The Five Year Itch

1. The Five Year Itch The Comments

2. How did your experience in your first job as a professional librarian compare to what you wanted and/or expected? Question The Five Year Itch

3. The first job as a librarian • It was more monotonous and less intellectually interesting than I'd hoped. • The position I found was exactly what I expected - fast paced, exciting, ever-changing, and multidisciplinary. • Overall, I felt like I was playing “pretend” library, just like a little girl with a toy kitchen set would play cook. The Five Year Itch

4. The first job as a librarian • The workload was extensive and the fuzzy demands towards tenure. I was also highly disenchanted with the older generation who, apparently, received tenure just by virtue of staying in a place for a certain number of years. • It's perfect - I'm still at it. • I hated it. I was the youngest in the department by about thirty years, and everybody treated me like a kid. The Five Year Itch

5. The first job as a librarian • I finally feel as though I am valued, most of all, ironically, in an organization that does not have a library and for whom librarians are a minority. • It's been amazing. It's basically exactly what I wanted. • I was not supported in any innovative ideas I brought to the table. They asked me to sit at my desk and twiddle my thumbs, a situation many of my colleagues were comfortable with. I hightailed out of there after 2 years. The Five Year Itch

6. The first job as a librarian • I was spread very thin 50% ref work, 50% web work. It was hard to do both very well. • The job was okay. However, I was ill prepared to handle the Social Services aspects that came along with working in a urban area. • It was a good entry level job. I did reference, taught computer classes, did some collection development. It was a good start. The Five Year Itch

7. The first job as a librarian • The position I found was exactly what I expected - fast paced, exciting, ever-changing, and multidisciplinary. • I suppose if I were married to a sugar-momma, i.e., a doctor or a lawyer, then I would have stayed there forever, but since I was supporting myself, the salary just wasn't going to cut it. To live in NYC, even in the outer boroughs, is very difficult. The Five Year Itch

8. Question • Have you changed jobs within your first five years as a professional librarian? If yes, why? (If by your own choice, what made you want to change jobs?) If no, why not? The Five Year Itch

9. Changing Jobs • I look forward to going to work, while at my last position I hated getting out of bed in the morning and often didn't. • Yes, felt not enough room for further growth. • This job is very much what I was looking for when I first graduated from library school -- I just had to suffer for four years to get it! The Five Year Itch

10. Changing Jobs • I have not changed jobs yet, although I have been told (by others outside my library) that it is expected I would need to move on within 3-5 years if I wanted to be considered someone with ambition and initiative. • I think I made all of those changes both because I was restless and because I didn't want to commit myself to any path before I'd at least glimpsed several other paths. The Five Year Itch

11. Changing Jobs • I wanted to change jobs because I could see no career growth as a garden variety university reference librarian. Realistically, how many librarians get promoted to management at a given university? • Whooo baby, have I! I left my job because it became a numbing ordeal to spend my day rebooting computers, dealing with irate and insane patrons, policing the library, etc. The Five Year Itch

12. Question • What impact do you think the Five-Year Itch has had or could have on the future of libraries and librarianship? The Five Year Itch

13. Five-Year Itch • I think it makes veteran librarians, particularly those who have stuck with one or two institutions throughout their careers, see newer librarians as disloyal job-hoppers. • It's a burden on an institution to constantly re-hire and re-train new professionals for a “revolving door” position. The Five Year Itch

14. Five-Year Itch • Lots of mobility could cause libraries to have to compete for employees, with better pay and better work environments. • Personally, I do not think the itch is a bad thing. The field is so broad with many facets and positions to fit into. An unhappy librarian is a burnout and ineffective librarian. The Five Year Itch

15. Five-Year Itch • It will give librarians broader experience, greater perspective and more skills, which is positive for the profession. It will also mean libraries that are not prepared to support professional development or provide growth opportunities within the same organization will not retain staff. • I think it's healthy to take a position early and discover what you really want to be doing. The Five Year Itch

