Background: LIS programs generally lack the time and resources needed to track their graduates. As a result, educators, employers and other stakeholders do not have the data required for effective workforce planning. LIS educators do not have consistent data on the extent to which their programs meet students’ expectations, prepare them for the workplace or meet continuing education needs. Employers do not have sufficient knowledge of factors affecting recruitment, job satisfaction and retention. The WILIS study is designed to provide data that will enable stakeholders to prepare and manage the LIS workforce more effectively in this time of demographic change. Participants: 8000 graduates ( ) of the following LIS programs in North Carolina: Appalachian State University, Library Science Program Central Carolina Community College, Library & Information Technology Program East Carolina University, Department of Library Science & Instructional Technology North Carolina Central University, School of Library & Information Sciences UNC Chapel Hill, School of Information & Library Science UNC Greensboro, Dept of Library & Information Studies Joanne Gard Marshall, Victor W. Marshall; Jennifer Craft Morgan; Deborah Barreau; Barbara B. Moran; Paul Solomon; Thomas R. Konrad; Heidi Madden; Cheryl A. Thompson; Susan Rathbun-Grubb School of Information and Library Science, UNC Chapel Hill & UNC Institute on Aging Multiple methods Review existing literature and secondary data sources Prepare historical profiles of LIS programs Gather, clean and test alumni sampling frames (n=8,000) Develop the web-based survey instrument Pilot the career tracking survey (n=750) Conduct a non-response study using pilot data Field the full career tracking survey (n=7,250) Field the national survey of deans and directors Conduct key informant interviews with stakeholders Triangulate the data Where are they now? A study of careers of library and information science graduates Number of Librarians Reaching Age 65 (2000 US Census Base) Lynch, Mary Jo, et al. (2002) Retirement and Recruitment: A Deeper Look.” Retrieved May, 18, reports/reports.htm. %< Total Graph and Tables based on Figure 8: Age of MLS Students, 1983 and 2001 in: Stanley Wilder (2003), Demographic Change in Academic Librarianship, 18. Age of MLS Students, 1983 and 2001 Librarians and the Aging Workforce… A Triple Whammy Baby boomer aging and retirement Proportion of late entrants to the profession Job opportunities for LIS graduates in diverse settings Funded by a grant from Our goal is to generate a transferable model for career tracking of LIS graduates that will incorporate: A theoretical approach to studying LIS workforce issues based on the life course perspective A methodology for conducting a career tracking study of graduates of LIS programs A career tracking survey instrument Recommendations on the feasibility of implementing a national career tracking system for LIS graduates