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Pompoon posted:I was a little wary of online programs, since I wasn't sure how valuable they were vs. actual classroom work. But that might make getting another degree simultaneously a lot more doable. Is your program online? I've taken both online and in-person classes through Wayne State, and the online classes have been fine. The instructors are often people who really do what they are teaching for a living, so their information is relevant. I'd actually recommend taking "core" classes online if possible... the intro, cataloging, and reference courses I took in person were at times painful, due to either bored/lazy instructors or annoying classmates (the home-schooled guy who regularly told us about his mom's favorite books, the guy who got SO MAD when a local library didn't have a cd THEY SAID THEY HAD.)
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Feb 27, 2010 22:35
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MadMonk posted:Just curious, am I right in my finding that there is not one single school in Canada that offers an online MLIS degree? If you're in Ontario, you get to pay in-state tuition at Wayne State. Actually, everyone in the online program pays in-state, so maybe other US schools with online programs do the same (if price was an issue for you). None of the Canadian schools I could think of off the top of my head offer fully online programs.
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Jul 13, 2010 05:25
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pizzapocketparty posted:
About halfway through my program I thought about the same thing - I started taking CS classes at Washtenaw Community College and almost made the switch, but instead I just switched from Archives to Information Management (I'm at Wayne State, went to Michigan for undergrad). Also - just a small warning because Michigan is awesome, but it seems like in the metro Detroit area many librarians see Michigan's program as producing "tech people" and Wayne's as producing "librarians." I've heard this a bunch of times, but I can't help but feel as though it's similar to how some people would compare EMU's Japanese program to U-M's- "Wayne produces actual librarians" sounds a lot like "oh, well we really focus on pronunciation, so we don't get as far in the textbooks."
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Oct 3, 2011 15:58
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I just got super lucky and was offered a job at the library I'm doing my practicum at. I'll be a paraprofessional until I get my degree. It's only 20 hours a week, but that's pretty common for entry-level jobs in my area. I don't really have any prior library experience, so I was really worried about finding a job nearby. Lampsacus - I know a decent amount of people who are still studying for their MLS's that have similar jobs. It's especially common for people who are going into an LIS program right out of undergrad.
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Feb 15, 2012 18:22
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klockwerk posted:Hopeless MLIS applicant here: In my experience, you really don't have to worry about your brain being up to the task, especially if you are already decent when it comes to computers. 2008 isn't even that long ago, there were people in my classes in their 50's, maybe even 60's, and I know one lady who was just about to retire from working in insurance. I considered UWO only briefly (I'm from eastern Michigan), but I've been to the campus a few times previously and found it pretty nice, although I don't think it is really in the city if you care about that sort of thing. I would definitely recommend getting a library job of some sort while you're in school. I don't know much about music librarianship, so I can't help you there! I know of some internship at the Interlochen Fine Arts camp in MI... maybe you could volunteer with the London orchestra?
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Mar 16, 2012 02:26
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nesbit37 posted:this one I have to disagree with. Bullet points are for the resume, not the cover letter, at least for this field. I want to see how you articulate yourself and how well you write and how much of that you can do well in roughly one page of space. This is where you can really highlight a few experiences from the resume in a few paragraphs and tell us why they make you great for the position. It is difficult to tie experience to the job description and institution you are applying to with bullet points. I just finished my hunt for a full-time job (ended up with exactly what I wanted, a reference librarian position in a public library). I found that my most successful cover letters (as in, led to an interview) were the ones where I outlined specific things I'd already done that fit in with the position I was applying for and what specific further aspirations I had were I to get the position. I actually feel like I've been ridiculously lucky. I had no library experience until a practicum the final semester of getting my MLIS. Their part-time librarian left, and I was offered her job. I worked that and my preexisting retail job for the next year or so, then started really looking for a full-time job this past May. It took a little longer than I was hoping, but nowhere near as long as a lot of people, and I was really picky about what jobs I applied to (less than 20 altogether). I did end up having to relocate, but I'm really happy with the area I ended up in.
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Nov 12, 2013 18:17
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I'm not familiar with any of those programs, except for having a vaguely positive impression of Syracuse. I think at this point most hiring managers are cool with online programs, and as far as I know nothing on the degree indicates which path you used to get the MLIS. I personally would lean online with a better school (definitely take tuition into account though) coupled with some real in-library work experience. Also, if you're going with an online program, some schools offer in-state tuition to all online students. I know Wayne State does (since that's where I went), but I'm not sure how it is across the board. Try asking this question on the ALA Think Tank Facebook group and I bet you'll get a ton of feedback. People ask similar questions there all the time.
