Guide to Librarian Jobs and Education

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Guide to Librarian Jobs and Education

«‹›3 »

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

So you want to be a librarian? Then you're in the right place!

Welcome to the "Guide to Librarian Jobs and Education, summarized best as:

jdonz posted:

Are you fluent in both JavaScript and Klingon? If yes, you can be a librarian too!

Quick Answers to Questions People Always Ask

1. No, you don't need a library degree to work in library IT support. It helps if you know your client base though (as always).

2. Wanting to be a librarian because "you like to read" is a terrible reason to be a librarian. In a serious library job you probably end up reading LESS than you did before.

3. Yes it is a "three mint juleps a day MINIMUM" kind of job at times. People hate you for sucking up tax/tuition dollars and "peddling books." And the enemies of those people think that "everything is online" and that what you need is a hip Starbucks cafe and some Xbox Ones.

4. Yes there are jobs but it takes a lot of time, money, education, and commitment to break into the field. It's not nearly as bad as say... law.

5. No, it's not required you own a cat sweater.

Well, cut out that "I wanna be a librarian" and go get yourself into a career field where you'll be happier, wealthier, and far more content with your coworkers.

Just. Don't.

Let it be reiterated over and over that a lot of the jobs being filled now are by people who either have preexisting experience or have done their three to six years in entry level jobs already. If you have the passion to keep at it for that long and wait that long for a professional level job.... Well that's your choice.

The only exception to that rule is for someone who might have a truly unique skill set and would be considered an expert in their field INDEPENDENT of any library school education. Such as an experienced coder, multilingual archivist, etc etc. And if you're really one of those people then you can actually get in line and hopefully get a job!

Okay, you still want to be a librarian? Alright, well let's go down the checklist. Please note that while this is a US-centric guide a lot of the same advice applies to other countries as well.

1. Do you have a PhD or Master's degree?

If no, it's unlikely you'll find an academic librarian job. The job market is extremely limited and you'd be competing against people who have post-undergraduate research experience.

2. Are you currently working/volunteering/enslaved at a library and there's room for advancement?

If yes, then alright you have a good chance at moving up in the ranks since you have your foot in the door. This is especially true for public libraries (but is applicable to all library types) because people aren't retiring and if there's no job openings in your region then you're going to be going to library school for no reason..... and you can't even get a volunteer position.

3. Do you have a teaching degree or are otherwise a certified teacher?

If yes, congratulations, you have the qualifications to be a school librarian. Too bad that most of those jobs (and school libraries themselves) are being cut. But these jobs still exist so it's not IMPOSSIBLE to get hired as a school librarian.

4. Are you willing to go back to "graduate" school and get a Master's degree in Library Information "Science" and incur more debt?

This is important. The job market has a glut of candidates with LIS degrees from American Library Association accredited universities and without one of those fancy pants MLIS degrees, you're not going anywhere. Sure the degree itself is fluffy and rarely involves original research, but it's the "gatekeeper" to the profession.

5. Do you have a ton of technology proficiencies?

I can't emphasize how important this is because a lot of people think this means "Yeah I can handle Excel and MS Word" but this really means "Do you have at least an intermediate grasp of HTML, digital archiving, teaching digital literacy, etc. etc. etc." and the list goes on. If you're a halfway competent webmaster, coder, database admin, statistician, etc you will basically become a wolf among sheep in the library job market.

6. Or maybe a really good handle on foreign language skills?

The same goes for people who have high levels of proficiency in the "big" languages like Arabic, Russian, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and so on. It's literally the difference between "well, maybe we need someone to help check out books once a week" and "hey, you'd be a good candidate for assisting our local disadvantaged immigrant group" or "that's awesome, you can help manage our East Asian literature collection."

**********************************************

Well, if you've made it this far, then I guess you answered the questions above and you're still interested in the field. Alright, but it's harder to answer WHY you should be a librarian. It's nothing like the movies where you sit around and check out books and read a lot. So let us go over some of the basic librarian jobs.

REFERENCE LIBRARIAN

If you enjoy the idea of connecting people with information and find satisfaction in achieving that moment where someone goes "AHA!" and goes off to do great things with your help.... then hey maybe you'll fit in here as a reference librarian. This means that you need breadth of knowledge in the area you'll be working in and although you don't have to be an expert, you have to at least understand what's out there.

