Jocelyn Swick-Jemison (she/her/hers), MLS is a tenure-track Data Services Librarian at the University of Buffalo (UB) in Buffalo, NY. Jocelyn has background in computer science and extensive experience as a data manager for large clinical trials at a non-profit research foundation before becoming a librarian. She provides data managementData management The ways a researcher collects, organizes, stores, and accesses data they collect for research. Creating a data management plan allows a researcher to know what data they will be collecting and how they will store and organize it during the research project. and sharing support for UB’s health sciences departments, as well as data literacy instruction. Her research interests include data literacy instruction, health mis/disinformation, and neurodivergence in librarianship.
Jessica R. Hollister (she/her/hers), MLIS is a tenure-track Dental Liaison Librarian at the University at Buffalo (UB) in Buffalo, NY. Jessica previously worked as a special collections librarian and archivist before moving into health sciences librarianship, where she focuses on research instruction and conducting evidence synthesis projects. Her research interests include academic librarians’ experiences with appointment, promotion, and tenure processes and evidence-based practice pedagogies.
Molly K. Maloney (she/her/hers), MLS is a tenure-track Pharmacy Liaison Librarian at the University at Buffalo (UB) in Buffalo, NY. Her career began in English language instruction with refugee resettlement and community education programs. These experiences were foundational for her practice in inclusive and accessible instruction librarianship. While her practice has evolved as a thoroughly mid-career librarian now surprisingly in the health sciences, the core principles remain the same. Her research has focused on user-centered instruction and services, but recent reflection and discussions with colleagues on their careers have inspired inquiry on training, recruitment, and retention in the field. Without prepared and supported librarians, how can there be user-centered instruction and services?
Nicole Thomas (she/her/hers), MLS is a tenure-track Undergraduate Nursing Liaison Librarian at the University at Buffalo (UB) in Buffalo, NY. In her role, she partners with students and faculty in the School of Nursing to deliver research instruction grounded in Evidence-Based Practice. Nicole has published and presented about principles and applications of Critical Information Literacy, critical pedagogyCritical pedagogy A theoretical framework that posits learners should examine and challenge power structures and patterns of inequity. By understanding an individual’s critical consciousness, they can begin to combat oppression. Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed is considered a foundational text in thinking about critical pedagogy. This book pushes back against the “banking” model of education and encourages a “problem-posing” educational model. and professional recruitment and retention in health sciences libraries. Nicole is an ARL LCDP Fellow and is committed to advancing strategies which promote equity and inclusion in academic and health sciences librarianship.
As most librarians are aware, MLS and MLIS programs are often lacking in course work or training related to conducting original research. We are a team of librarians who transitioned from non-tenure track library positions to tenure track positions. We all experienced the trepidation that comes with the research and publication requirements for achieving tenure. So much so, we decided to do a study on this subject to gauge the experiences of other librarians making this transition. Our paper on this topic, Transitioning to Tenure-Track Librarianship: Exploring the Challenges and Changes to Practice was presented at the 2025 Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Conference. Considering the lack of training in conducting original research, how did we get to the point of successfully conducting and publishing the resultsResults The section of a research article where researchers share the results from the research. This section takes the results and directly connects them to the research questions or hypotheses posed at the start of the article. Also can be called “Findings.” of a qualitative study? Of course, the answer to that is simple and goes back to the very qualities that led us to librarianship–curiosity and the drive to learn.