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Feb 11, 2014 22:54
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apdear posted:Thanks for the feedback and suggestion! I'll try posting these questions on the ALA Think Tank Facebook group as you mentioned. Can you advise me on what courses you'd recommend I take. As I mentioned, I'm interested in law librarianship so if you have some insight as to which courses to take for that, i'd appreciate it. On the other hand, you could also just tell me what courses you'd recommend in general. I started out in the regular program and later switched to online-only. I was originally aiming to be an archivist, and those classes were in-person only. The only non-archives classes I took in person were some of the intro core courses, which I probably would have rather taken online. I switched focus to public libraries kinda late, so I ended up not getting a lot of choice since I had a bunch of required courses left. My favorite class was database design and structure, which I think really helped me pick up the Integrated Library Systems at the jobs I've had. Most of the younger people and those who are currently seeking an MLIS at my current job are doing an online program because it's 2+ hours to the closest library school. Most of my online classes were great. There was one where the professor moved partway through the semester and basically disappeared for a month, but all the rest were good to great. One course had groupwork, another had optional groupwork. That actually went fine, we'd meet on Skype every week and we had our own message board on Blackboard so our roles were pretty well defined. A lot of the classes had active message boards. Some teachers would require you to ask and answer questions for participation, but that was relatively rare. I liked that because it's there for everyone and I could ignore whatever didn't apply to me. If you're worried about connecting, many of the teachers still have online and in-person office hours, and you can join student organizations (or professional organizations at student rates). My program had meet-and-greets in different places in metro Detroit. I didn't do any of these things because I'm kind of antisocial, but the options were there. Also, get a job or volunteer at a library. I do think it helped me prepare for my job, but it's not like it was optional. Most (all?) librarian jobs require the MLIS. My last job replaced me with someone who was just getting started on her degree, and everyone there feels like she came in much less prepared than I did (I started during my last semester). I don't really know anything about law librarianship, so I can't help you there. If you call or stop by a law library near you, I bet you can find someone to talk to.
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Feb 12, 2014 04:26
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apdear posted:Thanks for your reply and your suggestions; it's very helpful. Were you a full time student while in school? If so, how many hours a week did you volunteer/work? Did you find your homework for each course to be very time intensive? I'm trying to get a sense of how much I'll be able to balance while in school. Whether or not I can volunteer or get an internship and have a part-time job (like 10 hours a week) and be a full-time student. How long did it take you to complete your program? Thank you so much! I wasn't a full-time student the whole time, I was probably full-time 2 semesters total and half-time the rest. I always took a class during the summer semester. I worked 30-40 hours a week. I took 3 years total, but I do know a woman who worked full time and did the whole thing in a year and a half. I didn't volunteer or get a library job early on and I feel ridiculously lucky that my practicum led to an actual job for that reason. Pretty much every other recent MLIS I know who has a full time librarian gig had a job at a library beforehand. You will probably be going to libraries for your coursework, so make sure to take advantage of those opportunities by networking. I don't think you really have to worry about finding internships if you are an online student. Your program will probably be sending out constant e-mail opportunities, and there is almost definitely someone whose job is finding practicums and internships for non-traditional students. Hell, the person who ran my practicum was in Germany and did a fine job getting out of state students something in their area. Also, lots of public libraries, at least, have positions designed especially for MLIS students. Most of the classes don't have a huge workload. The ones that did for me were the database structures class I already mentioned, a class on information policy, the introductory archives course, and maybe the introductory reference class, but that was mostly because the professor required print resource answers to everything.
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Feb 12, 2014 23:34
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apdear posted:did you work 30-40 hours a week even when you were a full-time student? congrats on getting that job! that is awesome! you might have mentioned this before, sorry if it is a repeat. but, what do you think helped you get that job. and now that you have it, are you enjoying it? Yeah, I worked the same amount the whole time, I was just more absent from friend-related activities the more classes I took. The job I have now isn't the one I got right out of library school. That one I got because the previous librarian left while I was doing my practicum there, and everyone liked me and felt I was a good fit culture-wise (lower-income area, previous librarian was a bit elitist). That job was only 20 hours a week, so I kept my old retail job with dialed down hours for a year and change before I got my current, full-time job. I really enjoy my job, going the public librarian route ended up being a really good fit for me. I liked my last job a lot, too, I only left because of limited hours, distance, and lack of benefits. I agree with others that "less hours over a longer period of time" is the way to go with an internship.
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Feb 16, 2014 04:52
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I don't think there were any books I used in multiple courses, I rented a few times and it worked out just fine. I can think of only one book I purchased and held onto - a book on database design. Have you considered trying interlibrary loan?
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Aug 20, 2014 21:25
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Insane Totoro posted:And the classic line of "Are there existing best practices in libraries for Thing X?" Meaning you are asking in a way that puts the onus on the person you're asking whether or not they know if there's documentation somewhere. Librarians love documentation. And they like people who ask for it! Also you avoid looking stupid. Seriously, I started my first job in a large public library system last year (previous job was at the smaller of two branches), and everyone loves to answer questions, show documentation, and find answers to your questions. They're librarians.
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Oct 11, 2014 18:04
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VideoTapir posted:Reference librarian (like at an actual, active reference desk, not my lovely job where they used that title as a rank) is pretty much the best job ever. Learn something new every day without even trying. I actually don't fit any of the bullet point criteria, but I got ridiculously lucky with a part-time job opening at the library I interned with, plus I went to a best-in-state school for undergrad which I think led to more interviews than I would have had otherwise when I made the leap to full time. I was also willing to (and did) move out of state.
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Feb 28, 2015 03:30
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