Why Librarianship? A Comparative Study Between University of Tsukuba, University of Hong Kong, University of British Columbia and Shanghai University

Abstract

Career decisions are motivated in part by our internal values, but also are influenced strongly by innumerable external forces perceived in the context of our lives. In the research reported here, we explore various social, cultural, economic, and educational factors, as well as personal and professional reasons that influence students in choosing library and information science professions as a career. Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) students from four universities located in four different regions were invited to take part in an online questionnaire survey. The universities were Shanghai University (SHU), the University of British Columbia (UBC), the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the University of Tsukuba (UT). 175 self-completed questionnaires were collected in total. Survey results indicated that students enrolled in MLIS programmes were predominately female. Differences and similarities were encountered for the different sites. For example HKU and UBC had the largest number of students with graduate-level qualifications prior to entering the MLIS programme and students at HKU and UBC tended to vary widely in terms of their educational and occupational backgrounds. For the majority of the HKU and UBC respondents, the decision to obtain a professional qualification in LIS was driven by the desire to maximize the benefits of a career change or for career advancement, while the majority of respondents at the UT and SHU did not already have a job or much working experience. While the total surveyed populations are small; the study will be of interest and value to LIS educators and administrators responsible for recruiting MLIS graduates and hiring LIS professions.