CONCLUSIONS:•Non-traditionalrolesforhealthlibrariansofferflexibility and

independence.Balancingthatflexibilityisthedutytoadaptyourskillssotheyarerelevanttoyourorganization,andtofindwaystoremaincurrentandconnectedtothefieldofhealthlibrarianship.

•Personalintereststhatarenurturedoutsideofeducationandprofessionalrolescan have influence over future career development andjobdutiesinflexibleroles.LISprogramscandomoretomakestudentsawareofandconsidernon-traditionalrolesthroughcurricularinclusion,mentorshipopportunitiesandco-opwork.

•CTCcapturessome but not all of the factorsthatledeachrespondenttotheircurrentposition.ChaosTheoryelementssuchas“nonlinearity”and“emergence”werementionedoften;otherfactorslikeethicalmotivationsorphysicalworkenvironmentswerenotaccountedforexplicitlyinthetheoreticalframework.

Recurring Career Elements•Non-traditionalcareersprovideflexibility,independence•Coursework(eitherinhealthornot)buildstransferrableskillset•Personalinterestsholdinfluenceoverspecificareasofskilldevelopment

•Priorworkexperience(inandoutsideoflibraries)affectedfutureopportunities

THEME 3: CTC, though useful, did not account fully for career choices and factors

Thoughusingthetheoreticalframetofindparallelthemesandsometimessurprisingdifferencesinallthenon-traditionalpaths,ChaosTheoryofCareersdid not account completelyforallthedetailsinourresponses.

Forexample,Doug’s main goal upon beginning his ML/IS program was to work outside of a library setting.Thoughtheremayhavebeenelementsofemergenceinhisdecision-making,hisstorywasoneofself-recognition,goalsettingandcareerachievement.Thoughitmayremaindifficulttopredictwhatcomesnextinhiscareerpath,hisdevelopmentsofarhassomewhatdefiedthechaoticnatureoftheotherresponses.

THEME 2: MLIS programs required, but could do more.

Allparticipantsreportedtheimportanceoffoundational LIS skills.Althoughweworkoutsideoflibraries,allofususealibrarian’sskillsetheavilyintheworkplace.

Thatsaid,allrespondentsfeltthatML/IStraining could have done more to help build awarenessofalternativecareeroptions.Thoughitmaynotbepossibletoidentifywhichstudentswillendupinnon-traditionalhealthcareers,ML/ISprogramsmayprovidesupportforsuchcareersthrough:

•Non-traditionalorresearchrelatedco-op workopportunities

• Mentorshipfromhealthresearchersorotherinformationprofessionals

•Sophisticatedresearchtraining

• Broadeningbeyondthetraditionalpublic/academic/specialfoci

Commonly Reported Skills•Searching•Synthesis•Instruction•AppliedResearchactivities

•Writingandediting•InterdisciplinaryCollaboration

THEME 1: Complexity and unpredictability reign in career choices.

Allcareerdevelopmenttimelinesportrayeda complex blend of personal, professional and educational interests.Becausecareerdecision-makingissocomplex,itseemsnexttoimpossibletopredictwhoendsupinnon-traditionalpositions.MostoftheparticipantsreportedwantingtobeinatraditionalsettingatthestartoftheirML/ISprograms.Allnowreportsatisfactionwiththeirpositions.

Allparticipantsincludedatleastonecompletely unique element in their decision making.Mary-Dougnotedamongtheprosofherconsultancythephysicalworkenvironmentandtheabilitytotakehertwodogs,the“officeassistants,”outoncoffeebreaks.Devontooknocourseworkinhealthlibrarianship,andwastrainingtobecomeayouthserviceslibrarian.

Initial goals•Mary-Doug:Academiclibrarian(sciences)

•Doug:Non-traditionallibrarian

•Daniel:Digitalcollections•Devon:Teenlibrarian•Elisheba:Healthlibrarian;Internationaldevelopment

CHAOS THEORY OF CAREERS (CTC): Atraditionalapproachtocareerdevelopmenttypicallyfocusesondefining“keyattributes”ofthejobseekerandmatchingthosetocompatiblejobs.TheChaosTheoryofCareers(CTC)challengesthatparadigmbyassuming significant complexity and unpredictability,andtakesadynamicviewofindividuals.WithinCTC,theindividualrecognizesthatcareerdecisionmakingisaffectedbymanydifferentandever-changinginfluences,makinglong-termpredictionsimpossibletomake.

