Online library job advertisement in United Arab Emirates: a content analysis of online sources

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate and analyze library jobs advertised by higher education institutions, newspapers and job market sites in United Arab Emirates (UAE). Design/methodology/approach The paper uses summative content analysis approach for data collection, data analysis, evaluation and assessment. It reports about the accuracy of advertisements, job titles, job categories, locations and types of libraries. Findings Higher education institutions demonstrate the highest accuracy level in advertising library jobs. Librarian emerged to be the highest advertised title by the sources. e-library executive, principal-publications and library, and primary librarian found to be the new titles in the market. The paper also found inconsistencies and lack of uniformities among the sources in using job categories to advertise library jobs. In fact, none of them used the term “library” in any category. Academic libraries recorded the highest advertised jobs compared to other types of libraries. Research limitations/implications The paper is based on library jobs advertised on the websites. Websites are only one source of library job advertisement. Practical implications The paper provides important information for librarians looking for library jobs in the Middle East as well as for library managers and decision makers who wish to recruit library professionals. Originality/value The paper represents one of the few studies conducted on library job marketing in UAE. Findings of the study may contribute to the improvement of library job marketing not only in UAE but also in the other gulf countries.