WHY LET THEM GO - RETAINING EXPERIENCED LIBRARIANS BY CREATING CHALLENGING INTERNAL CAREER PATHS - INTRODUCING THE EXECUTIVE LIBRARIAN

In a traditional hierarchical library, librarians often must leave the institution to move up the career ladder. The library loses an experi enced librarian and must also invest a substantial amount of time and money to train a new employee. The author argues that libraries should attempt to retain experienced librarians by creating continuously cha llenging career paths with equivalent rewards. He proposes a new type of position-that of executive librarian-that would include increasingl y individualized job content a voice in institutional decision making, and optional administrative responsibilities.