% 48% 23% 26% 29% 0% 4%

74 26%

15 27 30 149 35 4 24

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

284 100

Those who held the opinion that status is also dependent on the type of library were asked "Can you sort the categories of libraries according to status?" Eight different types of libraries were presented in the questionnaire, respondents were asked to sort these libraries according to status. The library with the highest status was given a #1 the library with the lowest status a #8. If these eight categories from 'high status' to 'low status' are numbered from 1 to 8 and these numbers are considered as 'real values', the mean represents the average score of the libraries. The mean indicates the relative distance between the scores and forms a continuous ranking scale. The library with the lowest mean is on average regarded as the library with the highest status.

39

national library

2 7

public library

5 7

higher education

3 4

school library

7 2

special library

3 9

information services

3 8

documentation centres

3 8

industrial/commercial

4 7

Between the regions there are differences in the status given to the different types of libraries. In South America, Central America and Africa librarians attribute a lower status, compared with the average, to the national library. In Africa librarians rank the libraries from institutes of higher education higher than elsewhere in the world. In North America documentation centres are given a lower status than in the other regions. In South America documentation centres are much higher valued than elsewhere. There are differences in the ranking of the libraries between the regions, there is however no difference of opinion about the status of school and public libraries. In all regions these two categories of libraries are given the lowest status.

Africa

Asia

Central Europe America

North Oceania South America America

national library

4 4

2 2

3 7

2 3

2 1

1 5

public library

5 6

5 9

5 2

5 6

6 2

4 8

6.1

higher education

1 4

2 4

3 0

3 8

3 0

2 0

4.3

school library

7 3

7 2

7 4

7 3

7 2

6 0

6.6

special library

3 2

4 0

2 8

4 4

2 9

4 0

3.9

information services

4 8

4 4

4 4

3 4

4 0

4 5

3.8

documentation centres

3 6

3 8

4 3

3 6

5 1

7 0

2.5

industrial/commercial

4 4

5 0

4 2

4 9

4 2

5 7

4.6

4.3

If we look at the overall picture and rank the libraries according to their status, then the national library is the library with the highest status. Followed by a group of libraries with very small difference in status. Public and School libraries are given clearly a much lower status by the respondents.

40

(1= highest status, 8= lowest status) RANK National library Higher education Information services Documentation Centres Special libraries Industrial/commercial Public libraries School libraries

MEAN

1 2 3/4 3/4 5 6 7 8

2.7 3.4 3.8 3.8 3.9 4.7 5.7 7.2

41

Statements The most important part of the questionnaire consisted of seventeen statements about possible origins of the low status of librarians. The seventeen statements were drawn from various sources and represented the most generally accepted reasons for the low status. Respondents were asked to state their opinion on these statements. Female image 1. The female image of the profession of librarian is an important reason for the low status. A small majority of 52% agrees with this statement, 18% are uncertain and 30% disagree. The strongest support for this statement is found in Europe (54%), North (80%) and South America (68%). One could conclude that there is some kind of relationship between economic development and this opinion. In Africa and Asia a majority of the librarians disagree with the statement. Also in Central America a large proportion of the librarians disagrees with the statement. So we can conclude that between the regions there are large differences of opinion about this statement.

strongly agree Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America

1 6% 2 7% 2 7% 19 13» 10 29* 0 0% 2 8%

total

36 13%

agree 3 6 6 61 16 2 15

19% 22% 21% 41% 51% 67% 60%

111 39%

uncertain disagree 1 5 8 30 3 1 3

6% 19% 28% 20% 9% 33% 12%

51 18%

7 13 10 26 3 0 5

44% 48% 34% 17% 9% 0% 20%

64 22%

strongly disagree

total

4 25% 1 4% 3 10% 14 9% 1 3% 0 0% 0 0%

16 27 29 150 35 3 25

23

285 100

8%

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Invisibility 2. The general public has hardly any knowledge of the work; this results in a low status. 87% of the respondents agree with this statement, 5% are uncertain and 8% disagree. In all regions there is much support for this statement. Asia is in this case the exception, the support for this statement in Asia is only 55%, 33% disagree. In Africa even 100% of the respondents agree with the statement.

strongly agree Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America total

6 6 9 54 12 2 12

38% 22% 31% 36% 34% 67% 48%

101 35%

agree 10 9 17 82 18 1 10

63% 33% 59% 55% 51% 33% 40%

147 52%

uncertain disagree 0 0% 3 11% 1 3% 5 3% 4 11% 0 0% 1 4% 14

42

5%

0 0% 9 33% 2 7% 8 5% 1 3% 0 0% 2 8% 22

8%

strongly disagree

total

0 0 0 1 0 0 0

0% 0% 0% 1% 0% 0% 0%

16 27 29 150 35 3 25

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

1

0%

285 100

Quality of service 3. The poor quality of the service in some libraries results in the low status of the profession. A small majority (57%) holds the opinion that the poor quality of the sen/ice of libraries results in low status. 15% is uncertain about this and 28% disagrees. In Africa and South America this statement gets the strongest support, in these regions 88% of the respondents agree with the statement. The strongest opposition is found in North America, where 42% of the librarians disagree.

strongly agree Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America

7 1 5 20 3 0 9

44% 4% 17% 134 9% 0% 36%

total

45 16%

agree 7 16 18 50 13 1 13

uncertain disagree

44% 59% 60% 33* 37% 33% 52%

0 0% 1 4% 2 7% 32 21% 4 11% 1 33% 2 8%

2 8 5 35 11 1 1

118 41%

42 15%

63 22%

13% 30% 17% 23% 31% 33% 4%

strongly disagree

total

0 0% 1 4% 0 0% 13 9% 4 11% 0 0% 0 0%

16 27 30 150 35 3 25

18

286 100

6%

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Salary 4. The job of librarian is poorly paid resulting in the low status of the profession. Sixty-nine percent of the respondents think that low salaries are a cause for the low status, 12% are uncertain and 19% disagree. Asia forms an exception. In Asia only 48% agree with the statement and 33% disagree. The most support for this statement is found in Africa, where 82% agree.

