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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the library employment in UAE and explore the perceptions of academic librarians toward job satisfaction, employment opportunities, employment challenges, and future actions needed to improve employment opportunities for librarians in UAE.

Data were collected through an online survey questionnaire. A total of 62 academic librarians from public and private universities and colleges participated in the study. The collected data are analyzed to answer research questions and verify the hypotheses.

Respondents expressed high satisfaction with salary and benefits, job positions, responsibilities given to them, and appreciations from senior management. However, they are found unsatisfied with promotion policies and employment opportunity. They reported challenges for getting jobs and expressed concerns about the future of librarians in UAE. With the exception of experience, findings of the study show no significant difference of demographic factors on job satisfaction, the perceived employment opportunity, and challenges. Majority of participants believe that employment opportunity for librarians can be improved through IT courses, promotion policies, training, career structure, marketing, and changing school name. They agree that reducing the number of students will not improve employment opportunities for librarians.

This is a descriptive study based on a survey questionnaire. Future studies may use qualitative methods such as the interview for more exploration and in-depth analysis.

The findings provide concerns about the future of librarianship in UAE and appeal to library educators, managers, and decision makers to improve employment opportunities for librarians.

The paper reports original research findings on job satisfaction, employment opportunities, employment challenges, and future actions as perceived by academic librarians in UAE.

The Library and Information Science (LIS) discipline face challenges such as technology applications and information overload in its effort to remain relevant in the challenging job market. This study aims to determine the skills and knowledge needed for LIS professionals in the job market to rethink the current syllabus and offer better future employability.

The research used a survey method to collect data concerning personal information, LIS employment opportunities, job titles and skills needed. Content analysis followed to determine librarianship job listings and the need for LIS graduate jobs in Kuwait.

The findings suggested difficulties and challenges; they also compiled a comprehensive list of skills needed and recommended courses and institutions hiring LIS graduates. The research improves decision-making in syllabus development and experiences recommended by employers.

Academic departments can follow this research to develop and update their syllabuses according to the requirements of the job market, thus offering better future job opportunities.

As LIS graduates are provided with better education, the updating of their employability skills will help them socially by recognising their employment status and economically by raising their pay.

The research is the first in Kuwait to collect LIS job titles and analyse employability needs.

This study aims to explore the positive and negative effects of working in an academic library, as reported by college students.

Through surveys and interviews, student workers shared their perceptions of how employment in a university library affects their academics, social life, engagement with campus life, professional skill development, and emotional/psychological states.

Results indicate that the library job is seen as a generally positive part of the students' college experience, particularly in the areas of skill development and academic performance. However, neutral, mixed, and negative effects exist as well.

Findings may not be generalizable due to the limited number of participants and their employment in a single department. Future research could include students in other departments, libraries, or universities. This study employed a single survey and interview, capturing a snapshot of student perceptions. A more longitudinal approach could examine how the attitudes and perceptions of working students change over time as a result of their employment.

This study presents suggestions for how librarians, faculty, staff, and administrators can promote working students' academic success and professional development.

This paper contributes a new perspective to the current literature on the academic and social effects of library employment. By gathering student perceptions via surveys and interviews, this research provides one of the first analyses of the experiences of library student workers as shared in their own voices.

Whether they can legitimately be described as virtuosi or one man (sic) bands, information professionals working in isolation have become something of a cause célèbre recently. This study looks first at their contribution to the collection, analysis, synthesis and dissemination of information in a single field — that of employment studies. Then, using the test of relative job satisfaction as a function of effectiveness, the characteristics, problems and satisfactions of the workers themselves are examined. The present work is based on two reports of a survey undertaken on behalf of the British Library Research and Development Department in 1983.

This paper seeks to provide librarians and library administrators with the necessary information to begin thinking about and perhaps preparing for the large number of retirements that are projected to take place in the library profession over the coming decade.

The paper broadens the library literature related to the retention and recruitment of older employees with concepts derived from the relevant demographic, management, medical and personnel literature.

The profession has not given this problem the time and research attention that is required to successfully manage through the projected “labor gap”. Librarians possess transferable skills and work habits that would be welcomed by corporations attempting to cope with their own labor shortages that are projected to cut across industry and occupational classes over the next decade. Therefore, library administrators should consider developing satisfactory bridge employment options that retain and attract the older or retired library employee.

The preponderance of the literature consulted for this article was assembled from sources outside of the field of library management. Therefore, library administrators who would use the information contained in this paper to develop viable bridge employment options, are cautioned to develop programs that reflect the unique operational realities of the library they work for and the post‐retirement needs of their employees.

The paper provides a useful review of the library and management literature related to the establishment of bridge employment options in the library environment. The paper concludes by introducing the importance of utilizing mathematical and statistical modeling techniques to determine, where possible, the economic value of the services to the stakeholders served. This information is presented with the objective of increasing awareness, debate and additional research in this neglected but critically important area of “value analysis” and its possible impact on the development of sustainable, long‐term solutions to the problems associated with recruitment and retention.

In relation to institution type and employment status, this study aims to identify the requisite skills, knowledge and attitudes (SKAs) listed in job advertisements for Japanese library staff.

