ABSTRACT
A growing number of institutions are offering courses and degrees via distance education; however, distance education librarian-ship is a relatively new and often less defined field of librarianship. This paper will present the results of a survey to discover career paths leading to distance education librarianship. Based on a survey of subscribers to the OFFCAMP listserv, it asked questions such as: Is there a “typical” career path? Does previous or continuing work in other library units benefit a distance education librarian? What are the most important qualifications for a distance education librarian? Profiles of the education and experience of distance education librarians were analyzed for commonalities. The study concluded that distance education librarians come to their positions from a variety of experience, not always in libraries, but predominantly from library public service departments. A typical career path for distance education librarians is not evident at this time. doi:10.1300/J111v45n03_11