strongly agree Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America

7 3 9 41 8 2 7

44% 11% 31% 27% 23% 67% 29%

total

77 27%

agree 6 10 12 65 16 0 9

38% 37% 41% 43% 46% 0% 38%

118 42%

uncertain disagree 1 5 2 18 2 1 6

6% 19% 7% 12% 6% 33% 25%

35 12%

2 9 6 24 7 0 2

strongly disagree

total

13% 33% 21% 16% 20% 0% 84

0 0 0 2 2 0 0

0% 0% 04 14 64 0% 0%

16 27 29 150 35 3 24

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

50 18%

4

14

284 100

Volunteers 5. The large number of volunteers working in libraries creates a low status of the profession. From the respondents only 24% hold the opinion that the large number of volunteers causes a low status. Twenty-five percent are uncertain and 51% disagree. A majority of the respondents thus rejects volunteers as a cause for a low status. There are hardly any differences between the regions in regard to this statement. The largest proportions of respondents that agree with the statement (36%) are found in Central and South America. 43

strongly agree

agree

Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America

3 21% 1 4« 2 7« 10 7» 2 6* 0 0« 3 18«

1 4 β 20 6 0 3

total

21

42 16«

8«

7* 15« 29% 14« 17* 0« 18«

uncertain disagree 1 3 7 39 13 1 2

7« 11« 25« 28« 37« 33« 12«

66 25«

7 17 8 51 12 2 6

50« 63« 29« 37« 34« 67« 35«

103 39«

strongly disagree 2 2 3 19 2 0 3

14« 7« 11« 14« 6« 0« 18«

31 12«

total 14 27 28 139 35 3 17

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

263 100

Marginal role 6. The marginal role libraries play in the development of the economy of the country results in a low status of the profession. Fifty-five percent believe that the marginal economical role of the library is a cause for low status. Eighteen percent are uncertain and 27% disagree. In North and South America one finds opposite opinions which differ from the other regions. In North America 29% agree with the statement, whereas in South America this is 84%. In Africa and Asia there is no majority in support of this statement. So we can conclude that there is much difference in opinion about this statement between the regions.

strongly agree Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America

4 1 4 25 2 0 11

25« 4« 13« 17« 6« 0« 46«

total

47 16«

agree 3 9 11 69 8 2 9

19« 33« 35« 46« 23« 50« 38«

111 39«

uncertain disagree 1 7 7 24 11 1 1

6« 26« 23« 16« 31« 25« 4«

52 18«

6 9 8 31 10 1 3

38« 33« 26« 21« 29« 25« 13«

68 24«

strongly disagree 2 13« 1 4« 1 3« 2 1« 4 11« 0 0« 0 0« 10

3«

total 16 27 31 151 35 4 24

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

288 100

Cannot distinguish 7. Users of libraries cannot distinguish the librarian from other employees resulting in low status of the profession. Twenty-five percent disagree with this statement, 17% are uncertain and 58% agree. There is more support for this statement in North (77%) and South America (84%). The lowest percentage of agreement with the statement is found in Europe (49%) and Asia (45%).

44

strongly agree Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America

3 1 6 14 8 0 10

19% 4% 20% 10% 23% 0% 42%

total

42 15%

agree 7 11 13 57 19 4 10

44% 41% 43% 39% 54% 100 42%

121 43%

uncertain disagree 2 6 4 30 6 0 1

13% 22% 13% 20% 17% 0% 4%

49 17%

3 9 6 42 1 0 3

strongly disagree

total

19% 33% 20% 29% 3% 0% 13%

1 0 1 4 1 0 0

6% 0« 3% 3% 3% 0% 0%

16 27 30 147 35 4 24

64 23%

7

2%

283 100

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Money responsibility 8. The general public is unaware of the responsibility for amounts of money and personnel involved in running libraries, resulting in a low status of the profession. On average there is quite large support for this statement; 73% agree, 14% are uncertain and 12% disagree. In South America and Asia respondents agree in far fewer numbers, in Asia only 39% agree and in South America 46%.

strongly agree Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America

5 1 7 41 10 2 6

31% 4% 25% 27% 29% 50% 25%

total

72 25%

agree 6 9 17 79 19 2 5

38% 35% 61% 53% 54% 50% 21%

137 48%

uncertain disagree 2 9 2 16 2 0 9

13% 35% 7% 11% 6% 0% 38%

40 14%

strongly disagree

total

19% 27% 7% 7% 11% 0% 17%

0 0 0 3 0 0 0

0% 0% 0% 2% 0% 0% 0%

16 26 28 150 35 4 24

31 11%

3

1%

283 100

3 7 2 11 4 0 4

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Lack of funding 9. The small amount of government funding results in a low status of the profession. A little more than half the respondents agrees (55%), 16% are uncertain and 29% disagree. It was expected that this statement would be supported more in the developing countries. Only in the poorest continent was this the case, in Africa 93% agree with the statement. In North America only 14% agree. Remarkable is the difference between Europe and North America - in Europe 59% agree with the statement.

45

strongly agree Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America

8 2 7 29 0 0 6

53* 7% 23% 19% 0% 0% 25%

total

52 18%

agree 6 13 13 59 5 2 8

40% 48% 43% 40% 14% 50% 33%

106 37%

uncertain disagree 1 4 5 22 10 0 3

7% 15% 17% 15% 29% 0« 13%

45 16%

0 8 3 30 19 2 6

strongly disagree

total

0% 30% 10% 20% 54% 50% 25%

0 0 2 9 1 0 1

0% 0% 7% 6% 3% 0% 4%

15 27 30 149 35 4 24

68 24%

13

5%

284 100

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Social responsibility 10.

The general public is unaware of the social responsibilities of libraries for instance regarding the individual rights of access to information, therefore the status of the profession is low.

A majority of 7 1 % agree with the statement, 14% are uncertain and 15% disagree. Asia and North America are the exeptions; in North America 4 6 % agree and in Asia 48%.

strongly agree Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America

3 3 9 35 3 1 9

19% 11% 29% 23% 9% 25% 38%

total

63 22%

agree 11 10 16 79 13 3 9

uncertain disagree 2 3 4 19 8 0 4

total

13% 11% 13% 13% 23% 0% 17%

0 0% 10 37% 2 6% 17 11% 10 29% 0 0% 2 8%

0 1 0 1 1 0 0

0% 4% 0% 1% 3% 0% 0%

16 27 31 151 35 4 24

40 14%

41 14%

3

1%

288 100

69% 37% 52% 52% 37% 75% 38%

141 49%

strongly disagree

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Dispensable luxury 11.

A large number of the general public regards the library's services as dispensable luxury; this causes a low status of the profession.

Forty percent agree with the statement, 18% are uncertain and 4 3 % disagree. In Africa 75% agree with the statement, and in Asia only 19%.

strongly agree

agree

Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America

3 19% 0 0% 2 7% 13 9% 1 3% 0 0% 3 12%

9 5 9 42 14 3 9

total

22

91 32%

8%

uncertain disagree

56% 19% 30% 28% 40% 75% 36%

1 2 8 28 β 0 4

6% 7% 27% 19% 23% 0% 16%

51 18%

46

3 17 11 55 11 1 8

19% 63% 37% 36% 31% 25% 32%

106 37%

strongly disagree

total

0 0% 3 11% 0 0% 13 9% 1 3% 0 0% 1 4%

16 27 30 151 35 4 25

18

288 100

6%

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Low expectations 12. Users of libraries have low expectations as to the quality of the services of libraries resulting in a low status of the profession. A little less (43%) than half of the respondents agree with this statement. Thirteen percent are uncertain and 44% disagree. In South America 69% agree, and in North America 26% agree. strongly agree

agree

uncertain disagree

Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America

0 0% 1 4% 2 7% 13 9% 1 3% 0 0% 7 30%

7 9 11 53 8 2 9

44% 33% 39% 35% 23% 67% 39%

3 19% 2 7% 2 7% 22 15% 6 17% 0 0% 1 4%

total

24

99 35%

36 13%

8%

4 13 10 58 19 1 6

25% 48% 36% 38% 54% 33% 26%

111 39%

strongly disagree 2 13% 2 7% 3 11% 5 3% 1 3% 0 0% 0 0% 13

5%

total 16 27 28 151 35 3 23

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

283 100

Unemployment 13. The large number of unemployed librarians results in a low status of the profession. Only 12% agree with this statement, 19% are uncertain and a majority of 68% disagree. In every region a majority oppose this statement. Africa showed the largest support for this statement, with 33% of the repondents agreeing with the statement.

