An assessment of the perception of licensed librarians about their academic preparation and satisfaction in their job as librarians

Abstract

The study was conducted to find out how librarians perceive their readiness for the workplace after graduation and successfully passing the licensure examination for librarians. The results indicate that there are schools that consistently produce graduates who pass the licensure examination. The successful examinees perceive that the curriculum adequately prepared them for the examination and the workplace. However, they also perceive a gap between theory and practice. To narrow this gap they rec-ommend that libraries must conduct an orientation program for newly hired librarians, provide for grants to enable librarians to attend seminars, workshops, and visit other libraries. They also recommend changes in the curriculum to enable students to acquire competence in using information and communi-cations technologies, dealing with people, marketing and promotion, and business skills. All of the re-spondents found librarianship satisfying. They do not see themselves as leaving the profession in the near future.