Survey of Undergraduates: Interest in Study & Careers in Library Special Collections & Image Management

Survey of Undergraduates: Interest in Study & Careers in Library Special Collections & Image Management

General Level of Student Interest in Library Science Courses

First, we asked about general interest in library science courses: how interested are you in taking courses in library science at the undergraduate level? The majority, 76.88%, were not interested at all while 8.81% were a little interested and 2.62% interested while 1.09% were very interested and for 0.19%, it was already their main area of concentration. We will call those who say that they are somewhat interested, interested, very interested or whom already have library science as a major or area of concentration – the interested parties – about 9% of the student body.

The 57-page study presents data from 1,566 undergraduates from 4-year colleges in the United States about their attitudes towards study and careers generally in library science and specifically in special collections and image management. Data is presented separately for library science, special collections and digital management – in the aggregate – and also broken out by 18 variables. Among these variables: income, race/ethnicity, college major, gender, regional origins, sexual orientation, college grades, SAT/ACT scores, personal level of religiosity, student debt load, year of class standing, public/private school status and other variables.