strongly agree

agree

uncertain disagree

Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America

3 20% 0 0% 0 0% 4 3% 0 0% 0 0% 2 8%

2 13% 6 22% 0 0% 12 9% 2 6% 0 0% 3 13%

1 5 5 34 4 1 1

total

9

25

51 19%

3%

9%

7% 19% 19% 25% 11% 33% 4%

8 12 14 63 22 1 14

53% 44% 52% 46% 63% 33% 58%

134 50%

strongly disagree 1 4 8 24 7 1 4

7% 15% 30% 18% 20% 33% 17%

49 18%

total 15 27 27 137 35 3 24

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

268 100

Dull image 14. The general image of the character of librarians: strict, punctual, dull, etc., results in a low status of the profession. Opinions about this statement are strongly divided, 41% agree and 41% disagree, while 18% of the respondents are uncertain. In Africa and Central America the majority disagree with the statement. In South America the majority agree with the statement. In Asia and Central America there is a high percentage of repondents uncertain about this statement.

47

strongly agree Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America total

0 Ot 0 0% 1 3% 9 6« 3 9% 0 Ot 4 17% 17

6%

agree 4 7 5 57 14 1 10

27% 26% 17% 38% 40% 33% 42%

98 35%

uncertain disagree 2 8 8 23 6 0 3

13% 30% 28% 15% 17% 0% 13%

50 18%

6 11 11 46 11 2 7

40% 41% 38% 31% 31% 67% 29%

94 33%

strongly disagree

total

3 20% 1 4% 4 14% 15 10% 1 3% 0 0% 0 0%

15 27 29 150 35 3 24

24

283 100

8%

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Educational requirements 15. More than half the tasks of a librarian require no professional education at all, this results in a low status of the profession. Thirty-two percent agree with the statement, 11% are uncertain and 57% disagree. A majority thus rejects this statement as a cause for the low status. There are not very large differences between the regions regarding this statement. strongly agree

agree

uncertain disagree

Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America

0 0% 2 7% 0 0% 19 13% 1 3% 0 0% 1 4%

4 9 6 34 7 1 7

25% 33% 21% 23% 21% 33% 28%

0 0% 3 11% 2 7% 21 14% 6 18% 0 0% 0 0%

total

23

68 24%

32 11%

8%

8 11 12 62 13 1 14

50% 41% 41% 41% 38% 33% 56%

121 43%

strongly disagree 4 2 9 14 7 1 3

25% 7% 31% 9% 21% 33% 12%

40 14%

total 16 27 29 150 34 3 25

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

284 100

For students only 16. Large numbers of the public consider the library primarily an institute for youngsters and students, resulting in a low status of the profession. Thirty-six percent agree with the statement, 15% are uncertain and 48% disagree. In Africa, Central America and South America the majority agrees with the statement.

strongly agree Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America total

2 13% 3 11% 2 7% 9 6% 0 0% 0 0% 5 21% 21

7%

agree 10 9 13 31 11 1 9

63% 33% 45% 21% 31% 33% 38%

84 29%

uncertain disagree 3 5 2 26 6 0 1

19% 19% 7% 17% 17% 0% 4%

43 15%

48

1 10 10 69 11 2 7

6% 37% 34% 46% 31% 67% 29%

110 39%

strongly disagree

total

0 0% 0 0% 2 7% 16 11% 7 20% 0 0% 2 8%

16 27 29 151 35 3 24

27

285 100

9%

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Reading less 17. There is a general trend for the general public to read less, this results in a low image for the librarian. Thirty-three percent agrees with the statement and 17% are uncertain, 49% disagree. In South America and Africa there is more support for this statement, In Africa 81% agree and in South America 48%.

strongly agree 4 25% 0 0% 1 3* 9 6« 0 0% 0 0% 3 12%

Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America total

Π

6*

agree 9 8 9 30 11 1 9

56% 31% 30% 20% 31% 33% 36%

77 27%

uncertain disagree 1 3 7 27 β 1 3

6% 12% 23% 18% 23% 33% 12%

50 17%

2 14 12 68 9 1 9

13% 54% 40% 45% 26% 33% 36%

115 40%

strongly disagree

total

0 0% 1 4% 1 3% 17 11% 7 20% 0 0% 1 4%

16 26 30 151 35 3 25

27

286 100

9%

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Conclusions If we look at the overall results of the statements, there is a remarkable stability in the number of respondents answering uncertain. With almost all the statements this percentage lies between 10% and 20%. If we only look at the percentages for agree (agrees + strongly agree) and for disagree (disagrees + strongly disagree) we get the following table. The statements are ranked according to the percentage 'agree'.

Number

Statement

Percentage that agree

Percentage that disagree

2 8 10 4 7 3 6 9 1 12 11 14 16 17 15 5 13

Invisibility Money responsibility Social responsibility Salary Cannot distinguish Quality of service Marginal role Lack of funding Female image Low expectations Dispensable luxury Dull image For students only Reading less Educational requirements Volunteers Unemployment

87% 74% 71% 69% 58% 57% 55% 56% 52% 44% 39% 41% 37% 33% 32% 24% 13%

8% 12% 15% 19% 25% 28% 27% 29% 30% 44% 43% 41% 48% 49% 57% 51% 68%

49

Another method to compare the statements is the use of the mean. The mean represents the average score of the respondents. A score of 1.9 signifies that on a average the librarians agree with the statement (strongly agree =1, agree=2, uncertain=3, disagree=4, strongly disagree=5). So you can conclude that a statement with a mean between 1.9 - 2.5 are on average agreed with, but with statements with a mean between 2.6 - 3.5 the respondents are uncertain. A mean higher than 3.6 signifies disagreement with the statement.

Mean Score on Statements female image

2 7

Invisibility

1 9

poor quality

2 6

poorly paid

2 2

large number of volunteers

3 3

marginal role development economy

2 6

distinguish librarian from other employees

2 6

unawareness of respons ibi1i ty

2 1

small amount of government funding

2 6

unawareness of social responsibility

2 2

dispensable luxury

3 0

low expectations

3 0

large number of unemployed librarians

3 7

general image

3 0

no professional education required

3 3

for youngsters and students

3 1

general trend to read less

3 2

50

This analysis of the mean results is the following division of the statements: number of statement agree: 2 8 10 4 uncertain: 7 3 6 9 1 12 11 14 16 17 15 5 disagree: 13 The statements in the category 'uncertain' need a second look. If you look at the original scores on these statements, you will see that the mean, in most cases is the result of a strong division of opinion among the respondents. Some of the respondents agree with the statement, others disagree, the result is a mean in the category uncertain. Respondents from Africa show the largest difference with the average mean on the statements. On six statements the mean for Africa shows a difference larger than 0.6 with the average mean. Asia and South America have on five statements a mean that differs more than 0.6 from the average. North America has on one statement a difference larger than 0.6 The scores for the other regions never differ more than 0.6 from the average. The mean for the respondents from Asia on all statements is but one within the uncertain range (mean between 2.6 - 3,5).

