The Future of Academic Librarianship in SUNY and Beyond: A Conversation

Abstract

According to data provided by the Association of College & Research Libraries, there was a 20% decline in total academic library staffing between 2012 and 2022. Were these loses evenly distributed across areas of responsibility and sectors of higher education institutions? Despite some contradictory evidence, data shows a decline in FTE librarian positions at every type of institution except research universities. Despite a 9.6% decrease in librarian titles, there are increasing numbers of non-librarian professionals employed in academic libraries. The trend is consistent within the SUNY system, although to a lesser extent, with 291 librarians represented by the United University Professions union in 2022, down from 317 in 2011. There is also a decline in the proportion of librarians at the higher ranks of associate and full librarian within SUNY, and a three-fold increase in the number of visiting (contingent) positions. And, the number of masters degrees in library science declined over a similar period. While it is clear that librarianship within higher education is in a period of contraction, further research is needed to clarify, explicate, and understand the trend. Librarians need to understand not only what is happening within the profession, but the changing higher education landscape more generally, in order to respond most effectively in their institutional context.