For example, if you're a public librarian you'll need to know your local history, what the schoolchildren are big on doing reports on, how to teach technology skills to people who have none, and even how to help people with their taxes and job applications!

In an academic library, this means it is required that you have a strong grasp of research skills in academia, the major publications of your subject field (whether math, science, psychology, history, etc), how to communicate on a scholarly level with professors, and maybe even publish in the field yourself! Not for the faint of heart.

However, please note that you can work at a customer hell desk without having to be a librarian and if you want to work in scholarly research you can just go to grad school for that field anyway!

I'll let VideoTapir's wise words speak for themselves on this career track:

VideoTapir posted:

Reference librarian is the ideal job for know-it-all types. There are niches for generalists and specialists (I've not met many who were in between). In public and school libraries you'll almost always feel like you're doing something important, as they're basically the emergency backup to our education systems.

They're also places where if you want it you can have a lot of contact with the public in a customer-service-type context except almost everyone you meet actually wants to be there.

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.

DIGITAL LIBRARIAN/ARCHIVIST and SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARIAN

A lot of what librarians do can also involve preserving our past and archiving what's being actively published/printed/created/etc. in the present. There's a lot of work to be done in archives, whether in physical media or digital format. You'll have to collect materials, preserve them, perhaps digitize them, catalog them, make sure they're discoverable by the people who need to see them, manage people who bring drinks into your archive, and deal with the knowledge that if you screw this up that important things may be forever lost.

However, please note that you can be an archivist or museum professional without having to be a librarian.

Giant Metal Robot speaks a little on this career track:

Giant Metal Robot posted:

Speaking as a digital preservation person, you should want to be a librarian if you're interested in helping people make amazing things, and then trying to make those amazing things resilient to changes in technology, economics, usability, etc.

This came to my inbox today. http://robustlinks.mementoweb.org/spec/ Think of how much stuff we link to with the assumption that it will stay in the same place, but it won't (i.e. waffleimages). More than 30% of URL's cited in legal opinions/rulings are dead already. Encouraging the use of tools like this in ETD deposits, student legal journals, and other places starts a culture where information isn't as fragile as it is today.

TECH SERVICES LIBRARIAN

These are the people who keep the servers running, the library website up to date, run the front end of the library catalog, deciding which darn books (and all the other media types) get into the library and how you get them, cataloging said items, and running the integrated library system (ILS) which all look like they were made in the 90s and are basically always breaking down or somehow lack critical functionality.

This particular branch of librarianship can include people who work on:

Collection Development/Selection: People who pick the books
Acquisitions: Ferengi who buy the books and track the expenses because KNOWLEDGE EQUALS PROFIT
Cataloging/Organization: Librarians that organize the things from Selection and Acquisitions so people can find them.
Preparation/Mending: The folks that prepare (add barcodes, etc) to the items organized by the Cataloging people and eventually end up repairing them too
Learning/Education Technology: You make sure that the scanners, VHS players, Dreamcasts, and Wiimotes are working in the library.

So if yelling about "the 035 MARC fields are all wrong in this record" or doing a ton of paperwork appeal to you, this is the job for you! You're the one who gets to make sure things work behind the scenes so the reference librarians can do their job! You're also the person who runs the front and back end of all the technology in the library.

However, please note that you can be an IT person without having to be a librarian.

**********************************************

GOING TO LIBRARY SCHOOL

If all of that still appeals to you then all I can say is "for the love of God, go to an ALA accredited institution." The biggest mistake people do is go get some library degree/certificate from some school nobody has heard of and the hiring committee will toss your resume into the trash because there's a hundred applicants who do have ALA accredited degrees.

Feel free to browse through the official American Library Association list of accredited institutions: http://www.ala.org/accreditedprograms/directory

(Yes they all really are that expensive)

Also, it has been the experience of many librariangoons that the MLIS actually is a degree that rarely prepares you adequately for the jobs out there. The degree focuses a lot on the theoretical (often useless) topics and infrequently on the actual day to day skills required on the job. So still want to be a librarian?

So if I haven’t convinced you yet to not go to library school, we should also have a frank discussion about job prospects. Most MLIS graduates don’t get a library job in their immediate geographic area and even if you are willing to relocate, there’s an absolute glut of recent graduates out on the job market. And a lot of the jobs out there ask for obscenely qualified candidates for middling or low pay because…. well, they can because if you don’t take the job someone else will.

