Our study is unique and long overdue, the investigation of the role and impact of the subject selector in academic libraries. We focused on the Pac-12 university libraries which can be considered to be a representative sample of nationwide academic libraries. The strength of our investigation is this small, focused sample size. A statistical analysis of subject specialists in academic libraries has not been recorded in the literature. Though there are 12 libraries in our study, there is a wide variety among these libraries with respect to the hiring requirements for MLIS, MLIS and an additional subject master’s degree, and those libraries who hire non-MLIS librarians, with all of these professionals functioning in different capacities. This investigation has the possibility of promoting greater awareness for the future role and continued impact of subject specialists in academic libraries.
