If I wish to be a librarian...

So, I have a desire for being a Librarian. What sort of things will I be studying in College? How should I prepare? How long will it take to be educated/trained for it? What’s the salary range?

Lsura just graduated from Library School – if she doesn’t show up, you could email her.

Here’s the link to the master’s requirements for library science at University of Maryland, which is where I’m probably going to be going: http://www.clis.umd.edu/programs/masters_programs.html

Salaries really seem to vary depending on where you work–academic libraries, public or school libraries, government stuff, etc.

As twickster stated, I just finished library school - I graduated May 8, from a program in the U.S. Your location says Canada, so there may be some differences.

In the U.S., there aren’t a lot of undergraduate programs in library/information science - my degree is a Master’s, and for most professional level positions, you’ll need that master’s, even if you get an undergraduate degree in library science.

I took two years to complete the program, although some take longer, and I know one person who will finish in August after being in the program for one year. In the U.S., ALA accredited programs (directory includes programs in Canada) You might also want to check out the Canadian Library Association.

What will you study?

The school I attended has five core classes that everyone has to take, that cover:
The organization of information
Basic reference work
Theory of librarianship
Professional issues
Collection development

Beyond that, the classes you take depend on what you’re interested in. You might want to be a children’s librarian, so you’d take classes that focus on books and services for children. Maybe you like the tech services side, so you take classes that aim at that.

How do you prepare? Well, wanting to do it is important - and not because you think you’ll be able to hang out and read books all day (not that you think that, but I know one person who started this master’s program thinking that, and she dropped out of the program in the first semester). Take an undergrad program that interests you, if the school doesn’t offer an undergrad in LS - or even if it does.

What’s the salary range? Well…it varies. Your location makes a big difference in the salary ranges, as does the type of library you work in. Special libraries tend to pay higher than others - but not always. Then, in university libraries, the positions may be faculty level, which means publishing and working towards tenure. You won’t starve on a librarian’s salary - but you probably won’t get wealthy either.

There are other librarians on the boards as well - I’m sure they’ll chime in with their experiences!

On preview, I see Lsura gave a thorough answer, but here’s mine anyway.

It really depends on what type of librarian you want to be, if you want to be a science librarian (working with chemical companies and such), they usually require some science background before getting your library degree.

To be a public, non-subject specific academic, or non-subject specific corporate librarian all it usually takes is a general liberal arts background. Most of the librarians I know didn’t really get specialized until after grad school, unless they already had background in something.

I’m a “special” librarian working for a consulting company. I had a background in history before I got my MLIS, which is neither bad nor good. My experience doing research helps me do research now, but it was definitely not any sort of asset for getting accepted into a program.

I took a two year grad program (at the University of Texas), which is by no means required. It is possible to work your way up with just an undergrad degree, especially in public libraries. But getting there takes time without a degree, and you won’t be in the higher pay levels.

Salaries really depend on what type of librarian you are, what field you’re in, and your management level. Corporate librarians tend to make more than public or academic librarians, but again, it depends on your level.

Actually if memory serves there are no longer any undergraduate programs at all. though my school did offer an undergraduate course in research methodology. The basic degree for librarians is the master’s degree, and if you have a bachelor’s degree in library science you will not be able to gain admission to a graduate library program. Since the OP is in Canada and might conceivably want to attend a library school south of the border, s/he should be warned against choosing that as an undergraduate major.

The basic philosphy behind this is that a librarian should have some scholarly knowledge and ability apart from running the library. The best strategy for the OP, IMNSHO, is to attend the best university you can get into, and major in whatever you are interested in and can do well in. Then after graduation head to library school and get your master’s degree.

I too just got my masters in library science, and I just want to second everything everybody else said about getting a good well-rounded undergraduate education, with specialist studies if you want to be a specialist librarian.

In addition, I hate to say it, but don’t be surprised when library school is full of drooling morons. The funny thing is that most of the actual librarians I know are not drooling morons, but your fellow students absolutely will be. I was expecting them to be intelligent, interesting people like me, and like many of the librarians I knew out in the big wide world, and boy was I suprised. I honestly don’t know where they get these people, but I sure do hope I’ve seen the last of them!

