ABSTRACT
Some respondents chose to list each job title they held along with the number of years of employment, while other people were more general, simply indicating that they held several jobs in a particular field. Because respondents were allowed to list all of their prior careers, this question generated a rather long list of careers in diverse fields. The motivations for becoming a business librarian can be as varied as the librarians who accept these jobs. It is widely accepted that librarianship is a profession that attracts many second-career individuals. However, it does not appear that anyone has previously collected information about what percent of business librarians entered the profession after working in another career or careers. Among librarians responding to our survey, a majority entered the field of librarianship after having worked full-time in another career. The respondents who indicated they had previous careers were asked to list all of their full-time jobs prior to becoming a professional librarian.