Also, some regions have a particular like or dislike of even ALA accredited schools. Ask around before you apply. As in ask actual professional librarians. The professors might hold the title of librarian but might be far removed from day to day work.

That being said, some ALA accredited schools have entirely online programs for a MLIS degree (yes an entirely online program for a Master's degree, accredited by THE professional organization for the industry) that don't even require you to leave your mom's basement. And yes this is as good as an in person program, both in terms of resume and skills learned.

And get as much experience as you can when you're in school:

Chairman Pow! posted:

After having been on a ton of hiring committees for an academic library, make sure you do internships/practicums while in school. Those are great places to learn actual practical skills and make great connections. I see a ton of applicants with no actual experience, so they really can make a difference in getting your resume extra consideration.

*********************************************

FINDING A LIBRARY JOB

Your basic professional librarian job will ask for:

-A MLIS Master’s degree from an ALA accredited institution
-Three to five years of prior related job experience
-A mix of quantifiable data/technology/coding/metadata/etc. skills

And academic/special library positions will ask on top of that:

-Additional Master’s or PhD in a related field
-Quantifiable research experience/publications

We aren’t joking about those qualifications. Feel free to browse the list of open positions via the ALA JobList: http://joblist.ala.org/

So how do you fill the three to five years of experience? And there are no entry level jobs?

1. Do grunt work as a paraprofessional/volunteer for laughable/low/no pay
2. Give up

But as an addendum, check if your region has a local library association. The only way to get an "in" is to be involved and to meet people and to have the connections to hear about jobs before the applicant pool gets stupid huge. Volunteer as underappreciated association officer/whatever and put that on your resume! And meet people at the association events you work at! Librarians are very aware of people that put forth the effort. And we've all been there. So do the work and suffering and maybe you'll meet one of us or someone else who you can network with! Yes I know that helping to host a local librarian knit-n-greet can be weird but that's just how it is in our industry.

There are also plenty of jobs posted on sites such as:

Special Libraries Association: http://careercenter.sla.org/jobs
“I Need a Library Job”: http://inalj.com/

klockwerk also posted a nice little guide on jobs:

klockwerk posted:

Subscribe/check up on the following for job postings:

INALJ (I Need A Library Job) - Go here, bookmark whatever. Some provincial pages are run better than others (The persons behind Saskatchewan are right on top of things, not sure how they do it. Meanwhile other pages suffer a terrible lack of updates - either because no job postings or lazy editors).

The Partnership Job Board - You can set up email alerts by registering. Most (90%?) librarian job postings will end up on here.

The Canadian Library Association also has this handy list. You may also want to consider joining just as a way to keep tabs on the library/librarian community. Consider individual provincial and other associations as well, here's a list.

A little more information on what exactly you're looking for, where you're from, and what your qualifications are might be a little more helpful in regards to helping you out. I can't tell if you're asking for job posting info (above), experience to have, resume advise, interview advise, or whatever.

Generally, based on my friends' experience (mostly recent Western graduates), it's a lot of cover-letter writing and resume submitting. Some went for months submitting hundreds of applications and very infrequently getting responses. However, their hard work eventually pays off (most of my former colleagues are now employed) Experience definitely helps - if you're still in school, try your best to get a co-op/internship. If you live in Ontario and have no experience, don't expect to get a job there; the saturation of applicants and stubborn Western/UofT grads who refuse to move away from home is staggering.

It's never too late to consider branching out from libraries into other information-related fields. Your skills are transferable to a variety of organizations.

I also wrote a long post a while ago about people looking for library jobs and the terrible narcissistic culture surrounding a lot of the younger graduates who have zero idea what the heck they're doing. Essentially "how to get a library job DESPITE what all the other people looking for library jobs might be doing" which is actually kind of sad:

Insane Totoro posted:

One of the MOST DANGEROUS things that I think library science folks push is this drive to market yourself. This endless marketing of the self just makes you look like a narcissistic douchebag and employers aren't dumb. Librarians who have a ton of experience aren't going to be fooled by your self marketing. I struggle to think of a serious librarian who has hiring/firing chops in the "library blogosphere" who advocates such behavior. And I bet a ton of those people who yammer on about social media and being a special fairy dust librarian are library science faculty.

