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This article provides an overview of the findings of the Workforce Issues in Library and Information Science 2 (WILIS 2) study funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The study set out to develop a survey tool to gather information on both program evaluation and subsequent employment experiences and a model of delivery that could potentially be used by all library and information science (LIS) programs. The resulting model includes a shared survey, shared yet customizable methodology, a Web-based data collection tool, program-specific data products, and shared data products. The study team provided the thirty-nine participating LIS master's programs with both substantive data on their recent graduates and basic benchmarking capabilities. WILIS 2 used a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach that involved members of the LIS community in major aspects of project design and implementation. Data were gathered in three phases over a fourteen month period from May 2009 to June 2010. Phase 1 was a pilot study of graduates from eight programs. Phases 2 and 3 included an additional thirty-one programs. Programs were asked to select a random sample of 250 of their master's degree graduates from the previous five years; however, a few programs included some graduates from earlier years. The final data set includes graduates from 2000 to 2009. Fewer than 4 percent of these respondents graduated prior to 2003. The achieved response rate for all three phases of the survey was 40.5 percent. For purposes of this overview paper, we use the full data set of the thirty-nine LIS programs graduating between 2000 and 2009, or 3,507 cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article utilizes data collected through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)--supported Workforce Issues in Library and Information Science 1 (WILIS 1) survey of graduates (1964-2007) of the five library and information science master's programs in North Carolina to consider career patterns and what these career patterns tell us about recruitment, retention, and retirement of school library media specialists (SLMSs). A life course approach is used to interpret the survey data and to suggest areas needing attention in recruiting and retaining SLMSs and planning for their retirement. Perhaps the most noteworthy finding is that a major influence on turnover of SLMSs is the lack of opportunities for career growth and development. Suggestions are offered for enhancing career development opportunities for SLMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editors discuss an article that offers ideas on the life course perspective and the process of translating this into Library and Information Science design, the article "Where Are They Now?" that offers an overview of the Workforce Issues in Library and Information Science one study, and another article on the Canadian 8Rs study.

This article provides an overview of Workforce Issues in Library and Information Science 2 (WILlS 2), a study aimed at developing a career-tracking and program evaluation system that can potentially be used by all library and information science (LIS) programs. Such a system could enable stakeholders at all levels to collect data on an ongoing basis, informing their planning process and resulting in more effective ways to educate, manage, and retain the LIS work- force. WILIS 2 is informed by the experience of the research team in developing WILTS 1, an in-depth career retrospective study conducted between 2005 and 2009. WILIS 2 is using a community-based participatory research approach that involves members of the LIS community in the major aspects of project design and implementation. Three working groups on survey design, data reporting, and sustainability have been formed to increase the likelihood that the data collection system will meet the needs of a wide range of LIS programs. Members of the working groups are being drawn from the WILIS project advisory committee and representatives of the participating LIS programs as well as stakeholder groups such as the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE), the American Library Association (ALA), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Eight programs are participating in a pilot test of the survey, and an additional thirty-five programs will join in the full launch. Results from a WILIS survey of LIS program administrators regarding their existing alumni-tracking practices as well as key results from the recent graduates section of the WILlS 1 survey are included in this paper. The administrators' survey found a high level of interest in a shared approach to alumni tracking, and the results from the recent graduates section of WILIS 1 serve to illustrate the type of data that programs can gather through a recent graduates' survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of Workforce Issues in Library and Information Science 1 (WILIS 1), a large scale retrospective career study of graduates of all library and information science (LIS) programs in North Carolina from 1964-2007. The interdisciplinary research team used a multiple methods approach to data collection consisting of a survey of LIS graduates, a survey of administrators of LIS programs, and key informant interviews. This article presents an overview of the study design and methods followed by key results from the survey of graduates. The specific research goals of WILIS 1 were: (1) to gain a comprehensive understanding of the educational, workplace, career, and retention issues facing LIS graduates; (2) to investigate the way in which LIS programs track their graduates and use these data for educational and workforce planning; (3) to explore possibilities for a career tracking model that could be used by all LIS programs in the future; and (4) to disseminate the study results in a manner that would facilitate LIS workforce planning. WILIS 1 has now been joined by a second study known as WILIS 2, which is further developing the alumni tracking model that all LIS programs can potentially use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]