Personality and demographic factors of qualified Tasmanian librarians

This study investigated the demographic factors and personality of a group of qualified Tasmanian librarians. Ninety five librarians employed at the academic, public, school and special institutions were tested during May to July, 1973. The tests administered were the 16 PF-Form A, the EPI-Form A , and an information sheet. The findings: (1) Half the female librarians are relatively young; the majority of librarians live in Hobart and the surrounding suburbs, especially the southern Hobart area; the majority are of Australian and British nationality; over half the librarians are married; the female librarians tend to receive lower salaries; most librarians possess B.A degrees; a third of librarians in all institutions have obtained their qualifications since 1970; and there has been a considerable growth of librarianship in Tasmania. (2) Generally, librarians are of above average intelligence, experimenting, critical, self-sufficient, resourceful, resolute persons. They tend to be neither unduly attentive to nor conventional in practical matters but to be a sensitive, effeminate, aesthetically inclined group. They tend to be aloof and reserved persons, who prefer working alone rather than dealing with people. As a group, librarians tend also to be casual and less dependable. (3) Although both reader services and technical services librarians exhibit the above average qualities, reader services librarians tend to be less attentive to or conventional in practical matters but possessing more self-confidence. (4) Technical services staff, especially older technical services librarians, female technical services librarians and female cataloguers, are more silent, serious and uncommunicative than reader services staff. (5) Results generally concur with previous studies of the librarian and at least dispel the image that reference librarians are extraverted and cataloguers are introverted.