They want to know what your actual skills are relative to THEIR needs. "I did a ton of stuff that was interesting" just makes employers go "welp, so did everyone else, why do I care?" And new whiz bang technogeek stuff that has no lasting impact but is flashy and gets you points from library social circles do jack diddly squat.

What you DO want to develop are marketable skills and to show you have adaptability to new things. If you say "I am good at metadata" yeah I know words are cheap. Be able to discuss what you did, why you did things the way you did, be able to argue the finer points and nuances of the job and why you have the chops to get it done. "Show don't tell" doesn't mean "here is what I did, be wowed." It also means "oh I know exactly what kind of things you want done in this position and here's why I can do those things because I have this type of education and experience."

The entire "market what you've done" library circlejerk is a bandage put on the larger wound of most MLS graduates. That wound being that most of them have zero unique skills or marketability. It's a giant lie perpetuated by folks who think that we need to "reinvent libraries" to be special places with new missions. No you dolts the mission has already changed (and it's not social justice or feel good blog posts). We need new hires who can juggle being accountant/collection developer/programmer/archivist/PR person/legal advice liaison/etc. (pick three or so) all at the same time.

Not once. Not one bloody time was I asked to actually pull out things and show projects I had done in the past (though a lack of it is a problem). In my experience employers have always been interested in what skills you have, why you can adapt your current knowledge to their unique situation, what makes you a good communicator, and whether or not you have the VISION to make things happen. It's the future that worries libraries. You have to emphasize that you're not just here for a job, you're not just someone who completes projects. You have to be the guy that conceptualizes that future and the projects that people haven't thought of or didn't even know they needed.

Remember what I said about hipster librarians earlier with narcissism? In a nutshell I'm saying distance yourself from that culture. The game changers in the field aren't those people. Don't feel like you have to show off or find ways to express how special you are. Be that reliable, well educated, driven visionary that will make employers go "drat, this guy will work for us for decades and he will make our lives better for it because he can conceptualize the future of our organization."

Don't be that Tumblr obsessed librarian who wants to make waves by replacing bibliographies with hash tags or introducing an Xbox Cat Knitting Club just to be different and edgy. Even if people in LIS school encourage you (remember they're far removed from actual jobs there).

But not to be without optimism....

Insane Totoro posted:

There ARE jobs but you'd better be able to articulate your talents and to apply to jobs effectively.

1. Get your resume and cover letter in order. And update it regularly. Hire someone to rework it for you if you suck at this. It'll be the best $100 you spend.
2. Do whatever you have to do to be involved in librarianship, whether unpaid, volunteer, or underpaid. Heck you don't have to be EMPLOYED to go to conferences, seminars, etc.
3. Professional organizations are important. Especially local ones. Probably the best $50-ish annual fee you could pay for. Also, beyond networking, librarians particularly like to hire the devil they know versus the one they don't
4. Apply early and apply often. Scour the job boards every day. Make it your second job to apply. And put in applications for the jobs no matter where you might have to relocate.
5. Do SOMETHING to improve your skill set regularly. Take classes in coding. Learn how to use Quicken. Consider ALA webinars: http://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/upcoming/webinar

(yes I know some of the webinars are "eh" but there are some good ones and it's a good way to have a certificate in hand and a quantifiable "I learned to do this" after you're out of LIS school)

In conclusion: If you want to become a librarian because “you like to read” this is probably not the job for you. It’s a career track that involves additional school/debt, a glutted job market, often low pay, and you’re generally unappreciated by society.

A lot of prior discussion about the industry is in an older Ask/Tell thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3271251

To all the librarian goons out there, please feel free to suggest edits and improvements.

I finished writing that and I’m going to go open a bottle of port.

I also enjoy merlot and Madeira.

Did I also mention it can be a stressful job where few people appreciate it and even more people would rather blame you for things out of your control?

In any case, to paraphrase a line from working the library reference desk, there's no such thing as a dumb question so if you have a question about the library information science world, please ask away and I'm sure someone will be right with you.

*drinks from bottle of Old Crow from under the card catalog*

Insane Totoro fucked around with this message at 22:17 on Mar 5, 2015

# ¿ Feb 28, 2015 22:13

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 21:37

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Both points noted. And added to the OP

# ¿ Mar 2, 2015 16:20

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

I am not on the capital "T" technology side of library operations, but I don't think I've seen a job in either public or university library IT departments that require the MLS.