The MLIS is a pretty versatile degree in that you can do a lot of different kinds of things with it - the only job I couldn’t theoretically get in librarianship is as a school media specialist, because you need crazy certification things to do that (and believe you me, I wouldn’t want to anyway). But you can do public or technical services, in an academic, corporate, public, or other library. You can use it to get into archives or conservation, also (I did an awesome internship in manuscript conservation). One of the jobs I applied for was a temporary one on board a ship for nine weeks as the librarian for the Summer Sea Term at SUNY Maritime. The job I’m doing now is part time at our local art museum at the library there, where people constantly say to me “We have a library?” It’s a really cool profession where you can do so many different things that a well rounded, motivated person will almost certainly find a job somewhere that they love, which is the best thing about it.

Your mileage can vary here, and it probably depends on how selective the school is. I can say with absolute accuracy that in both classes I saw at UCLA (it’s a 2 year program) virtually everyone was on the ball and most of them were interesting to talk to.

Yes, I should have qualified that by saying that I got my masters at the University of South Carolina. :wink: The College of Library and Information Science is said to be quite good, however, although it does rely a lot on distance education. It was a stark contrast from my undergrad, however, which if you wanted it to be was quite demanding and interesting. I’d honestly say that only three or four of my classes, plus my internship, were really of any value in library school. The core curriculum especially was a waste of any thinking person’s time, but you need the piece of paper to get the job and I do love the job.

I agree - and I think it also depends on who applies in a given year. I’m incredibly glad that I came in to the school I attended the year that I did. A great group of incredibly intelligent women and men, and willing to get involved in the organizations and activities. The group after us…well, they don’t seem as involved (not that I think they’re any less intelligent, just busier in other areas of their lives - it’s an older group than the one that came in with me).

Zsofia, I’ve been at Tennessee, another program with a significant DE component. I’m glad of that, since it gave me the opportunity to work with the DE program. Are you in Columbia? I noticed there were a couple of job openings there recently - yes, I applied for one, and we’ll see what happens with that.

Yeah, you and everybody else. (Well, me too.) Yes, I’m in Columbia, and the problem is that I want to stay here, close to my family, and that’s difficult with a library school in my backyard. :slight_smile:

The thing about DE is that it seems the people on campus get shafted by it. It’s surely nice to be able to get your degree from the middle of nowhere, but the people I know who moved here for the program were pretty dissatisfied by the way DE works out for on-campus students - it’s all drawback and little benefit to the ones in the studio. There’s some benefit in that it’s always useful to hear what’s going on in workplaces across four states, but honestly it seems like almost nobody calls in anyway. :frowning: I’m glad I’m out of it. (Well, theoretically - I’m taking a few more classes for a specialist certificate while I still don’t have a full time job, as there were a lot of classes I wanted to take that were never scheduled appropriately and my time was sucked up by useless core requirements.)

Alright, what is the job market actually like? I am thinking of getting my Master’s in Library Science, but I hardly expect to be snapped up for a job while my cap and gown are still warm.

Where does one look for jobs in the market–is there a “Librarian Picayune Weekly” where jobs are advertised?

My job search includes:

Chronicle of Higher Education
libjobs.com
lisjobs.com
higheredjobs.com
libraryjobpostings.org

and the job pages on the ALA web site. I’m making a point of sending out 5-6 per week. My hunt is slow though, because I’m looking primarily for academic library jobs, although I’ve applied for a couple of public positions.

Zsofia, I’m flexible - willing to relocate anywhere but Atlanta (I hated it there). As long as I’m reasonably close to some form of transportation that will let me get back in case of a family emergency, I’m ok.

Can you give more info about UCLA? I am very seriously considering picking up a MLS after I get my MA in English (or creative writing…), and since I live in the area, several people have suggested I apply to UCLA for both. What was your department like? How difficult is admissions? What sort of thing would help me get accepted? Do they offer financial aid?

Salary stuff? Meh. Depends on where you go/what you do.

I catalog atm, but folks out in Conneticut generally make twice what I do here in California for the same work. Public vs. private also makes a huge difference in salary.

