News Release

Institute on Aging and School of Information and Library Science Partner in $800,000 Study of Library and Information Science Workforce Issues

July 15, 2005

CHAPEL HILL — Principal Investigators, Drs Joanne Gard Marshall of the School of Information and Library Science (SILS), and Victor Marshall, Professor of Sociology and Director, Institute on Aging (IOA), have been awarded a federal grant of $804,344 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for their study Workforce Issues in Library and Information Science (WILIS): Developing a Model for Career Tracking of LIS Graduates.

More than $21 Million was awarded by IMLS to 37 universities, libraries, and other organizations across the nation to conduct research to recruit new librarians and help offset a national shortage of school library media specialists, library school faculty, and librarians working in underserved communities, as well as a looming shortage of library directors and other senior librarians who are expected to retire in the next 20 years.

WILIS is a three-year joint project of SILS and the IOA that will study the career patterns of library and information and science graduates. The grant will allow researchers Deborah Barreau, Joanne Gard Marshall, Barbara Moran, and Paul Solomon from SILS, and Victor Marshall and Robert Konrad from the Institute on Aging to investigate the educational, career, workplace, and retention issues being faced by graduates. Dr. Jennifer Craft Morgan, a Research Scientist in the IOA, is the project coordinator.

“One of the goals of the WILIS project is to understand what has happened to LIS graduates over the past 40 years. This is important because LIS graduates now have many different career options in the knowledge-based economy. Librarians are also older on average than other professional groups so there is reason to be concerned about the shortage being created through retirements”, said Gard Marshall.

The initial stage of the research will be sited in North Carolina where a full range of LIS program types exists, including the only U.S. program in a historically Black university. This will include a focus on minority career and retention issues. The first phase of the research will contribute to statewide workforce planning for libraries and other information intensive organizations. The second phase of the research will use the methods developed in phase one to generate a transferable model for career tracking of LIS graduates nationally.

“These projects are important research efforts for SILS and to those like us who are recruiting and training new librarians and information specialists,” said José-Marie Griffiths, dean of SILS. “We are grateful to IMLS for these research awards and to its foresight in recognizing the significance of recruiting talented information specialists for the future.”

The project will be housed at the Institute on Aging. Director Victor Marshall said, "We welcome this partnership with the School of Information and Library Science. The Institute has a strong interest in issues of an aging workforce, older workers, and the changing retirement transition, and this project enables us to broaden our scope greatly, while directly serving the people of North Carolina."

About the IOA
The IOA is an inter-institutional program of the University of North Carolina with a mission to enhance the well-being of older people by fostering statewide collaboration in research, education and service. Its areas of research focus include the aging workforce and retirement, healthy aging, the long term care workforce, and diversity and aging issues. To learn more about the IOA, please visit: www.aging.unc.edu

About SILS
The UNC-Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science (SILS) is currently rated #1 in the country by US News & World Report. It prepares students for diverse forms of information work with libraries, archives and computer information systems and networks. The school offers master's of science degrees in information science and library science, a doctor of philosophy in information and library science, an undergraduate major in information science, an undergraduate minor in information systems and a certificate of advanced study. To learn more about SILS, please log on to: www.ils.unc.edu

About IMLS
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is an independent federal grant-making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of learners by helping libraries and museums serve their communities. The Institute fosters leadership, innovation, and a lifetime of learning by supporting the nation’s 15,000 museums and 122,000 libraries. The Institute also encourages partnerships to expand the educational benefit of libraries and museums. To learn more about the Institute, please visit: www.imls.gov

Institute on Aging contact: Jennifer Craft Morgan (919) 966-0225 or craft@email.unc.edu
School of Information and Library Science contact: Wanda Monroe, (919) 843-8337 or wmonroe@email.unc.edu