51

Mean score on statements by region Africa

Asia

Central Europe America

North Oceania South America America

female image

3.6

3.2

3.2

2.7

2.1

2.3

2.4

invisibility

1.6

2.6

1.9

1.8

1.8

1.3

1.7

poor quality

1.8

2.7

2.2

2.8

3.0

3.0

1.8

poorly paid

1.9

2.7

2.2

2.2

2.4

1.7

2.1

large number of volunteers

3.3

3.6

3.1

3.4

3.2

3.7

3.2

marginal role development economy

2.9

3.0

2.7

2.4

3.2

2.8

1.8

distinguish librarian from other employees

2.5

2.9

2.4

2.8

2.1

2.0

1.9

unawareness of responsibility

2.2

2.8

2.0

2.0

2.0

1.5

2.5

small amount of government funding

3.0

2.5

1.5

2.7

2.3

2.5

3.5

unawareness of social responsibility

1.9

2.9

2.0

2.1

2.8

1.8

2.0

dispensible luxury

2.3

3.7

2.9

3.1

2.9

2.5

2.8

low expectations

3.1

3.2

3.0

2.9

3.3

2.7

2.3

large number of unemployed librarians

3.1

3.5

4.1

3.7

4.0

4.0

3.6

general image

3.5

3.2

3.4

3.0

2.8

3.3

2.5

no professional education required

3.8

3.1

3.8

3.1

3.5

3.7

3.4

for youngsters and students

2.2

2.8

2.9

3.3

3.4

3.3

2.7

general trend to read less

2.1

3.3

3.1

3.4

3.3

3.0

2.8

Most Important reasons in terms of the statements The respondents were asked to select the (five or less) 'most important' statements out of the 17 listed above which they regarded as the most important causes for the low status of the profession. And, when chosen, to place these selected statements in their turn in an order of importance. There is of course a clear distinction between 'agree' or 'not agree' on the one hand and the importance on the other. But at the same time the chance that a statement is selected in the 'top five' of most important reasons for the poor status is increased if a strong majority agrees the statement. The table overleaf states the number of times a statement is used by the respondents to form their 'top five'.

52

Female image total not mentioned 218 (75%): Total mentioned 74 (25%) Invisibility total not mentioned 133 (46%): total mentioned 159 (54%) Poor quality total not mentioned 215 (74%): total mentioned 77 (26% Poorly paid total not mentioned 181 (62%): total mentioned 110 (38%) Large number of volunteers total not mentioned 271 (93%) : total mentioned 21 (7%) Marginal economical role total not mentioned 185 (63%) : total mentioned 107 (37%) Invisible librarian total not mentioned 231 (79%) : total mentioned 61 (21%) Unawareness responsibiblity total not mentioned 193 (66%) : total mentioned 99 (34%) Smallnot amount of funding total 205 (70%) Unawareness social responsibility total not mentioned mentioned 185 (63%) :: total total mentioned mentioned 87 107(30%) (37%) Dispensible luxury total not mentioned 239 (82%) : total mentioned 53 (18%) Low expectations total not mentioned 239 : total total mentioned (18%) Largenot number unemployed librarians total mentioned 284 (82%) (97%): mentioned 52 8 (3%) general image total not mentioned 247 (85%): total mentioned 45 (15%) No professional education total not mentioned 246 (84%): total mentioned 46 (16%) For students only total not mentioned 267 (91%): total mentioned 25 (9%) Trend tomentioned read less 263 (90%): total mentioned 29 (10%) total not

53

All statements were used by the respondents to construct their private top five reasons. Some more than others. The five most used statements are: NR.

STATEMENT

ABS.

2 4 6 10 8

Invisibility Salary Marginal role Social responsibility Money responsibility

159 110 107 107 99

54

Africa

Asia

Central Europe America

North Oceania South America America

Female image total not mentioned total mentioned

94« 6%

86% 14%

84% 16%

71% 29%

57% 43%

100«

80% 20%

invisibility total not mentioned total mentioned

sot 50%

57% 43%

59% 41%

38« 62«

40% 60%

25« 75«

68« 32%

Poor quality total not mentioned total mentioned

63% 38%

64% 36%

69% 31%

76% 24%

80« 20«

100«

68% 32%

Poorly paid total not mentioned total mentioned

50% 50%

75% 25%

69% 31%

59% 41%

53« 47%

50« 50«

84% 16%

Large number of volunteers total not mentioned total mentioned

88% 13%

93% 7%

97% 3«

91% 9%

97% 3«

100«

96% 4%

Marginal economical role total not mentioned total mentioned

56% 44%

79% 21%

72« 28«

55% 45%

80% 20%

75« 25«

68% 32%

Invisible librarian total not mentioned total mentioned

81% 19%

79% 21%

81« 19%

86« 14«

49% 51%

50« 50%

80% 20«

Unawareness responsibility total not mentioned total mentioned

69% 31%

79% 21%

81« 19«

62% 38«

49% 51%

25« 75«

88« 12%

Small amount of funding total not mentioned total mentioned

50% 50%

75% 25%

75« 25«

62« 38%

97% 3%

100«

80% 20%

Unawareness social responsibility total not mentioned total mentioned

63% 38%

68« 32%

72« 28«

56% 44%

83% 17%

50« 50«

68% 32%

Dispensible luxury total not mentioned total mentioned

69% 31%

93« 7%

94« 6%

78« 22%

83% 17«

25« 75%

92« 8«

Low expectations total not mentioned total mentioned

81% 19%

75% 25%

91% 9%

83« 17«

91% 9%

75« 25«

64« 36«

Large number unemployed librarians total not mentioned total mentioned

88% 13%

89% 11%

1004

99« 1«

100%

100«

96« 4«

100%

86% 14%

100«

82« 18«

77% 23«

100«

76« 24«

No professional education total not mentioned total mentioned

94% 6%

71% 29%

94% 6%

82% 18%

89« 11«

75% 25%

92« 8%

For students only total not mentioned total mentioned

81% 19%

86« 14«

97% 3%

95% 5«

89« 11«

50% 50%

88% 12«

Trend to read less total not mentioned total mentioned

63% 38%

93% 7%

97% 3%

92« 8%

89« 11«

100%

84« 16%

general image total not mentioned total mentioned

55

There are differences in the top five from the different regions. We have constructed a top five for each region. The statements are ordered according to the number of times they are mentioned in each region. There is only one statement that is in the top five of all regions and that is statement number two about the invisibility. Africa: statements 2, 4, 9, 6, 10/17 Asia: statements 2, 3, 10, 15, 4/9/12 Central America: statements 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 Europe: statements 2, 6,10, 4, 8/9 North America: statements 2, 7, 8, 4, 1 South America: statements 12, 10, 6, 3, 2 The respondents were asked to rank their top five in order of importance. The table below gives the results of this ranking.