To all you other librarian-Dopers out there, trivia fact of the day:
Cal State librarians are on average higher paid than UC librarians! :eek:

Thank you, dear, I will bookmark these. Now I just have to decide if I want to

a) Go to school part time (nights, weekends and online), so it will take five or six years to get the necessary 36 credits, by which time I will be dead anyway, or,

b) quit my job and get the degree in two or three years, but have no income, a student loan to pay off and only so much money to live off?

Neither option is much to write home about (unless you are writing home for money).

Just a note that the NYPL has Library trainee positions for those who are currently enrolled in a MLS program. I don’t know much about pay for those positions, but it might be worth looking into

I’ve talked to many, many people who have done coursework both at UCLA and the San Jose extension at CSU Fullerton. Bottom line: UCLA is expensive and more theory/bookwork intensive; Fullerton is cheaper, more hands-on, and better prepares you for the job market (better parking too :wink: ). Fullerton also has LOTS of web-based and weekend courses, so it’s slightly easier on us full-time working stiffs. I’ve heard UCLA has a better post-degree certification program, and they also offer a doctorate.

See, the thing about the non-existent undergrad for library school is - many people who want an MLIS have absolutely no library experience, and so when they get out in the job field it takes them a while to pin something down and advance. Fullerton exposes you to more of the current technology used in libraries today, so you have an edge over other inexperienced applicants.

Mind you, this is all just what I have been told. :smiley: If you want, e-mail me and I can connect you with people who have been through the programs themselves. They’d be glad to share their experiences with you.

You may not get snapped up in the first few weeks but you probably won’t have to look for long. Willingness to relocate is a huge bonus too. With so many MSLIS programs shut down, qualified librarians are in demand. Of course the ecomony is lousy but even so the retirees, etc. still outnumber new grads.
Finding actual job listings is ridiculously easy. Lsura’s suggestions are spot on. Any decent library program will undoubtedly carry the actual journals, and many are available on-line. IIRC there are some excellent state library job sites as well, if you’re interested in specific geographic locations.
The actual salaries and nature of work will depend on what specialization you choose, e.g. academic, corporate, public, governmental, museum, newpaper, etc. Your choices may be driven by your undergraduate degree, though not always. (I have an undergraduate degree and subject masters in Anthropology, for example, but chose public librarianship instead of academic. There’s wiggle room.)

Library grad programs can be misleading. I almost gave up in disbelief during my first semester, especially after sweating through a full thesis program in my other masters. (This is it?!) The core classes are pretty blah. Once those were out of the way, the program started taking shape and depth. I attended Kent State (Ohio native) and their program is heavily weighted with instruction from working librarians, e.g. newspaper librarian from The Plain Dealer, specialist from D.C. in service to the disabled, medical librarian from a hospital, archivist, etc. It gave the program an immediacy and breadth that is a bit unusual. Those folks don’t pull punches on exactly what you’ll face on the job.

As for the nerd factor…sigh. Yeah. It seems like this profession attracts the absolute funniest, brightest, most interesting people AND the weirdest dweebs. There’s very little middle ground. I have no idea where some of the more notable losers in school ended up, though I suspect they’re still reading comic books in their parents’ basements. On the up side, a lot of the pungent, gritty, hilarious folks are still in contact after all these years.

It’s a great profession. You won’t get rich, but it’s very stable and you can earn a quite solid living at it. It’s also very welcoming to midlife career-changers. A lot of librarians did something else previously. Promotions tend to come quickly if you’re even halfway motivated. My sharpest supervisor is now earing about $42K, five years out of library school. And you’re surrounded by all those books, and the people who read them!

It isn’t for everyone but it’s sure worth exploring if your interests tend that way.

Veb

OK, I have Decisions to be Made.

I’m making more money now than I ever will as a librarian, but I hate my job, and there is no future for me in magazine publishing (I made the stupid mistake of getting old).

Soooo . . . in order to take a chance of having an actual career I’d like and have some security in, I have to quit my job and jump right in and start getting a degree, maybe get a part-time job (and freelance writing) and take out The Dreaded Student Loan to support myself by the skin of my teeth till the Library Gods come through with a job.

Oh, I hate it when I have to decide things–why can’t things just always fall into my lap, like that cute disc jockey did that time at Limelight?