The study compares public library directors who began their careers as children's librarians with those who did not in order to determine if differences exist in their gender, areas of service or educational qualifications. The opinion literature cited suggests that children's librarians are limited in their access to directorships through a perception that they are less qualified by virtue of their gender, area of service and professional educational qualifications. 919 directors of public libraries serving populations of 50,000 and above were surveyed, with a response of 84%, 9.7% of whom started as children's librarians. / The most significant difference between the two categories was in gender. The findings indicate that although most librarians nationwide are female, only 56.2% of the directors surveyed were female. However, 91.8% of those who began as children's librarians were female, a closer reflection of the profession as a whole. / No important differences appeared between the two groups in the areas of professional service, personal characteristics or educational credentials. / The study's findings appear to challenge the opinion literature regarding the perceived disadvantages which children's librarians believe they are under in their desire to become public library directors. The results suggest that the determining factors for such appointments may be related more to motivation and other qualitative factors than area of service or professional educational qualifications in addition to the master's degree in library science. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-03, Section: A, page: 0745. / Major Professor: F. William Summers. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77365 |
| Contributors | Fordon, Elizabeth Mary., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 125 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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