Ranking of the 5 Most Important Reasons in order of Importance NR. 2 4 6 10 8 9 3 1 7 11 12 15 14 17 16 5 13

IMPORTANCE HIGH LOW 61 28 31 19 12 23 15 20 7 3 3 11 4 8 0 4 1

40 27 18 25 21 26 29 25 28 34 27 16 14 17 13 12 15 12 9 11 11 14 10 7 58 53 54 04 01

21 21 20 17 13 15 15 11 14 10 17 6 18 6 9 9 1

10 20 9 17 12 6 16 18 13 20 9 12 10 7 7 4 5

TOT 159 110 107 107 99 87 77 74 61 53 52 46 45 29 25 21 8

Invisibility Salary Marginal role Social responsibility Money responsibility Lack of funding Quality of service Female image Cannot distinguish Dispensable luxury Low expectations Educ. requirements Dull image Reading less For students only Volunteers Unemployment

If the five categories from 'most important' to 'least important' are numbered from 1 to 5 and these numbers are considered as 'real values' and the dispersion is computed as well, hardly anything changes. Numbers 2 ('salary') and 3 ('marginal role') change places. Sorting professions The final question concerned the ranking of some professions of which the world wide rating was known from the sociological literature. The respondents were asked "Can you sort the given list of professions in order of occupational prestige/status?." The mean ranking of these professions was calculated. The profession with the lowest mean has the highest prestige.

56

Mean Score Status Professions farmer librarian civil engineer teacher primary school journalist travelling salesman insurance agent lawyer airline stewardess

6.8 5.1 2.4 5.0 3.5 7.1 6.7 1.7 6.4

In all regions the highest status is given to the lawyer. In most regions the librarian is number five. In North America the librarian is number four and in Asia number three.

57

Mean Score Status Professions by Region Africa

Asia

Central Europe America

North Oceania South America America

farmer

7 8

8 4

7 7

6 8

6 3

6 5

3.9

librarian

5 4

4 8

4 6

5 4

4 0

5 5

5.9

civil engineer

1 9

3 4

2 2

2 4

2 4

2 0

2.3

teacher primary school

6 3

4 0

4 9

4 9

4 5

4 5

7.2

journalist

4 6

2 8

4 β

3 3

3 3

4 0

3.6

travelling salesman

5 9

7 5

6 9

7 1

7 9

8 0

6.3

6 7

7 3

6.8

1

0

2.2

6 3

6.7

insurance agent

6 0

6 8

5 5

7 0

lawyer

1 9

1 1

1 6

1 6

1 9

airline stewardess

4 9

5 7

6

e

6 3

8

0

(1= highest status; 9= lowest status)'

PROFESSION

Lawyer Civil engineer Journalist Teacher (primary school) Librarian Airline stewardess Insurance agent Farmer Travelling salesman

LIB. RANK

GEN.* RANK 1 2 4 3 5 6 9 7/8 7/8

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

MEAN 1.7 2.4 3.5 5.0 5.1 6.4 6.7 6.8 7.1

* Treiman, D.J. Occupational prestige in comparative perspective·, New York [etc.] 1977.

We can conclude that the workers in the library and information services do not have a deviant opinion in relation to the rating of the general public. How good or bad their self-image may be, it fits the common opinion that the general public has of the profession. It is, however, the same general public of which librarians in great majority think it does not have any knowledge of the business in which they are involved.

58

8. CONCLUSIONS That the status of the profession is low is widely accepted. Beyond this there are significant differences of opinion between regions, between countries and within libraries. Furthermore there is a difference of opinion about the importance of the problem. In some countries, especially in Asia, the library-system is growing rather fast. In such a situation status and image are minor problems. Librarians in these countries are more concerned about the development of the library system than about status and image. Some people suggested that concern about status and image are typical for a situation where there is stagnation instead of growth. There are no easy and fast solutions to the image problem. The fact that this problem has been around for decades Is sufficient proof of this. The most important question the library community has to answer, before trying to improve the image, is what image would it like to have. Between librarians there are differences of opinion about the answer to this question. There is no way to generalize the problems concerning status. It will be clear that regional and local circumstances differ to a great extend. Even within one country the differences are great, nevertheless the problems are basically identical. This gave us the opportunity to identify some main themes which can be considered to be the main problems which the profession will have to address. The library as a building with four walls containing books is a metaphor for the crisis with which we are dealing. Librarians are heavily focused on library technics, skills and processing. Their basic attitude is possessive and introspective. They lack the capacity to communicate in a way that meets the needs of the people they serve. The professionals are not very much aware of the fact that they work in an open and diverse market. 'Closed minded' was a disadvantage.

very often heard reproach.

A

recognized

The ramifications for the profession are evident. They are that there is no longer a great demand for 'traditional' librarians. Librarians, at the same time, still think about the profession as a generalistic entity and do not realize that librarianship consists in all its variety of a range of specialisms between others. Librarians tend to deny that they are nowadays one of the subspecies of professionals working in information services. They are passed by 'others' without a classical technical education. The library and information services lack the support of the institutional framework of which they are a part. 'Useful but not necessary'.

Invisibility

Librarians think their status problem is related to the invisibility of the profession. Which means the general public and the political bodies do not have any idea about what is going on in the information business. The invisibility results, in the opinion of the librarians, in a lack of recognition of the general public, the clients, employers, colleagues in the office or 59

university, authorities, government etc. And the lack of recognition results in low budgets, insecurity due to political circumstances and low salaries. Of course it makes a difference to be an employee of a commercial firm in the North or working in a public library in the South, but it is a matter of degree. Even among librarians with a positive attitude to the possibilities to develop the profession there were several who had the intention to leave the profession. Libraries are not fast-moving, dynamic organizations. Their existence and value goes without discussion. The profession is not unlike other professions that are the subject of public debate. It seems to be unable to sell itself as a profession. Librarians feel important but do not get the recognition they want. At the same time there is a strong tendency within the profession to suggest an important social role which has not been shown to be evident, at least not to the users. The quality of the services of libraries (speaking about visibility) should be raised. Improving the status is difficult enough as it is. It becomes impossible if the users are badly treated by low-quality service. Librarians have to become more user-oriented and raise the level of their services. Education Motivation to become a librarian is at a low level, because studying library science is second, third or last choice. A very often mentioned vicious circle: LIS studies attract second or third rate students for whom LIS is a last chance to become a graduate. Although the entrance demands are lower than for other faculties, the number of students is smaller than the capacity of the LIS faculties. Dilemma diabolica: if you raise the demands, there will be no students left. These unmotivated and less bright students quite often become a teacher in the same university after graduating. They inbreed and the process of self-selection is a structural problem that is perceived but not solved. It has a long-lasting negative effect on the status and image of the profession. Worldwide professionals complain about the programmes of education which are in many cases obsolete and outdated. The curricula are highly dependent on the educational system and traditional ideas about librarianship and seldom based on the specific needs of society (task description). There is a gap between practice and education. Competition between different kinds of schools also exists. Non-traditional education is developed outside the traditional library schools. There should be an institutional discourse about the curricula between the professionals and the teachers responsible for the education of librarians. It is of great importance that the training of librarians is permanently adapted to the demands of the market and society. Library schools as such have become obsolete. They attract the wrong kind of students and in a lot of cases the teachers are second rate. Library schools do not have a monopoly position anymore. Nevertheless they very often close their eyes to the changing realities. Library skills are not always necessary and if so they can be obtained by inservice training. If libraries employ graduates from other courses there will be a positive effect on the status of working in the library.

