25 Association of Research Libraries Research Library Issues 295 — 2018 Figure 8 The Special Case of Library Leadership It is striking that all but one of the job categories in Figure 6 are administrative or managerial. ARL libraries are almost certain to be in the midst of an unprecedented changing of the guard in leadership. Those who hold these positions currently face an urgent need to attend to succession planning, mentorship, and organizational design. For everyone who aspires to such positions, there will likely never be a better time to apply. As for the profession at large, the impact of the incoming generation of library leaders will be unusually strong and long lasting. New Hires and the MLS Degree Positions in the traditional job categories generally require a formal library education, and those hired for these positions are only slightly less likely than in years past to have no library degree. There are serious causes for concern for library education, however. The emergence of significant numbers of nontraditional professionals, 71% of whom have no library credential, has reduced the overall percentage of ARL professionals with a library degree from 92% in 1986 to 83% in 2015. The overall percentage of ARL professionals with a library degree is