Results of a longitudinal study of employment outcomes for Australian ILS graduates

摘要

This paper reports on the results of a longitudinal study of employment outcomes for graduates from first qualifying courses in Information and Library Studies at Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia. Curtin University of Technology offers qualifying courses in librarianship and records management, and students can graduate with either a three year undergraduate qualification or a one year graduate qualification. Surveys of graduates have been conducted at five yearly intervals (1994, 1999 and 2004), and have collected data relating to the employment outcomes of graduates for all years between 1987 and 2002. The results of the three surveys now constitute a substantial longitudinal study of employment trends in the Australian library and information professions. The survey data includes reporting on the type of work achieved by graduates, their continuity of employment, their level of work in terms of 'professionalism', and their type of employment contract. A summary of the information gathered from the three surveys is provided, with an emphasis on mapping the changing employment landscape for library and information studies graduates in Australia.