60

Professional culture There is a severe lack of professional leadership. And if there is, it is dependent on individuals instead of the 'professional culture'. The quality of services is very much dependent on personal qualities. Which means that the relationship with governmental bodies is fragile. Status and image problems seem to be related to the lack of recognition by the government and by private and public institutions (companies, universities etc.). This situation has of course consequences for the amount of money spent on libraries and documentation centres. If countries, from an economic point of view, are doing rather well, governments and private companies are spending more money on libraries and information services. On the other hand there is persistent competition between the 'denominations', councils, unions, associations of different kinds which has paralyzing, and damaging effects on the development of the profession resulting in a lack of corporate image. It is of paramount importance for improving status that a strong library association is present to promote and to raise the status of the profession. A necessary condition for a strong association is that it shows one face and is staffed by 'new' professionals. Without a library association the profession cannot develop a corporate identity. Insist on legislation and create the required statutes. The proposal is made to re-think the profession as it is viewed from the outside world because it is better to be dependent on the market than on governmental bodies. Consider the government as a client and be as competitive as other organizations in the outside world. Librarians have to feel and act like entrepreneurs with an eye open to the specific needs of clients. In some developing countries there is a debate about the role of the public librarian. Some people hold the opinion that the public librarians operate strictly according to western standards, and are not inclined to adapt their services to local needs. Re-define for each specific job a clear position in the market place and prove librarians to be vital. Indicate the value added by librarians in the chain of information transfer and articulate 'value for money".

61

APPENDIX 1

PART I: FACTUAL QUESTIONS

Some of these questions you may find difficult to answer. We kindly request you to give as much information as is available to you.

1

NATIONAL STATISTICS

1

What is the Gross National Product of your country?

U.S. $

2

What is the amount of public expenditure?

U.S. $

3

Public spending on education?

U.S. $

4

Number of the total population?

U.S. $

5

What percentage of the population of 15 years of age and over is illiterate?

6

Number of students first level (e.g. primary school) second level(e.g. secondary school, high school third level (e.g. higher professional education, university)

2

LIBRARY STATISTICS

1

General Statistics

category of libraries

number of servicepoints

number of administrative units

collection volumes (x 1000)

registered borrowers

National library Public libraries Higher education School libraries Special libraries Other libraries

category of libraries

National library Public libraries Higher education School libraries Special libraries Other libraries

65

%

2

Expenditure of Libraries

category of libraries

total expenditure U.S. $

expenditure staff

expenditure collection

U.S.$

U.S.$

National library Public libraries Higher education School libraries Special libraries Other libraries

3

Receipts of Libraries

category of libraries

government subsidy

government subsidy as % total receipts

U.S. $

%

National library Public libraries Higher education School libraries Special libraries Other libraries 4

Staff

category of libraries

total number total number of employees of hours staff a week

National library Public libraries Higher education School libraries Special libraries Other libraries category of libraries

number of employees with a higher professional education e.g. post-graduate

National library Public libraries Higher education School libraries Special libraries Other libraries

66

category of libraries

number of employees at the para-professional, technical or support services level

National library Public libraries Higher education School libraries Special libraries Other libraries

5

Sex

category of libraries

total number of female employees

National library Public libraries Higher education School libraries Special libraries Other libraries

category of libraries

number of female employees with a higher professional education e.g. post-graduate

National library Public libraries Higher education School libraries Special libraries Other libraries

category of libraries

number of female employees at the para-professional, technical or support services level

National library Public libraries Higher education School libraries Special libraries Other libraries

67

6

Volunteers

category of libraries

number of volunteers

National library Public libraries Higher education School libraries Special libraries Other libraries

7

Are volunteers used in libraries to perform tasks normally reserved for librarians? Q yes Q no

3

SALARY

1

What is the monthly salary (before deducting tax) of a starting librarian (holding a diploma) without any work experience?

U.S. $

What is the highest possible monthly salary (before deducting tax) a librarian can earn?

U.S. $

What is the average monthly salary (before deducting tax) of a librarian in your country?

U.S. $

What is the average monthly salary (before deducting tax) of a teacher (primary school)?

U.S. $

What is the average monthly salary (before deducting tax) of a minor civil servant (town hall)?

U.S. $

2

3

4

5

6

What is the average monthly income before deducting tax ?

7

U.S. $

Are in your opinion librarians underpaid ?

[] yes 0 no

Comment:

4

LIBRARY EDUCATION

1

Is there a full time library and information science education-course in your country? 68

Π no ->9

2

If there is more than one institute, how many are there?

3

Are there different levels in the education of librarians?

Q yes Q no

4

Is there a full time education-course to become a librarian at university level?

[] yes Q no

5

Is there a full time education-course to become a librarian below university level?

Q yes Q no

6

If so, is this a higher professional education?

[] yes Q no

7

How many students are at the moment training to become a librarian? university level below university level

8

How many students completed their studies in 1989?

9

Are there programs for training on the job for librarians?

university level below university level Q yes Q no

10 How many students were involved in training on the job programmes in 1989 11 Is there a formal recognition or certificate needed to achieve professional status in LIS-work?

[] yes Q no

12 What is the level of education of librarians who have a paid job?

University level % Below university level.... %

13 What are the job opportunities for a librarian?

[] good [] average G bad

14 Is there a lack of librarians?

[] yes [] no

15 Are there librarians unemployed

[] yes Q no

16 Number of unemployed librarians Comment:

69

PART II: PRESTIGE OF THE PROFESSION

age: sex: education: country: job description:

A. Could you please state your opinion on the following statement. 1

The status of the profession of librarian is low. [] strongly agree [j agree [j uncertain [] disagree [j strongly disagree

Comment:

2

Do you think that there is an important difference in the status of librarians (comparing those at the same level of employment) employed in different categories of libraries? []yes []no

3

If so, can you sort the categories of libraries according to status. ( 1 = highest status, 8= lowest status)? National library Public libraries Higher education School libraries Special libraries Information services Documentation centres ... Industrial/commercial ...