This study collected data on 545 posts advertised on major Japanese librarian job advertisement websites from March 2019 to January 2021. The data included institution type, employment length, application requirements and job descriptions. Job descriptions were classified into 16 categories based on required SKAs. Data were analyzed using content, cross-tabulation and cluster analyses.

The results demonstrate that 82.2% of job advertisements targeted nonregular employees. The essential SKAs are the client and technical services. The job advertisements for nonregular employees had detailed descriptions of the requisite generic and soft skills and knowledge, whereas these competencies were not specified in the advertisements for regular employees.

To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study on job advertisements in Japanese libraries. This serves as a benchmark for the content and methods of continuing education for librarians. It also demonstrates the impact of Japan's social and historical environment on job advertisements and related research.

The purpose of this paper is to report on survey results from a study about librarians’ experience with compensation (salary and benefits) negotiation in the library workplace in order to provide data that will inform professional discourse and practice.

A primarily quantitative survey instrument was administered via Qualtrics Survey Software and distributed through listservs and social media channels representing a range of library types and sub-disciplines. The survey was explicitly addressed to librarians for participation and asked them questions related to their work history and experience with negotiating for salary and benefits.

A total of 1,541 librarians completed the survey. More than half of survey respondents reported not negotiating for their current library position. The majority of those who did negotiate reported positive outcomes, including an increase in salary or total compensation package. Only a very small number of respondents reported threats to rescind or rescinded offers when negotiating for their current positions. Respondents cited prior salary and prior work experience and/or education as the top information sources informing negotiation strategy.

There is minimal discussion of salary and benefits negotiation by individuals in the library literature and prior surveys of librarians’ experience with compensation negotiation do not exist. This is the first paper that tracks negotiating practices and outcomes of librarians in library workplaces of all types.

The purpose of this paper is to examine advertisements for part-time professional library jobs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The goal is to gain a better understanding of what skills and experience levels are being required of part-time librarians, as well as what their expected salary and hours might be.

Advertisements for part-time professional library positions were collected from online sources over the course of one year.

Part-time librarian positions tend to be public services positions in either public or academic libraries. Advertisements for these position indicate a need for flexibility and often do not contain information about salary or hours. Many are suitable for entry-level librarians with no experience.

Job advertisement studies are limited in that they can only examine the information contained in the advertisements themselves and therefore may not reflect the actual person hired.

This paper will provide useful information for librarians seeking part-time positions, as well as for library and information science educators and library managers who wish to mentor or hire new librarians.

This paper corrects an identified lack of research into part-time library employment.

This paper aims to develop a better understanding of student worker perceptions of academic libraries in an effort to improve student worker training, position structure and, ultimately, their perceptions of the library. The value of student reference assistants extends well beyond the completion of assigned library tasks. Specifically, student reference assistants can be important community voices and advocates for academic libraries, spreading, by word-of-mouth, the kinds of library services available to students and their relevance to the academic community. Consequently, it is essential to gain an understanding of how student workers perceive the academic library as a result of their employment.

This paper uses an informal, anonymous online survey of student reference assistants to gather information on student worker perceptions of the library. Questions focus on student workers’ understanding of library services and resources as well as on the library’s mission and purpose. An analysis of student responses is provided in light of four “ideal” perceptions which the librarians hold for all students.

Overall, student worker responses to the survey generally aligned with the ideal perceptions. However, misalignments suggest the need for training that focuses on the development of a broader understanding of the library’s role in the academic community.

The paper can help academic librarians gain insight on how student workers understand the role of the library within the larger academic community and how positive student worker perceptions can be leveraged for outreach purposes.

This paper examines an important aspect of student worker perception that has generally been overlooked in the literature.

The authors seek to demonstrate, from a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) perspective, the importance of utilizing High Impact Practices (HIPs) for not only more meaningful student employment initiatives, but to benefit the campus community and prepare Hispanic students for success post-graduation.

Evaluation of current practices in academic libraries aided the design of the new staffing model, location and name. A survey of research desk student assistants was designed and implemented approximately one academic year after changes were executed. Survey data combined with follow-up interviews summarized the qualitative-focused assessment of the research desk's evolution and verified the validity of maintaining HIPs in libraries for Hispanic student success.

The transition of the reference desk to a student-staffed research desk was successful in that librarians were able to dedicate more time to other endeavors, such as campus outreach and collection development. The High Impact Practice (HIP)-focused desk model, along with new, customized onboarding and training materials, fulfilled their goals of giving student assistants meaningful employment on campus while also bridging the gap between the library and the mostly Hispanic, first-generation student population. An assessment from the student assistants' point of view helped them further analyze the new research desk model. They found that student assistants noticed the ease with which their peers approached the desk and how their skills learned on the research desk transferred to their classes and future careers.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the restructuring of library personnel the authors were unable to implement library patron surveys to evaluate the new desk model.

Many academic libraries and partners have made the transition to student-staffed help desks or offer peer-to-peer tutoring or mentoring services. HIPs positively impact marginalized student populations scholastically, but no current studies discuss the effect on the Hispanic student population from an HSI perspective. This study illuminates the wholistic influence HIPs have on Hispanic student assistants, not only their work and peers, but the affect on their academic and personal lives.