A Good Match: Library Career Opportunities for Graduates of Liberal Arts Colleges

Watson-Boone, Rebecca A. A Good Match: Library Career Opportunities for Graduates of Liberal Arts Colleges. Chicago: ALA, 2007. 020.2373 Watso ISBN:0-8389-0941-8

In this seminal reserach, Watson-Boone investigates the realtionship between a liberal arts education and a career in librarianship, drawing on her survey of 431 librarians who graduated from eight liberal arts colleges - Carleton, Denison, Earlham, Grinnell, Kalamazoo, Lawrence, Macalester, and Swarthmore - from 1962 - 2000. Following up related studies and connecting to broader library career issues, this study complements prior quantitative studies with a qualitative approach covering 39 years. Topics include how schools and families influence career choice, how librarians assess their careers, and how librarians' functions have changed over the past four decades.