Profiling librarians with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: studies in self selection and type stability

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the most used psychometirc instrument in the study of librarians. Recent MBTI studies suggest a librarian profile different from that of previous studies. This variation may be attributed to two causes: either the profession attracted recruits with profiles different from those of librarians of previous times, or the personality of practicing librarians evolved over time. This study was designed to test these hypotheses. Data supported the first, but only partially supported the second hypothesis. The personality oflibrarians has been a subject of interest to researchers since the turn of this century. The early studies used a wide range of psychometric instruments to assess a broad spectrum of traits generally assembled to build a complex personality profile. In general, their results were consistent with a normal personality profile and congruent with the stereotypical image of librarians (1). The most popular instrument in the study oflibrarians to date is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Based on its perceived usefulness, this instrument has been commended to libraries as a management tool to facilitate communication, team building and interpersonal understanding (2-5). The earliest classification oflibrarians using the MBTI was based on data collected by the Center for the Application of Psychological Type (CAPT) from 1971 and 1984 (6). In 1992, Mary Jane Scherdin administered the MBTI to librarians as part of a nation wide study commissioned by the Association of College and Research Libraries. She concluded that a majority of librarians have psychological types different from those surveyed for the CAPT database. This finding she asserted, "shattered" the old librarian stereotype which was based on "erroneous behavioral characteristics mined from previously conducted studies" (7). The present study assumed that purported changes in the librarian group profile could be attributed to two sources. Either the profession attracted recruits with profiles different from those of librarians in previous times, or the personality of