Much Ado About Credentials: The Perceived Role of Academic Credentials in Law Librarian Status & Diversity

Over the last several years there has been an increase in the discourse concerning the importance of academic credentials for law librarians. This discussion has included thoughts on the idea of eliminating the J.D. as a required employment qualification from most, if not all, law librarian positions in favor of substituting some type of equivalent experience, and/or the acceptance of alternative degrees.Footnote1 In particular, this debate has raised many issues and opinions among academic law librarians regarding the role credentials, especially the Juris Doctor (J.D.), play in helping to determine our status within the law school.Footnote2 This issue of status, specifically the loss or lack of it, has long affected academic law librarians and in the opinion of many is not merely a worrying trend, but is an existential threat.This is not the first time our profession has debated questions of credentials or status, and this issue has never been simple or without controversy. A variety of noted colleagues and scholars have published articles on the topic as far back as the 1930s.Footnote3 However, although there has been much commentary and many articles written on the issue of law librarian credentials, it appears that no survey of the profession has yet been conducted to discover what the members of our profession actually think about these issues. I decided to take on this assignment and distributed an online survey in March 2023. My questions were designed to obtain the thoughts of law librarians concerning the academic credentials they possess, including the credentials that were required or preferred for their current positions. Additionally, this survey asked each respondent’s opinion on whether they perceive their academic credentials as necessary for their work, whether they deem specific academic credentials to have improved or hurt their professional status, and whether they believe requiring the J.D. degree assists or hinders the diversity of our profession. I also sought any additional comments respondents were willing to share on these issues. My survey was distributed on the Law Library Director Listserv and on AALL’s My Communities Open Forum from February to April 2023. I received 638 responses to my query, with the majority coming from academic law librarians.Footnote4 This paper places particular emphasis on the responses of these academic law librarians. Below I analyze the survey’s results, which provide a window into the perception of academic credentials amongst law librarians. I then discuss some of the implications for the profession, my own observations based on the existing literature, and recommendations for our future practice and success.