Navigating New Experiences
When embarking on this project, some of us had experience conducting one mixed methods study, and others had none. Even after delineating tasks according to our respective experiences, we still recognized the need to grow our research skills. So, we took a crash course at “YouTube University” and dove headfirst into the literature. (Victoria Clarke, 2018) Leaning on the acknowledged experts–Braun and Clarke–we taught ourselves how to do a thematic analysis, a method for analyzing and reporting themes in qualitative data. (Braun & Clarke, 2006) Our study proved to be an excellent training experience, as we ended up conducting 20 semi-structured interviews over Zoom, leaving us with a lot of content from which results could be gleaned. Without access to tools like NVivo, we cobbled together the tools we did have to extract data. We used Zoom to create MS Word transcripts of our interviews, which were then checked against interview audio, deidentified, and sent to participants for their final edits. Our team coded the first interview individually and then came together to “calibrate” by reviewing individual codes and compiling an initial code book. From there, each remaining transcript was assigned to a team member for coding. In Vivo and descriptive coding was completed using the Word comment function. Once the initial coding was complete, codes were extracted to an Excel file using a macro. Codes were refined within Excel and cleaned using OpenRefine. We ended up with 1180 lines of code, which were sorted into 180 distinct codes, 30 categories, and 4 broad themes. The four themes that emerged were: (1) motivations for transition; (2) structures and support systems; (3) tenure impact on practice; (4) actions and identities. These themes helped us to organize our study results into the discussionDiscussion The section of a research article where the researchers analyze and interpret the findings. This section provides the “so what” for the research conducted. and conclusions sections for our ACRL paper. Finally, we used PowerBI to analyze and create visualizations of our data for the conference presentation.
Lessons Learned and Takeaways
As this study progressed, we learned the theories behind conducting a qualitative study and were able to directly apply that knowledge in practice. As with any new skill learned, we approached each task (e.g., conducting interviews; transcribing and deidentifying; In Vivo and descriptive coding; refining and sorting codes into categories and themes; etc.), with careful consideration to ensure we were following best practices. As we became more comfortable, we developed the pace needed to complete the project. One of us even refined and sorted through hundreds of lines of code while on an international flight! Not only did we develop our inductive codinginductive coding A strategy of generating codes from the data as you analyze it instead of prior to data collection. skills according to a reflexive analysis approach, we also learned the logistics of conducting such a project—both of which will allow us to further refine our processes for future studies. This grew our confidence in our qualitative researchQualitative research Research that aims to understand the whys and hows of human behavior through the gathering of non-numerical data. skills, filled the gaps left by our MLS/MLIS programs, and left us better and more prepared librarians.
As tenure-track academic librarians, our role is often to facilitate research, and we are excited to share what we have learned with our colleagues and user populations. To complete this project, we were able to rely on tools available through our university (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft 365), and open-source tools (e.g., OpenRefine). For librarians embarking on their own qualitative projects, we recommend seeking out a research team with similar interests and surveying the tools you have access to. If you locate existing library and information scienceLibrary and Information Science An interdisciplinary field that examines how physical and digital information is organized, accessed, collected, managed, disseminated and used, particularly in library settings. studies with structures similar to your project, or have colleagues who have previously obtained IRBInstitutional Review Board A group that is charged with overseeing and approving research projects. The group ensures that research projects are ethical, meet regulations and standards, and protect any human subjects involved in the research. approval, use those studies and protocols as scaffolding in your research design.
Based on our study themes, we recommend that librarians transitioning to tenure-track ask questions–of anyone they can–at every stage of the job search, interview, and onboarding or training process. Asking questions is a form of self-advocacy librarians use to uncover crucial information about their working environment and job expectations. We also recommend that library administrators and leadership strive to improve their institutions’ structures and support systems. Consider, does your institution offer accessible, clear, and consistent communication and documentation on tenure-track expectations? Does your institution offer mentorship programs or foster cohort-style support amongst colleagues? Further, we recommend librarians consider the potential impact of additional research and scholarship responsibilities on their librarianship. Many participants perceived their practice as librarians to be impacted, both positively and negatively, by those academic expectations.
References
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Guest, G., Namey, E. E., & Mitchell, M. L. (2013). Collecting qualitative data : a field manual for applied research. SAGE Publications.
Victoria Clarke (Director). (2018, June 25). Thematic analysis—An introductionIntroduction The start of a research article providing background information and an overview of the research presented in the article. [Video recording]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zFcC10vOVY
Featured image by AbsolutVision via Unsplash.
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