16. Five-Year Itch • I think this is fairly common behavior among new graduates regardless of their field. • More competition among libraries to keep energetic professionals. • Not much of an impact. I think it's healthy to shift around early on. It's not as respected if you do it later in your career. The Five Year Itch

17. Five-Year Itch • I think that this phenomenon is actually good for libraries, it brings in new ideas and new blood every couple of years. • I would think the impact could be the lack of ability to grow long-term leaders in the organization. • The old guard isn't letting go, but at some point they'll have to. And then who will be there to take up the reins? The Five Year Itch

18. Five-Year Itch • In my case, I think that moving jobs gave me a great breadth of knowledge and experience. I look at it as a kind of “bootcamp” experience. • Libraries could benefit from the change of personnel- new views, etc.- as long as there is not too much turnover. Patrons enjoy seeing the same library workers when they visit their neighborhood library. The Five Year Itch

19. Five-Year Itch • I think most libraries promote from within, and having most of your young professionals leave within the first 5 years really drains that promotion pool. • I think libraries are going to have to realize that not all employees are going to be lifers--there has to be the flexibility to have new staff come on board, and for vacancies to be covered. The Five Year Itch

20. Five-Year Itch • No one expects to keep a job for life anymore, do they? • Most people switch jobs frequently in this economy. Why should librarians be any different? • Just to give this phenomenon a name is something. I think it's good for library managers to see this as a natural process of new grads, and that it is something to be encouraged as a benefit to the profession as a whole. The Five Year Itch

21. How would you explain your current motivation(s) as a librarian compared to when you first started your career? Question The Five Year Itch

22. Motivation • I am one thousand times more motivated than I was at my first position because I enjoy this position that much more. I was very motivated when I began my last position as well, but the toxic environment quickly zapped all of my will to succeed in that position. • I must admit that some of my idealism has vanished. It feels more like a job than a calling now. I stay in because I am qualified for this line of work. The Five Year Itch

23. Motivation • I think I had a pie in the sky attitude when I first graduated, but budget problems, lack of supervisory support or overall disenchantment have made me much more of a cynic. • much less gung ho. my desire to “serve” remains, but my willingness to beat my head against the wall is lessened. The Five Year Itch

24. Motivation • When I first started I was just here to make money, help people etc. It is not that those are bad goals, but now I am interested in becoming a leader in the field, I want to work my way up the corporate ladder so to speak. • My motivation hasn't changed very much. I'm still eager to learn and do my best. The Five Year Itch

25. Motivation • I'm still very happy with my career choice. I can't imagine wanting to or doing anything else. • I mostly just want to have a job that doesn't suck now. Before, I wanted to help people and do good works; now I just want an administration I can hide from effectively and do good work on the sly. • They haven't changed much: provide high level of service to patrons while learning more myself. The Five Year Itch

26. Question What impact (or lack thereof) has professional development/ continuing education had on your development as a professional? The Five Year Itch

27. Professional development • My employer is not stingy about paying for conventions and conferences. These trips are always rejuvenating personally and professionally. • The support of the organization makes me feel like I have endless opportunities to expand and enrich my skills, making me a better librarian and returning that positive attitude and new skills to the library. The Five Year Itch

28. Professional development • Personally, I would never be able to accept a position in an organization that did not really support me in this way. It's so important to stay "in the know" not only for the benefit of your organization of course, but for your own benefit, to maximize your career potential. • Made me feel more trapped. Received training but not always able to use. The Five Year Itch

29. Professional development • All of my professional development has been self-directed. I would say its impact has been negative. By learning lots about different areas in librarianship I shot myself in the head. Employers want specialists, not generalists. • Professional development has kept me sane. Knowing that there's ways to learn more, to network, to get feedback, has helped me with planning programs, making decisions, and furthering myself. The Five Year Itch

30. Question If you have considered or are currently considering leaving the profession, can you explain why? The Five Year Itch

31. Leaving the Profession • I have considered leaving the profession only because of the low pay that we receive in exchange for the amount of education we have and the number of skills and abilities that we possess. • I’d leave the profession for $ and r-e-s-p-e-c-t. I rarely tell people I’m a librarian....I usually say I’m a teacher. The Five Year Itch