ChaosTheoryhassix distinct key elements:

1. Complexity.Arangeofinfluencesholdsswayoverourlives,andunderstandingthemmayhelptoexplainchoicesandchanges.2. Emergence.Emergencetracestheinfluenceofpasteventsontoourcurrentcareers.3. Nonlinearity.Nonlinearityspeakstotherealitythatoftenseeminglytrivialeventscanhavesignificantimpactsonone’scareerpath.4. Unpredictability.Relatedtononlinearity,unpredictabilitycanbethoughtofas“chanceevents.”5. Phase shifts.Phaseshiftsoccurwhentheentirecharacterofthesystemchangesdramatically.6. Attractors.Attractorsaretheconstraintsofthesystem,i.e.,ourvaluesandlimits.

BrightJ,PryorRGL.TheChaosTheoryofCareers:AUser’sGuide.CareerDevelopmentQuarterly.2005;53(4):291-305.

METHODS:

A purposive sample of five information professionalswithMaster’sleveltraininginLIS(ML/IS),workinginHSRinBritishColumbia,wereselectedtocollaborateonthisposter.ThreeofthefiveparticipantsworkattheUniversityofBritishColumbiainsomecapacity,butthedepartmentsandpositionsvarywidelyinresponsibilityandscope.OneparticipantworksfortheGovernmentofBritishColumbia,andthefinalparticipantownsaconsultancythatcompletesreviewsandenvironmentalscansforhealth-relatedacademicandgovernmentclients.

Toexploredifferencesincareerpaths, five questions grounded in Chaos Theory of Careers (CTC) were developed.Additionally,eachparticipantcreatedacareerdevelopmenttimelinethatincludedanyelementsoftheirlivesthattheyconsideredtohavehadanimpactontheircareer.

Weengagedingroupthematicanalysisanddiscussioninordertodiscoverthemeswithinourstoriesthatmightshedlightonhowlibrariansendupinnon-traditionalhealthresearchcareers.ByframingourstorieswithinCTC,thereportsexplore the applicability of ML/IS training for research positions,andshedlightoncareerdevelopmentinhealthservicesresearchafterML/ISprograms.

Sample Interview Questions•Describehowyoucametohaveyourcurrentposition:Howandwhydidyouobtainorcreatetheposition?How(ifatall)hasitevolvedoverthetime?

•HowdidyourMLISprogramprepareyouornotprepareyouforyourcurrentjob?

New Roles, Same Skills: Exploring Paths to Health Sciences Research Careers After Library School CHLA 2011

BACKGROUND: Ashealthsciencesresearch(HSR)activitiesexpandinCanada,sodocareeropportunitiesfor health librarians and information professionals. Given that library and informationstudies(LIS)curriculadonottypicallyaddressnon-traditionalcareerpathsin-depth,howdohealthlibrariansendupinnon-traditionalHSRjobs?Thisposterexploresacombinationof environmental factors, chanceevents, and individual interests thatdraw informationprofessionalsawayfromthetraditionallibrarysettingandintoHSR.

DANIEL HOOKERResearcher,eHealthStrategyOffice,FacultyofMedicine,UniversityofBritishColumbia.

ELISHEBA MUTURI ProgramAnalyst,MinistryofHealthServices,ProvinceofBritishColumbia.

DEVON GREYSONInformationSpecialist,CentreforHealthServices&PolicyResearch,UniversityofBritishColumbia.

DOUGLAS SALZWEDELTrialsSearchCoordinator,CochraneHypertensionGroup,UniversityofBritishColumbia.MARY-DOUG WRIGHT Principal,ApexInformation.

PosterbyNelson ShenGraphicsDesignerInspirationfrom2008NYCSubwayDiagrambyVignelli Associates

Canadian Health Libraries Association Conference, May 26-30, 2011Calgary,Alberta

C

C

S