Library Directors are Public Agency Administrators: Graduate Library Programs do not Prepare Librarians to become Public Administrators

This study describes the deficiencies in American Library Association (ALA) accredited masters in library and information science (MLIS) programs in 50 institutions throughout the United States that purport to prepare librarians to become public administrators. The literature review discusses how the success of a public library is connected to the political rapport of the director with local government officials. A correlation was revealed between the budget loss due to the economic recession and the loss of professional library positions to paraprofessional positions. In researching job announcements and MLIS courses, the functions of the director positions were matched against the various courses in the MLIS programs. Some functions and skills were met by the MLIS programs in the same percentage as those needed in the job announcements, but many were not. The librarian coming from library school would not be prepared to take on management positions, although library positions without management tasks are disappearing in this economy. A recommendation from this research would be for the student to complete a dual degree for management and librarianship and work or volunteer in a public library while in school. By the completion of the program, the librarian will have several years of library experience and knowledge of both disciplines in order to start working up the career ladder in librarianship.Chapter I: INTRODUCTION TO LIBRARY DIRECTORS AS PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS - 1 Outline of the Study - 11 Chapter II: LITERATURE REVIEW - 15 Competencies of a Library Director - 15 Images of the Librarian - 23 Library School Characteristics - 29 Comparative Analysis of Public Libraries in State Legislation - 32 Librarian Certification Required? - 33 Public Library Support Through Government Funding - 35 Management of Professionals by Management Professionals - 36 Chapter III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY - 40 Chapter IV: RESEARCH - 46 Economic Changes- 47 Nation-wide Public Library Statistics 2006-2010- 50 Georgia Public Library Statistics 2007-2012 - 54 Management Classes in ALA Accredited Library Schools - 57 Job Opportunities and Job descriptions for ALA-MLIS librarians - 62 Chapter V: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS - 68 REFERENCES - 73 APPENDICES Appendix A: ALA’s Core Competences of Librarianship - 82 Appendix B: ALA Committee on Accreditation (COA) - 89 Appendix C: URLs Of Legislation By State- 92 Appendix D: Requirements for Librarian Certification - 97 Appendix E: Public Library Responsibilities - 104 Appendix F: Administration and Management Courses - 114 Appendix G: 2011 State Tax Revenue - 120 Appendix H: Distribution of Operating Revenue - 123 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Characteristics of Library Staff - 24 Table 2: Number of Public Libraries per State - 33 Table 3: GDP 2004-2012 - 48 Table 4: One-Year Delay Analysis - 53 Table 5: Number of FTE per Facility - 54 Table 6: FY 2007-2012 Analysis - 55 Table 7: Comparison of Salaries – Certified Staff vs. Other Staff - 57 Table 8: Number MLIS and Staff per Facility - 57 Table 9: Management Course Requirements at 24 Universities - 59 Table 10: Requirements Listed in Library Job Announcements - 63 Table 11: Percentage of Programs Satisfying Job Requirements - 65 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Number of Librarians 1880-2011 - 27 Figure 2: GDP from 1948-2012 - 47 Figure 3: US GDP 2004-2012- 48 Figure 4: Differences in the GDP 2004-2012 - 49 Figure 5: U.S. Unemployment Statistics - 50 Figure 6: Total Operating Revenue - 51 Figure 7: Total Number of Facilities - 52 Figure 8: Total Number of Librarians - 52 Figure 9: FTE without ALA-MLIS - 52Foyou, Viviane E.Yehl, Robert P.Baker, Gordon N.D.P.A.Political Scienc