hrvatski

Career Motivations and Choices of LIS Students: Perceptions and Expectations

Introduction Career motivations and choices of library and information science (LIS)students become increasingly important as profession faces increasingly diverse set of challenges such as technological changes, development of new specialized subfields, opening of library jobs in nontraditional library settings, ageing of profession etc. Since library and information science (LIS) field needs to recruit diverse and multitalented students who will be able to face emerging challenges in the everchanging social, cultural and technological environement, better understanding of the students' motivations for choosing the field and their perceptions and expectations about the profession are required. Although a number of researchers focussed on different facets of this issue over the last couple of decades (Dewey 1985 ; Van House 1988 ; de la Penna McCook & Moean 1989 ; Mosely 1999 ; Ard et al 2006 ; Hines & Baker 2008 ; Issa & Nwalo 2008 ; Shannon 2008 ; Adanu & Amekuedee 2010 ; Taylor et al. 2010 ; Egunjobi, A. F., Salisu T. M. & Ogunkeye, O. I. 2013 ; Singh & Chandar 2013 ; Hicks 2014 ; Funmilayo 2015), fast technological and job market changes make a case for similar studies to be conducted regularly and in diverse settings. In order to contribute to the understanding of students' perceptions of the profession and motivations for choosing this field and attending LIS schools, a study is being conducted in Croatia where, to our knowledge, there have not been any such studies yet. Study The aim of the study is to address the phenomenon of the students' motivations for choosing the LIS field and their perceptions and expectations about the profession. The study will try to answer the following research questions: • How do students perceive LIS profession? • What are the students' career expectations and professional goals? • What factors motivate students to pursue LIS education? • How do students perceive technology- related aspects of LIS curriculum? • Are there any gender differences in the LIS students' perception of the profession, their educational motivations and career expectations? • How did students learn about LIS school/program? • How can LIS schools recruit diverse and quality student body more efficiently? Methodology Although it is planned to conduct both a quantitative (survey) and qualitative (focus groups) study, the poster will present only the preliminary results of the exploratory quantitative study.Study will be conducted among the undergraduate LIS students in Osijek, Croatia, with the help of print survey which will include multiple-choice questions, open questions and Lickert-type questions. Conclusion The exploratory study presented in the poster will serve as a testing phase for a future large- scale study. REFERENCES Theodosia S. A. Adanu and John-Oswald Amekuedee. 2010. " Factors influencing the choice of librarianship as a course of study at the diploma level in Ghana" Information Development 26, 4: 314-319. Ard, Allyson ; Clemmons, Susan ; Morgan, Nathan ; Sessions, Patrick ; Spencer, Brett ; Tidwell, Tracy and West, Patricia J. 2006. "Why library and information science: the result of career survey of MLIS students along with applications for reference librarians and recruitments". Reference & Users Services Quarterly 45, 3: 236- 248. de la Peña McCook, Kathleen and Moen, William E. 1989. Occupational entry: Library and information science students’ sttitudes, demographics and aspirations Survey. Chicago: ALA Office for Library Personnel Resources. 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LIS education, LIS profession, students, career choices, motivation, perception

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