32. Leaving the Profession • I've considered leaving because my personal priorities have changed since entering librarianship. I am a mom now and academia is not kind to women who want to raise their children. • I feel…that older librarians are disdainful of younger librarians and at some point I have to choose if I want to keep putting up with that. I keep hoping some day they'll consider me “older.” The Five Year Itch

33. Leaving the Profession • I have not and will not consider leaving the profession. I love it and would do it for free and have done it for free... • No plans on leaving! Ever! You may have to bury me at my bookshelf because my backlog will not be done! • I may be forced out of the profession simply to make a living wage. The Five Year Itch

34. Leaving the Profession • Yes, because I don't think public libraries have much of a future. I worry about school libraries as well. People genuinely believe they can meet all their information needs unmediated on the Internet. • Librarianship just sits well with me - I believe in the importance of connecting people with the information they need. The Five Year Itch

35. Leaving the Profession • I'm a librarian. I've always been a librarian--ever since I cataloged my personal book and record collection when I was ten. I'll always be a librarian. • I could definitely see leaving the profession someday because many of the “professional” library jobs are structured so that they are dead-end jobs, and it's hard to change that structure in governmental and academic environments. The Five Year Itch

36. Leaving the Profession • This is a second career for me and I'm very happy in it. • From time to time I consider it because of the nights and weekends that are required and because of the attitude that many people have that the library is a place to dump their children.

37. Question • Any additional comments as they relate to changing jobs and professional development and/or continuing education? The Five Year Itch

38. Additional Comments • In my current job, I'm thinking about professional development far more than I ever did before. I think that this is expressly because it's a tenure-track job. Also, I'm really hoping that the “itchiness” will subside. Any more job changes before I'm 30 and my resume will cease to be attractive, I think. The Five Year Itch

39. Additional Comments • I think there is a generation of junior librarians who would really like to make an impact, but without more support from administrators and senior librarians, more will leave the profession totally.

40. Additional Comments • Maybe we should be more focused on customer needs and less on some rarefied ideal of “x number of publications and y number of committees on my C.V.,” whether or not we actually accomplished anything lasting for our patrons. The Five Year Itch

41. Additional Comments • I do think that salaries are a problem for newer librarians. Their increase has just not kept up with the cost of getting an MLS. I am struggling to pay my loans now, and if I were ever to leave this job it would most certainly be because of money.

42. Additional Comments • I know this is a generational thing, but I think there is no company loyalty these days. If libraries are concerned with retention, librarians need to be rewarded with adequate salaries and benefits…We should be provided more opportunities for continuing education, conference attendance, etc. The Five Year Itch

43. Additional Comments • If you're going to change jobs, make it a big change. That way you're sure to learn a lot. Me, I'm gunning for an academic gig this time through, and if that doesn't work out I'll lay irrigation pipe for a landscaping crew.

44. Additional Comments • People are willing to move about more frequently. May feel less tied to one particular career path. It’s hard to determine if this will stay true for the younger generations as they get older and develop other family responsibilities. Are they going to be able to uproot themselves as much? With people getting married later and having families later, it might be easier to experiment with different roles now. Later on, they may not have the luxury of being able to switch paths as frequently. The Five Year Itch

45. Additional Comments • Why aren't those librarians who've been in the profession for years observing and responding to the restlessness, frustration, and unhappiness of newer librarians? Why haven't librarianship's methods of professional development and continuing education changed in the last 40 years, to adapt to social and technological changes? I think that librarianship as a profession is in danger of losing many of the starry-eyed young librarians whose first forays into the profession have been such a disappointment. The Five Year Itch

46. The Five Year Itch • Thad Dickinson, Cornell University, ted26@cornell.edu • Anne Leonard, New York City College of Technology aleonard@citytech.cuny.edu • Susanne Markgren, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NYC susanne.markgren@mssm.edu • Kim Vassiliadis, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill kimv@email.unc.edu The Five Year Itch