Basically, libraries need IT people who understand librarians. So if you have a decent grasp of the subject areas/missions that the library supports and "get" what librarians do, you'll be fine.

They don't necessarily need librarians who understand IT.

(Note: IT does not equal "Insane Totoro")

# ¿ Mar 2, 2015 18:52

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Chairman Pow! posted:

After having been on a ton of hiring committees for an academic library, make sure you do internships/practicums while in school. Those are great places to learn actual practical skills and make great connections. I see a ton of applicants with no actual experience, so they really can make a difference in getting your resume extra consideration.

Added this to the OP.

I also noted that just volunteering in the professional organizations can make a huge difference between having connections and having none at all.

# ¿ Mar 2, 2015 19:23

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

I was thinking about para jobs but I was having trouble coming up with something other than "volunteer and pray for a para job" or "intern and pray for a para job." And something besides "compete against cat ladies for para jobs."

# ¿ Mar 2, 2015 20:25

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

I tend to clash with public librarians.
I actually prefer people to books.
I love cats.
I wear sweater vests to work
I'm big on going outdoors
I'm ALLERGIC to cats
I wear fairly smart/trendy glasses from Asia

I'm a history major :ohdear:

# ¿ Mar 2, 2015 20:44

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

It was my impression that most non library (museum) archivist jobs pretty much required a specialized Master's or a PhD at this point. It's been a while since I've had a professional relationship with a museum though.

Basically what I was going for was "just get the PhD and forget the MLIS"

Is that unclear or subtly incorrect?

# ¿ Mar 2, 2015 22:20

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

nesbit37 posted:

That's just not correct. At least for archives. For museums (other than to work in a museum's archives) you need a museums studies degree.

To be an archivist, at a minimum you need an MLS and a demonstrated interest in history or archival science.
Having something like being a certified archivist (which is a separate certificate), concentration on archival studies (which I have) or a second masters in history (which I also have) helps a lot more.

I don't think i have ever seen someone apply for an archives position out here with a specific archival science masters degree though I know they exist. I have a seen a small number having passed the archives certification. I know a very tiny number of people with PhDs in archival science and they are all faculty in universities.

Since everyone else has put this down and it seems like a fun way to ID ourselves:

I am currently an academic librarian in digital humanities and a consultant for digital archives projects. I have been a department head for digital archives projects and archivist in the past.
I hate people, but love computers and books more
Home brewer and beekeeper
I love my dog and have a strong displeasure of cats.
business casual for me most of the time. What is a sweater?
glasses free
I majored in computer science and history for undergrad

I stand corrected. To be fair I can't think of an archivist or museum person I know with an MLS but they're also all pretty up there in age and in pretty specialized areas.

"You don't need an MLS to work in an archives or a museum. But if you want to be a "Capital A" Archivist then you do."

Sounds right to everyone?

# ¿ Mar 2, 2015 23:32

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

To anyone looking for a library job here's a good story.

One time at a conference I was approached by a panhandler.

His friend yelled at him "Don't bother those people are librarians and don't have any money!" or something along those lines.

Don't do the job for the money, kids.

# ¿ Mar 2, 2015 23:37

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

You know, I've been to a non denominational church a lot as a kid and I gotta say that's a whole new ball of wax from even a scrub tier public library

"Develop a children's collection in line with what is in the Pentateuch and add special spiritual metadata"

# ¿ Mar 3, 2015 01:55

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Completely off topic. Did anyone hear where or when next year's ER&L is going to be?

Actually did it just happen for this year?

# ¿ Mar 3, 2015 02:17

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Just to be clear, posting job search horror stories and "on the job tales of terror" are perfectly fine as long as they're representative of things that can and do happen in the industry!

On the other side of things, please also post GOOD stories about how things went WELL in your job.

Our industry is somewhere in between "Oh god no jobs, die alone with cats and tote bags" and "All these MLS grads are TOTALLY getting jobs."

# ¿ Mar 3, 2015 22:51

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

U-DO Burger posted:

I guess I shouldn't just post depressing stuff, so I'll be posting whenever we've got a job opening at my workplace. Two of our academic research librarians are going to be retiring this year, after having worked here for like 30+ years, and I imagine we'll be starting the search for their replacements within the next few months. So I'll be letting everyone know once the job openings are posted.

I should add that it's okay to be depressed if you're in LIS school right now and you're terrified about jobs. It's a hard tuition fee to swallow given what you get. And the false sense of optimism in the field is hard to reconcile.