B. In the following you will find 17 statements, regarding the status of librarians. Could you please indicate your opinion on the statements. Please tick the appropriate answer. 1. The female image of the profession of librarian is a important reason for the low status. [] strongly agree [j agree [] uncertain [j disagree [j strongly disagree 70

2. The general public has hardly any knowledge of the work; this results in an low status. [] strongly agree [j agree [] uncertain [] disagree [j strongly disagree 3. The poor quality of the service in some libraries results in a low status of the profession. [] strongly agree [] agree [j uncertain [j disagree [j strongly disagree 4. The job of librarian is poorly paid resulting in a low status of the profession. [] strongly agree [] agree [j uncertain [j disagree [] strongly disagree 5. The large number of volunteers working in libraries creates a low status of the profession. [] strongly agree [] agree [] uncertain [j disagree [j strongly disagree 6. The marginal role libraries play in the development of the economy of the country results in a low status of the profession. [] strongly agree [j agree [j uncertain [j disagree [j strongly disagree 7. Users of libraries cannot distinguish the librarian from other employees resulting in low status of the profession. [] strongly agree [j agree [j uncertain [j disagree [j strongly disagree 8. The general public is unaware of the responsibility for amounts of money and personnel involved in running libraries, resulting in a low status of the profession. [] strongly agree [j agree [j uncertain [j disagree [] strongly disagree

71

9. The small amount of government funding results in a low status of the profession. [] strongly agree [] agree [] uncertain [j disagree [] strongly disagree 10 The general public is unaware of the social responsibilities of libraries for instance regarding the individual rights of access to information, therefore the status of the profession is low. Π strongly agree [j agree [j uncertain [j disagree [j strongly disagree 11 A large number of the general public regards the library's services as dispensable luxury; this causes a low status of the profession. [] strongly agree [j agree [j uncertain [j disagree [j strongly disagree 12 Users of libraries have low expectations as to the quality of the services of libraries resulting in a low status of the profession. [] strongly agree [j agree [j uncertain [j disagree [j strongly disagree 13 The large number of unemployed librarians results in a low status of the profession. [] strongly agree G agree [] uncertain [j disagree [] strongly disagree 14 The general image of the character of librarians: strict, punctual, dull, etc., results in a low status of the profession. [] strongly agree [j agree [j uncertain [j disagree [] strongly disagree 15 More than half the tasks of a librarian require no professional education at all, this results in a low status of the profession. [] strongly agree [i agree [j uncertain [j disagree [j strongly disagree

72

16 Large numbers of the public consider the library primarily an institute for youngsters and students, resulting in a low status of the profession. Π strongly agree D agree

• uncertain 0 disagree G strongly disagree 17 There is a general trend for the general public to read less, this results in a low image for the librarian. D strongly agree Q agree • uncertain [] disagree Q strongly disagree

C. Which of these 17 statements listed above do you regard as the most important causes for the low status of the profession of librarian? Please select five or less, place these selected statements in order of Importance; 1= most important 5= least important, please copy the numbers of the statements. 1 .... most important 2 ....

3 .... 4 .... 5 .... least important Comment:

D. Can you sort the given list of professions from 1 to 10, in order of occupational prestige/status. rank Farmer Librarian Civil engineer Teacher (primary school) Journalist Travelling salesman Insurance agent Lawyer Airline stewardess E. Please state the most urgent action to be taken to improve the prestige of librarianship.

73

APPENDIX 2

SUBJECTS FOR INTERVIEW 1 Library structure, system 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6

types of libraries, numbers national library organisations, number goals and objectives, activities national library organisations income libraries, government subsidies, grants, funding relation with government, legislation relations between national library organisations

2 Salary 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7

salary starting librarian highest salary average salary public librarian average salary teacher primary school average salary minor civil servant average salary country are librarians underpaid

3 Library education 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13

full time course for librarians how many institutes levels of education, university/higher professional full time course university level idem below university level, which level? number of students and level number of students completed studies in 1989, level programmes for training on the job is there a formal recognition for LIS-work level of working librarians, numbers volunteers in libraries, tasks of volunteers job opportunities for librarians unemployment, shortage, numbers

4 Status 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4

4.5

agree with low status meaning of status is the status going up or down the last 10 years different status in different libraries: national/public/higher education/school/special/information services/documentation centres/industrial & commercial has there been local research into status, image

4.6 reasons low status [cf. survey]: - female image - general public does not know what librarians do - poor quality service - low salary - large number of volunteers 77

4.7

marginal economical role libraries users cannot distinguish between librarians and other employees small amount of government funding general public is unaware of the social responsibilities of libraries; free access to information general public sees libraries as a dispensable luxury users expect low quality of services large number of unemployed librarians general image librarians: punctual, strict, dull half the tasks require no professional education libraries are primarily for youngsters and students public reads less most important reasons for low status

5 Action to improve status N.B. realistic, feasible action only 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8

are there programmes to improve status what should be done to improve status action to be taken by library schools action to be taken by libraries action to be taken by individual librarians action to be taken by national organisations action to be taken by international organisations action to be taken by government

6 Comparison other countries in the region

78

APPENDIX 3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS BRAZIL Ms. Elisabeth Ramos de Carvalho Regional Officer, I FLA Ms. May Brooking Negrao ex President, FEBAB ex Director, Library System City of Sao Paulo Ms. Ivone Tälamo Regional IFLA Officer, FEBAB office Ms. Inez Imperatrice Chief Librarian in Automation Services Univ. Lib. Sys. Ms. Prof. Neusa Macedo Vice President of Dlas FEBAB + Director, Library School University Sao Paulo Ms. Miriam Salvadore Nascimento President, FEBAB Ms. Rosaly Favero Krzyzanowski Technical Director of Dental Information Library [Servi^io de Documentagao Odontologica] School of Dentistry Mr. Jose Fernando Modesto da Silva President of Librarianship Regional Council Ms. Amelia Maria Moreira Ex President of Librarianship Regional Council Ms. Regina Celi de Sousa Presidente Associa?ao Paulista de Bibliothecärios Ms. Wilma Olmo Correa SAIBA Mr. Anthonius Cornelus M. Filet Philips Consumer Electronics / Project manager Prof. Luis Milanesi Secretaria de Estado da Cultura Sao Paulo Coordinator of System of Public Libraries Prof. Antonio de Miranda IBICT: Brasilien Institute of Information Science and Technology;

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VENEZUELA Instituto Autönomo Bibliotheca Nacional y de Servicios de Bibliothecas Employees of the 'Instituto': Ms. Maria Elena Zapata Director of office, assistant to Virgina Betancourt, Director of the National Library Mr. Alvaro Agudo Guevara Director of Human Resources Ms. Graciela L. de Mantellini Director of the Public Library System Ms. Daniela Esses International Affairs Ms. Cristina Sarcos Architect Universidad Simon Bolivar Biblioteca Central Ms. Gassoi deUB: Horowitz DLIS,Rosario Directrice van de Ms. Ursula Albertus UNESCO/PGI Asesor [Asesora Regional] de Programa General de Informaciön para America Latina y el Caribe

JAMAICA National Library of Jamaica Stephanie Ferguson [chief librarian] Mr. J. Aarons [deputy] Ms. J. Vernon [deputy] Ms. B. Palmer [staff] Mr. F. Williams [staff] Ms. Sheila Lampart Executive Secretary, NACOLADS Ms. B. Mullings President Jamaica Library Association [JLA] Ms. Yvonne Lawrence Supreme Court Library [LINET]

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Ms. Arlene Ononaiwu Planning Institute of Jamaica [SECIN] Ms. H. Salmon College of Arts Science & Technology [COLINET] Ms. M. Bardowell Scientific Research Council [STIN] Ms. N. Kelly Documentalist/librarian HEART Ms. Gail Hall Chairman - Special Libraries Section/Association JLA Ms. Gloria Salmon Director of the JLA Ms. Ms. Ms. Ms. Ms. Ms. Ms. Ms. Ms. Ms.

