Challenges to the Professional Control of Knowledge Work in Academic Libraries: A Proposed Agenda for Organizational Research and Action

Abstract

This paper examines contemporary challenges to the professional claims of academic librarians, who historically have been granted authority to organize academic library work. Many arguments for reorganizing library work along less bureaucratic, more market-driven, and more highly technological lines do not adequately consider the effect such changes have on professional authority. To better understand these effects, a review was undertaken of social scientific research on information technology, organizations and professions as it pertains to academic librarianship. It is suggested that we can strengthen our professional authority, practice, and recruitment by expanding our disciplinary knowledge through collaborative research in social informatics.