But if you went through the OP and didn't think "Oh god this job field is something I have zero passion for and I'm not nearly competent in tech/language/customer service to do it!" then I wouldn't be TERRIFIED (but still depressed for the previously mentioned reason).

There ARE jobs but you'd better be able to articulate your talents and to apply to jobs effectively.

1. Get your resume and cover letter in order. And update it regularly. Hire someone to rework it for you if you suck at this. It'll be the best $100 you spend.
2. Do whatever you have to do to be involved in librarianship, whether unpaid, volunteer, or underpaid. Heck you don't have to be EMPLOYED to go to conferences, seminars, etc.
3. Professional organizations are important. Especially local ones. Probably the best $50-ish annual fee you could pay for. Also, beyond networking, librarians particularly like to hire the devil they know versus the one they don't
4. Apply early and apply often. Scour the job boards every day. Make it your second job to apply. And put in applications for the jobs no matter where you might have to relocate.
5. Do SOMETHING to improve your skill set regularly. Take classes in coding. Learn how to use Quicken. Consider ALA webinars: http://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/upcoming/webinar

(yes I know some of the webinars are "eh" but there are some good ones and it's a good way to have a certificate in hand and a quantifiable "I learned to do this" after you're out of LIS school)

# ¿ Mar 5, 2015 22:14

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

It actually never hurts to ask the conference committee if there are grants/scholarships/whatever available. At the very least you might get a very reduced price.

This is perhaps atypical but the regional conference I am on the committee for is actually offering to send three library school students free of charge.

# ¿ Mar 11, 2015 22:59

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Paging nesbit37

What country are you in, Cognac? US I am assuming?

# ¿ Mar 17, 2015 14:58

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Since you have a MA in History already, I say that you've passed that initial sniff test of "employable, yes/no" but it still comes down to whether or not you want to relocate potentially and if you have a foot in the door anywhere for jobs.

I'm sure someone else can answer the "what school and does it matter" question.

# ¿ Mar 17, 2015 15:08

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

A quick way to get some quantifiable certificates in some tech stuff that isn't outright coding is to do some ALCTS work online: http://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/upcoming/webcourse/fpres/ol_templ

Additionally, start considering getting your own domain ($10/year from that SA Mart deal) and make yourself a Drupal portfolio or something of that sort to demonstrate your ability to handle things that aren't just using Wordpress and MS Word.

Being able to say "Well, yes I can do web design and handle all that sort of geek stuff. Check out my online portfolio that I made myself" is a lot better than "Intermediate Microsoft Office Proficiency."

# ¿ Mar 17, 2015 16:01

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

I'm a librarian and I didn't have time to read all that (joking)

But really I haven't heard of anyone caring if a librarian has taught in the past. Well, unless they're a pedagogy subject specialist or specifically a course embedded librarian.

To me it seems the going assumption is that anyone who was a (real) grad student could teach a one or two credit course with one hand tied behind their back. So it's not something you have to prove you have the ability to do so.

I'd only do it if there was some immediate tangible benefit or if something specifically required experience in teaching.

# ¿ Mar 18, 2015 13:12

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

nesbit37 posted:

It should be this, but it kind of isn't. I was amazed at how many students in my MLIS program were terrified of public speaking. More of them were scared than wern't. One woman even fainted during the first presentation she gave and the professor had to call 911. It's kind of crazy.

Insane Totoro posted:

To me it seems the going assumption is that anyone who was a (real) grad student could teach a one or two credit course with one hand tied behind their back. So it's not something you have to prove you have the ability to do so.

# ¿ Mar 18, 2015 15:58

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Not trying to belittle the effort and work people put into an MLIS.

I'm just saying that it is very much so a "what you make of it" kind of program rather than a "publish/public speaking/research or DIE" kind of environment.

# ¿ Mar 18, 2015 16:43

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

*opens bottle of Jameson he keeps in an old card catalog drawer*

# ¿ Mar 18, 2015 16:43

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Well what's your exit strategy if it goes south?

# ¿ Mar 19, 2015 13:33

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Uhhhh

Generally the older staff are harder to reprimand.

Younger staff have a bullseye on their back.

