Librarians Transitioning From Professional to Academic Roles: An Exploratory Case Study
Date
2018-10-17
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Abstract
The primary purpose of this research study was to explore the experiences and understandings of academic librarians who transitioned from professional to academic roles at a Canadian college that became a university. Secondary research questions explored factors that hindered or assisted the librarians’ transition processes and the implications of such a transition. The theoretical framework for this study was adult transition theory. The research design was grounded in a case study approach. Epistemologically, a social constructivist perspective was taken. Sources of data included participant interviews, informant interviews, internal library documents, institutional documents, and external documents. Four main themes emerged from this study: readiness for transition, identity formation, communities of practice, and role strain. Key findings from this study were: (a) the institutional codification of shared academic governance required a parallel shift towards a shared leadership model in the library; (b) the librarian participants struggled to resolve perceived tensions between their professional librarian identities and their emerging academic identities; and (c) through a shared narrative, the librarian participants experienced a group transition process. Recommendations for postsecondary administrators, library administrators, and academic librarians are presented to support the transition of librarians from professional roles to academic roles.
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Keywords
transition, academic librarians, roles
Citation
Wheeler, J. L. (2018). Librarians Transitioning From Professional to Academic Roles: An Exploratory Case Study (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/33235