Parallax

From the article, "Consortial Preservation Management" by Brian Baird in the September 2002 College & Research Libraries News: "America's librarians are an aging population: 66% are over 45 years of age and only 22% are under 40 years. This means that future prospects do not look bright for filling specialized professional positions, such as [Preservation Administrators], because threre will be fewer candidates for the jobs posted."

If you ask me, I think that sounds like a pretty good thing. I'll admit that it isn't great for libraries, but for those of us graduating in just three weeks who are fervently (or apathetically, as the case may be) applying for any preservation job we find, this is good news. Having just come from the wonderful world of the humanities where there are more qualified candidates than there are open positions, I find this information especially reassuring.

I must wonder, though . . . if only 22% of librarians are under the age of 40, what percentage is, like me, under the age of 25? Also, I wonder what age they expect people to be entering the field. I've not conducted any formal surveys or anything, but I'd state with a fair amount of confidence that the average age of library school students is somewhere in the mid 30s at the very least. The fact that 66% are over the age of 45 may not seem so great for libraries, but, trust me, it is wonderful for the graduates!