# ¿ Mar 20, 2015 00:18

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Via the Annoyed Librarian: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/blogs/annoyedlibrarian/2015/02/16/advice-for-a-prospective-librarian/

"Advice for a Prospective Librarian"

Original Question:

quote:

Do you think, with my experience, that such an investment in a MLIS degree is worth it? I know only I can really answer this question, but since I�ve been in the field for years, I am wondering if I should just make it �official� and become an �actual librarian.�

Also, how important is it to have a concentration?

Thanks in advance for any reply.

Answer:

quote:

Has the situation gotten better? I�m not seeing as many complaints online about job searches taking years. From what little I know about library schools, they might not be quite so packed as they were a few years ago.

Having several years� experience is certainly a boon. Some of the people I�ve encountered who have had the hardest time finding jobs are young people fresh out of college who go straight to library school and then want to work in academic libraries. Fine if you�re a systems librarian, but for a lot of those jobs the competition has more experience and more degrees.

The other consideration I might make here is how much the degree would cost. If the person worked at a college or university that would help pay for some of the cost of the degree, that would make it more tempting.

Even if the job market were improving, and I�m not saying it is, but even if it were coming out of library school with $20-30,000 of student loan debt is a big mistake. The salaries of most library jobs don�t justify that kind of debt.

# ¿ Mar 20, 2015 14:39

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Good luck dude!

a friendly penguin posted:

Wow, that was pretty tame from the Annoyed Librarian.

Does anyone follow the blog on the regular? And what are everyone's thoughts on the opinions expressed therein?

I think it's good for devil's advocate conversation starters but I don't follow it regularly enough to know if it's still relevant.

I'm pretty sure she's just trolling half the time. But the fact that she's writing this even as a form of satire and she's pushing a lot of people's buttons?

Makes you think.

# ¿ Mar 26, 2015 13:34

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Depressed that it's Friday? Never fear, time for an Annoyed Librarian moment.

http://lj.libraryjournal.com/blogs/annoyedlibrarian/2015/02/02/the-new-trend-in-library-use/ (AKA "Camgirls, in MY LIBRARY??")

quote:

So would a lot of community members like to see young women baring their breasts? Absolutely.

And do young women want to bare their breasts to the camera for strangers to ogle? Apparently so, since there are websites devoted to that sort of thing. I guess as sex work goes, that�s safer than most.

A solution? Private recording studio booths in the library to go along with the private viewing booths I�ve suggested before. Or better yet, combine them! Libraries want to get entrepreneurs into the library doing work. Peep shows are small businesses that need places to operate.

With library looking things in the background, of course. That student didn�t have the computer lab in the background. Those were books.

I�m guessing reference books based on the big red set of books that looks like an encyclopedia, which would give libraries a place to store their outdated reference books and give them a new life as backdrops.

The library would be the perfect background for videos targeting the apparently large audience of people who think there�s a stereotype of a sexy librarian. �Look! I�m in a library! These are my breasts! I must be a sexy librarian!�

That promotes libraries, and promoting libraries and their use is what libraries are about.

This seems like a win-win scenario for everyone involved. And to think, once the trend gets big and news articles start including it along with 3D printers in libraries, everyone will be thanking one foolish student who was too exhibitionist for her good.

Didn't some librarian actually suggest that public libraries set up private Internet rooms in case adults had legitimate reasons to access information that wasn't appropriate for children?

Win win

# ¿ Mar 27, 2015 14:02

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Be honest.

Create a plan for how you plan to acquire all the skills you need.

Mention that you'd work with a supervisor and make that plan happen at a pace they'd be comfortable with. And mention you're dedicated to always having continuing education etc. Etc.

# ¿ May 7, 2015 00:58

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Woo!

# ¿ May 14, 2015 13:47

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

My advice to prospective librarians:

If you're not challenged, start looking for ways to get challenged.

Volunteer for or suggest projects of substance at your work.

Have you read any recent library publications? Sort through the chaff and be inspired. Apply the lessons to your library.

Analyze the processes at your library and find ways to improve it. There is often a very basic tech or work flow solution to implement.

Does your library have all of its processes and procedures documented? If not, hop to it and start writing.

Have your patrons expressed any sort of need? If they haven't, are there liaison committees that bridge that gap in communication? No? Start one. Any underrepresented groups in your community?

Put the professional development in high gear and get into committees or local associations. Attend continuing education sessions. Volunteer to develop a continuing education session.

