A Scarce Resource? A Study of Academic Cataloger Recruitment 2000-2002

In an attempt to ascertain whether academic libraries were having difficulty in filling cataloging positions, a survey was designed and distributed to those libraries that advertised for full-time cataloging positions in College and Research Libraries News between July 2000 and June 2002. While a number of studies done in the last decade had examined the content of job advertisements, this study tried to determine the actual outcomes of individual library searches by contacting libraries that had advertised. Using a web-based questionnaire, the authors queried these institutions on their recruitment process and hiring success. The results of this survey provided confirmation of a continued, if not increasing, difficulty in recruiting catalogers for academic libraries. Some implications for a wider debate on library school training and the general direction of the profession are discussed. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: Website: © 2005 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]