Loyalty and scepticism among members of a professional union: the case of the Union of Librarians in Denmark

Presents some of the main results from a comprehensive survey among Danish librarians and their activities within, and attitudes towards, the Danish Union of Librarians. Analysis of librarians’ responses to the survey indicates that both occupational setting and age play a significant role in forming attitudes among members. The age structure appears to have the greatest significance. The employment of different statistical tools, like factor and cluster analysis, make it possible to classify librarians as either sceptical or loyal in relation to their union. The two groups differ with regard to activities, age, employment, and general professional orientation. The groups also differ in relation to how they perceive their union ought to prioritise its services. The future for all the Danish unions probably depends on how successful they are in creating loyalty and satisfaction among members. This task seems to be difficult because the members differ much in relation to an individualistic and a communalistic view of the profession in society.