If you have time to say you're not challenged, you have time to commit to volunteering or otherwise contributing time and resources to professional development. And if you talk it up right you can do it on work time!

Basically don't be complacent. Do something. Get back to basics. Everyone wants to be a special snowflake librarian because we're told we need to be. That's a lie perpetuated by the library hipster industrial complex.

Hone those traditional librarian skills and fill that practical librarian role.

Insane Totoro fucked around with this message at 20:38 on May 30, 2015

# ¿ May 30, 2015 20:32

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Well it actually is kind of an industry....

# ¿ Jun 3, 2015 13:13

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Syntax Erin posted:

I do a lot of stuff like that. I've worked with library associations, been to webinars and conferences, done some presentations of my own. I've been proud of that work, but my work within the actual library has become much less fulfilling over the years.

Oh Lord! If I tried to do that my supervisor would get her panties in a twist. Since I'm the person who edits our website, I've had conversations like this before about our policies. One of our bosses is currently working updating the polices, because our college keeps its official policies in a special part of the site which I cannot edit. I asked them, "Shouldn't we have our rules in plain sight on the website so that people might actually read and obey them?" But they said no. As far as I know, she hasn't updated them all yet because she has to consult with other depts. within the library.

Communication with faculty and staff are very poor at our library, but it feels so hopeless. And if I tried to make my own committee or survey to do that, my supervisor would get twisty panties again for sure. "This is something the whole dept should consult on, stop acting like you're the only person who can do this etc etc "

Does that clear up why I'm feeling so all the time and why I'm thinking of leaving?
What I don't understand is why I keep getting interviews and then not getting jobs. Maybe I'm terrible, I don't know.

A late response to this, but how do people external to your organization feel about your work? Have you ever presented at a conference and had positive or negative feedback?

Frankly it sounds more like your work environment is terrible and therefore you feel terrible about yourself.

That being said, libraries are often run by committee for very good reason (for every well intentioned smart person there are several well intentioned incompetent librarians). So your supervisor may not necessarily be putting you down but just playing a very long cautious game, herding cats and trying to get them to play nice.

Your supervisor may very well think that you're the cats' meow but isn't able to act upon your ideas and leverage your talents given the larger political situation.

# ¿ Jun 10, 2015 21:26

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Double post, but we have a job opportunity in SE Pennsylvania for anyone who might be interested.

Purely entry level. PM if interested

# ¿ Jun 10, 2015 21:37

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

1. The ALA accredited programs are what he wants: http://www.ala.org/accreditedprograms/home (yes Wayne State is one of them)

2. MLS programs are rarely "good" but have their uses

3. No jobs, die alone.

# ¿ Aug 2, 2015 03:42

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Reiterating the OP about librarianship.

Just. Don't.

# ¿ Aug 2, 2015 03:44

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Drink.

Real answer: what is the committee looking for?

# ¿ Aug 27, 2015 17:56

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Your portfolio should be targeted to what the committee wants to see. If you have some sort of project that applies to each competency, I'd try to figure out a way to make it so that you hit all those points with something. That's really it.

remigious posted:

Drinking will definitely be A Thing.
I have to prove that through my studies I have met 14 competencies and argue how those competencies will help me succeed in the field. I think the part I am most concerned about is the personal philosophy essay because it will mostly just be puff.
I feel like most of my library science education has been writing and researching about how libraries and librarians will continue to stay relevant in the future. I would have liked a more project-based education that wasn't so defensive about existing.

Uh, I have some unfortunate news for you about those last two sentences.

# ¿ Aug 27, 2015 18:24

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

I meant that LIS education will probably always be in a weird place and you get trained to do some entirely unrelated things to your actual career.

But yes, libraries will still be around, if only as the middleman for licenses and collective purchasing.

# ¿ Aug 27, 2015 18:32

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Too long, didn't read. But judging by the length I assume you had MLIS faculty who were near criminally negligent and you were taught things forty years out of date.

# ¿ Aug 28, 2015 00:05

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Holy poo poo I really didn't read and I hate it when I'm right. :psyduck:

# ¿ Aug 28, 2015 00:08

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 21:37

Insane Totoro: Dec 5, 2005; Take cover!!!
That Totoro has an AR-15!

Job opportunity available:

If you've got STEM subject knowledge and skills in ERM, PM me.

# ¿ Sep 15, 2015 16:56

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Guide to Librarian Jobs and Education

«‹›3 »