Sprouting STEMs: Recruiting future science librarians through an undergraduate science information internship

Harrick, Matthew; Fullington, Lee Ann

doi:10.1080/10691316.2015.1118653

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Two levels of analysis are clear in the literature: the proportion of people with science backgrounds in LIS overall, and the proportion of people with science backgrounds in science librarianship specifically. In LIS generally, it is accepted that there are few people with science backgrounds (Harrick & Fullington, 2017;Lantzy & Matlin, 2021;Level & Blair, 2006). This conclusion is supported by Walker's (2011) analysis of 2653 MLIS students in the United States, in which only 133 were found to have a science background: i.e., 5-6% of all students.…”

Section: Stem Backgrounds In Mlis Programs and Lis Professionsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…However, this does not help get students into the MLIS program in the first place. Making LIS more visible to high school and undergraduate students of varying disciplines will make opportunities more apparent (Harrick & Fullington, 2017;Moniarou-Papaconstantinou et al, 2015;Pellack, 2006). One demonstrated method to increase both exposure and experience in LIS as well as subject-specific LIS positions is undergraduate and graduate internships in LIS settings (Fletcher, 2015;Ho et al, 2018;Level & Blair, 2006).…”

Section: Recruitment Of Stem Graduates To Mlis Programsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, MLIS student educational backgrounds are predominantly in English, history, and education studies prior to attending American Library Association (ALA)-accredited schools in North America (Beck & Callison, 2006;Clarke & Kim, 2018;Lo et al, 2015). Though these predominant educational backgrounds inevitably imply the underrepresentation of several other disciplines, such as fine arts and business, the representation of science backgrounds is considered especially low (Harrick & Fullington, 2017;Lantzy & Matlin, 2021;Walker, 2011) and is especially so for students with engineering backgrounds (Winston, 2000). Throughout the literature, "MLIS" is used to denote ALA-accredited Master's-level Library and Information programs and this review does the same.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Where Are the Scientists?

Woodford

2024

iJournal

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This critical literature review identifies the motivations of students entering the Library and Information Studies/Science (LIS) profession and associated Master’s (MLIS) programs, the current knowledge of students and librarians with science backgrounds in LIS fields, and the intersections of these two areas into recruitment research for LIS professionals with science backgrounds. A critical literature review was conducted, with clearly relevant literature included. In general, incoming MLIS students tend to be in the process of changing careers, and they are motivated to pursue LIS due to a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors related to their individual contexts. While educational diversity benefits the entire discipline and workforce, science librarianship specifically benefits from having MLIS graduates with science backgrounds. It is expected that the increased complexity and data services focus of science librarianship may also be well served by those with science backgrounds. Recruitment suggestions for increasing the representation of students with science backgrounds in MLIS programs tend to be mere concepts or substantial program investments, without many practical recommendations or real-life examples. Notably, there is a gap in investigations for the Canadian context, and so an exploratory investigation of the motivations and aspirations of students in Canadian MLIS programs, beyond the literature review presented here, should be conducted in the future with a specific focus on identifying and investigating the population of students coming into these programs with science education backgrounds.

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Section: Stem Backgrounds In Mlis Programs and Lis Professionsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Recruitment Of Stem Graduates To Mlis Programsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Where Are the Scientists?

Woodford

2024

iJournal

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“…In addition to this crucial work, we need to work on making our libraries welcoming and inclusive to our existing and prospective staff, including throughout the hiring process. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) librarianship has long lacked diversity (Bright et al 2006;Harrick and Fullington 2017). Considering the dearth of librarians with STEM backgrounds (Clarke and Kim 2018) and the general lack of DEIA in the academic hiring process (Sensoy and DiAngelo 2017), we, as STEM librarians, need to change our recruiting and hiring practices otherwise our profession will not diversify.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taking a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Lens to Engineering Librarian Job Postings: Recommendations from an Analysis of Postings from 2018 and 2019

Thielen

Marsolek

2022

JeSLIB

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Objective: While diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) principles and practices have been incorporated into much of academic librarianship, there has been less focus on the job postings. Methods: In order to quantify ways in which DEIA is being integrated into job postings, we analyzed 48 job positions for engineering librarians posted in 2018 and 2019 via deductive thematic analysis, looking for trends in salary and qualifications related to education and academic or professional experience. Results: Of postings that listed a quantitative salary value, salary ranged from $45,000 to $81,606; the median was $60,750. However, only 33% (n = 16) of positions listed a quantitative salary value. For educational qualifications, we found that 98% of job postings (n = 47) listed a Master’s in Library and Information Science (MLIS) as a required qualification; however, 34% of these postings (n = 16) would accept an equivalent degree in lieu of the MLIS. Additionally, 73% (n = 35) of positions sought candidates with an MLIS and another degree; 91% of these positions (n = 32) wanted the additional degree to be in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics discipline. For academic or professional experience, 56% of positions (n = 27) sought candidates with previous academic library experience. Conclusions: Using this data, we provide actionable recommendations on how to incorporate DEIA principles into any academic librarian job posting. Our study provides quantitative data and evidence-based recommendations that can be used to make DEIA an integral part of the job postings in academic librarianship.

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“…Our science information internship program pairs one intern with a supervising librarian who provides foundational knowledge about science librarianship through assigned readings and discussion (Harrick & Fullington 2017). The intern also visits all other service units (technical services, special collections, administration, and so forth) in the library to gain a sense of how an academic library functions, overall.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Promising Partnership

Fullington

Torres

2019

ISTL

Self Cite

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Though library science internships for undergraduates are not as well documented as those for MLIS students, internships for undergraduates can be impactful for both the intern and the library. Undergraduate students have firsthand, immersive experience with their major curriculum and this expertise can benefit science librarians making collection development decisions and creating content for research guides. This article discusses two such projects undertaken by an undergraduate mathematics major as part of a science librarianship internship.

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Sprouting STEMs: Recruiting future science librarians through an undergraduate science information internship

Cited by 5 publications

References 13 publications

Where Are the Scientists?

Where Are the Scientists?

Taking a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Lens to Engineering Librarian Job Postings: Recommendations from an Analysis of Postings from 2018 and 2019

A Promising Partnership

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