The Five Year Itch
The Comments
Question
How did your experience in your
first job as a professional
librarian compare to what you
wanted and/or expected?
The Five Year Itch
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 rehire and re-train new professionals for a
“revolving door” position.
The Five Year Itch
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Question
How would you explain your
current motivation(s) as a
librarian compared to when you
first started your career?
The Five Year Itch
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
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
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
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
Question
What impact (or lack thereof)
has professional development/
continuing education had on your
development as a professional?
The Five Year Itch
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
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
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
Question
If you have considered or are
currently considering leaving
the profession, can you explain
why?
The Five Year Itch
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
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
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
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
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 deadend jobs, and it's hard to change that structure in
governmental and academic environments.
The Five Year Itch
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.
Question
Any additional comments as they
relate to changing jobs and
professional development and/or
continuing education?
The Five Year Itch
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 tenuretrack 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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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
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