Career patterns and mobility in the library/ information field

Why investigate mobility? Particularly, why investigate it now? Results from my study on mobility, career patterns, and factors affecting, suggest that what the profession seems to be suffering from at the moment is immobility. Graphic descriptions were given of closures, cut‐backs and frozen posts, and of an undesirably low level of staff movement to other services and organizations because of the current economic and employment situation. Over‐producdon of library/information graduates and diploma holders in terms of jobs available, and the frustrated immobility of those unable to find any work in their chosen profession, were also mentioned by our respondents.