The Determinants of Job Satisfaction among Beginning Librarians

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify those factors which are most highly related to job satisfaction among librarians. Data were collected from a sample of 228 librarians as to their sex, the type of library in which they worked, their vocational needs (using the Minnesota Importance Questionnaire), the characteristics of their job environments (using the Minnesota Job Description Questionnaire), and their job satisfaction (using the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire). The data analyses indicated that job satisfaction among librarians is not related to their sex, the type of library in which they worked, or their vocational needs, but is related to the characteristics of their job environments. Of these, the supervisory climate and the intrinsic characteristics of the job itself are the two most important determinants of job satisfaction. One interpretation of the data suggests that a supervisory climate which permits a librarian to exercise initiative and professional judgment in the performance of the job is conducive to job satisfaction.