Maxeen Collins Senior Librarian Patricia Cuff Regional Librarian Winsome Hudson Senior Librarian Grace Spence Senior Librarian Earmine Daley Senior Librarian Annette Redway Regional Librarian Elsie Aarons Regional Librarian Novlyn Watson Senior Librarian Patricia Samuels Senior Librarian Sandra Stubbs Regional Librarian

ST. MARTIN Ms. Bianca Hodge Chief Librarian, Public Library Ms. Ellis Uhrlap Staff public Library HONG KONG Ms. Dr. L.B. Kan Librarian, University of Hong Kong Mr. Colin Storey Librarian, Hong Kong Polytechnic Mr. Alex Ng Director, Regional Council Public Libraries

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MALAYSIA Ms. Mariam Abdul Kadir Director, Perpustakaari Negara Malaysia (National Library of Malaysia) Ms. Shahar Banun Jaafar Deputy Director, Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia (National Library of Malaysia) Ms. Kuah Poh Choo Resource Centre Permata Petronas Mr. Syed Salim Agha Librarian, Universiti Pertanian Ms. Zalton Osman Librarian, Faculty of Medicine Universiti Malaya Ms. Fuziah Mohd. Nadzar Dean, Faculty of Library and Information Science Institut Teknologi Mara Ms. Shahaneem Hanoum Public Library Selangor Head of the Public Libraries in the State of Selangor INDONESIA Mr. Sukarman Kartosedono Head, Library Development Program National Library Indonesia Chairman Library Association Indonesia Mr. Hernandono Head, Human Resource Management National Library Indonesia Secretary Library Association Indonesia Mr. Mudjito Treasurer, Library Association Indonesia

THAILAND Ms. Scrichand Viputtikul Head, Faculty of Economic Library, Thammasat University Libraries Ms. Thara Kanakamani Deputy Director, National Library of Thailand 84

Ms. Pensri Guaysuwan Regional IFLA Officer Mr. Prachark Wattamanusft Gift and Exchange Section, National Library of Thailand Ms. Wilawam Sapphansaen Reader, Service Section, National Library of Thailand Ms. Dr. Tassana Hanpol Head, Department of Collection Development Central Library, Ramkamhaeng University Ms. Somboon Singkamanan Department of Library and Information Science Srinakharinwirot University Mr. Dr. Soonthorn Kaewlai Department of Library and Information Science Srinakharinwirot University Ms. Nongnath Chairat Head, Department of Library and Information Science Srinakharinwirot University Mr. Dr. Sunthorn Kohtbantan Faculty of Education, Srinakharinwirot University MOROCCO Mr. M. Benjelloun Ecole des Sciences de I'lnformation, ESI Ms.Laydia Bachr Deputy director ESI Mr. Hadj Sadek Ministöre des Affaires Culturelles, Chef de la Division des Bibliotheques, d'Edition et de Diffusion. Mr. Betandja Directeur du Cabinet du Ministre NIGERIA Mr. Dosumu Deputy Director, National Library Ms. O. G. Tamuno University Librarian, Ibadan

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Mr. D. Elaturoti School Librarian Mr. R.O. Sodipe Federal Institute of Industrial Research Mr. L.l. Ehigiator Secretary, Nigerian Library Association Mr. A.O. Institute Banjo of International Affairs Nigerian Mr. W.O. Aiyepeku Director, ARCIS

Further IFLA Titles No. 59: Multicultural Librarianship: An International Handbook By Marie F. Zielinska with Francis T. Kirkwood Edited by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, Section on Library Services to Multicultural Populations 1992. XIV, 384 pp. HB. DM 98.00. For IFLA members: DM 73.50 ISBN 3-598-21787-0

No. 64: Guidelines for Legislative Libraries Edited by Dermot Englefield 1993. XV, 123 pp. HB. DM 68.00. For IFLA members: DM 51.00 ISBN 3-598-21792-7

No. 65: Documentation Nordic Art, Design, Bibliographies, Databases Proceedings from the Art Libraries Satellite Meeting National Museum, Stockholm, August 16-19,1990 Edited by Charlotte Hanner, Arlis Norden, and the IFLA Section of Art Libraries 1993. 270 pp. with 48 illus. HB. DM 98.00 For IFLA members: DM 73.50. ISBN 3-598-21793-5

No. 66/67: Continuing Professional Education and IFLA: Past, Present and a Vision for the Future Papers from the IFLA CPERT Second World Conference on Continuing Professional Education for the Library and Information Science Professions. A Publication of the Continuing Professional Education Round Table (CPERT) of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Edited by Blanch Woolls 1993. XII, 365 pp. HB. DM 168.00. For IFLA members: DM 128.00 ISBN 3-598-21794-3

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Further IFLA Titles No. 68: The Status, Reputation and Image of the Library and Information Profession Proceedings of the IFLA Pre-Session Seminar, Delhi, 24-28 August 1992. Under the Auspices of the IFLA Round Table for the Management of Library Associations Edited by Russell Bowden and Donald Wijasuriya 1994.228 pp. HB. DM 98.00. For IFLA members DM 73.50 ISBN 3-598-21795-1

No. 69: Global Perspectives on Preservation Education Edited by Michele Valerie Goon an 1994. X, 109 pp. HB. DM 68.00. For IFLA members DM 51.00 ISBN 3-598-21796-X

No. 70: Automated Systems for Access to Multilingual and Multiscript Library Materials Proceedings of the Second IFLA Satellite Meeting, Madrid, August 18-19,1993 Edited by Sally H. McCallum and Monica Ertel 1994. IV, 185pp. HB. DM 98.00. For IFLA members DM 73.50 ISBN 3-598-21797-8

IFLA Annual Proceedings of the General Council Meetings. Annual Reports Edited by Carol Henry K.G. Saur publishes and distributes a wide range of IFLA publications which are highly recommendable for all those working in libraries and information services. If you would like information on further IFLA publications, please contact us at the address below.

K » G · Saur Verlag München · N e w Providence · London · Paris A Reed Reference Publishing Company Postfach 7 0 1 6 2 0 · D - 8 1 3 1 6 Mönchen · Tel. (089) 7 6 9 0 2 - 0 · Fox (089)76902-150