Career Motivation, Job Satisfaction, and Emotional Fulfilment of Performance Librarians: An International Quantitative Study

Abstract

Limited empirical research exists on the career motivation and job satisfaction of performance librarians. This study provides an understanding of the emotional fulfilment of performance librarians, their self-selection into the profession, and the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that affect their career motivation and job satisfaction. The self-determination theory, descriptive statistics, and exploratory factor analysis guide the study, supplemented by an online, self-administered questionnaire distributed internationally. The findings of this study indicate that for performance librarians, intrinsic factors matter more than extrinsic factors. The intrinsic factors relate to working with music and musicians as well as the workplace environment. The extrinsic factors relate to satisfactory salary, job security, and benefits. Although the intrinsic factors appear to dominate the findings, this study concludes that the extrinsic factors are also pivotal in shaping their job satisfaction. This study provides insights relevant to approaches in education, mentoring and training, and the recruitment of performance librarians.