WILL UNWOUND #297: “Any Advice for an Aspiring Librarian?”
December 8, 2010Note from Will: This e-mail came in Monday. Ordinarily I would hold it for “Dear Abbey Mondays” but given the relevance of it to yesterday’s post, I thought I would post it now …that and the fact that I have been answering so many comments that I didn’t have time to prepare my own post!
Dear Will and the Unwinders,
I am probably one of the most unusual lurkers on this blog in that I am not a librarian, I am not a library school student, and I do not and have never worked in a library before.
I am in my senior year at a prestigious private liberal arts college in New England (no it is not Harvard and it is not one of the Ivies; it is a cozy but chilly little college in Maine starting with the letter “B”). My major is in English and American literature. I love books and literature. How did I find this site? I was riding a rogue wave on the internet while doing research on the impact of Poe on the classical British mystery writers when I found your Mystery Project. I was intrigued by the number of blog participants with a passion for the mystery genre. Then I browsed through your blog and found an on-line community that spoke to me in a surprisingly warm and connected way.
I had absolutely no idea that librarians were such interesting, articulate, passionate, and very funny people. I feel like I know some of you – Will, Mick, Jessa, Joe, Ellen, Wynette, Leslie, Linda, , R.A., M.E.T., Vicki, Doug, the Bills, the Sues and Susans, Wayne, etc. – without even knowing you. Anyway, you all convinced me that I was called to be a librarian.
“How could you get to the middle of your senior year in college and have no idea what you want to do with your life?” That’s what my parents keep asking.
Well, now, thanks to all of you, I know. Since glomming on to this blog I have scanned other librarian blogs and the librarian I am most impressed with by far is Nancy Pearl. Her celebration of books is awesome. She is definitely your Oprah.
Anyway, I know what I want to be when I grow up now – the second coming of Nancy Pearl. She is definitely my role model. I want to bring what I have learned in all my literature courses to the public library and set up all kinds of crazy and creative book clubs. It is so cool when after almost 16 years of school, you finally discover why you were put on the planet. I want to turn the everyday common person on to books and literature.
But…the more I read about libraries, the more negativity I encounter. Books are becoming obsolete, there are no jobs, everything is online, yada, yada, yada.
This has given me some hesitation about taking out yet another 5 figure student loan to go to an LIS program (even an on-line one) without having even made a dent in my existing student debt. My hope is that Obama will bail us starving students out like he did the banks.
I am terribly torn and thought you “unwinders” might help me. Like I said, I feel like I know you. What should I do? I really feel librarianship is my destiny but I’m not sure how much more debt I should take on. I have talked to the librarians at my college’s library but they seem kind of burned out and pessimistic. In way their negativity just reinforced my strong intuition that I have much to offer as a library service provider in terms of enthusiasm and creativity.
I guess I would like to phrase my question this way – if I were your daughter what would you recommend?
In advance, thank you for your time and your honest answers.
Sincerely,
Book Lover
Dear Book Lover, this is a head vs. heart battle for me. My heart says: Go for it! My head says: Not so fast my friend. I love so many things about your message: 1) You are a young person who loves books and sees them as a valuable resource for everyone, 2) I like it that unlike me at your age you are not a snob about your reading tastes. It’s cool that you are making a linkage between the classics and genre fiction. 3) It’s even cooler that you have discovered what a national resource Nancy Pearl is (as I write this I am smiling at her action figure). 4) I love that you see librarianship as a special kind of vocation. Book lover, all of these things give me hope for the future of libraries. If young people like you are interested in becoming librarians, that bodes well for our future. Now for the hard part, or the “head” part: the vibes of negativity and pessimism that you have picked up on the internet and from your college librarians is real. These are dark days for librarians from a funding perspective. Thousands of librarians have been laid off, many branches have been closed, and most libraries have suffered significant funding cuts. I don’t want to mislead you…job openings for newbies are few and far between. The retirement boom that was projected has become the retirement bust, and the newbies (newly minted MLS holders) are brewing coffee or waiting on tables. If I were your parents, I would be split. One parent would say FOLLOW YOUR DREAM! The other parent would say BE PRACTICAL. In essence, you are discovering some of life’s many confounding dilemmas. As Woody Allen has said, “reality sucks but it’s the only place I know of where you can get a steak.” Good luck, Book Lover, and may the force be with you.
In lots of ways I think new MLS holders have as good or better chance of getting a job than newly graduated students with other degrees.
Will, you hit the nail on the head. I was thinking, as a parent I would say,”NO WAY”. However, her love of books shines through and she should follow her heart. I think to be on the safe side I would say for her to get a job in a library or volunteer in a library and see if she still loves it in a year. Then, if she does, she may as well get the degree. Our profession needs more like her.
Reference questions are declining. Libraries are discovering they don’t need Master Librarians to staff service desks. Library experience will count more than a master’s degree. I say forget the expense and work of more school and get a job in a library — any job. If you are a dedicated customer service person you will get promoted and find your perfect library job without the piece of paper.
I, too, majored in literature and didn’t know what to do with it. 20 years ago I made the right choice to go to library school, but I don’t see the need for the degree today. Save your time and your money.
I do have to jump in and note that although I agree that library experience can get you into a full time position at a library — I will also say that I’ve personally found that you hit a glass ceiling after a certain point and can’t get promoted any further without an MLS or an MLIS — which is why I’m working on my MLIS now with 20 year and counting experience in the field.
I have an MLS and loads of reference experience. I’m also out of work and can’t even get an interview for a parapro reference job (which I would LOVE at this point) because I have an MLS and loads of reference experience.
Go for it! If your goal is to be the next Nancy Pearl, may I suggest you also consider being the next Cynthia Dobrez (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/1206/Super-librarian-figures-out-secret-to-getting-kids-to-read) – despite the increasing digital nature of information, we will always need people to recommend good books, connect reluctant readers to their first OMG That Was Incredible book experience, and to help people (old and young) navigate the finding process.
Yes, things are tough all over. Yes, libraries are closing or cutting hours or attriting staff. But you can take your library training to other profession (and if you’re at “a chilly little college in Maine starting with the letter ‘B’” [is that a five-letter or a eight-letter word, I wonder?] you may even find the perfect chilly little library in which to work!).
Gotta be Bates or Bowdoin. Both fine schools, from what I’ve heard.
Book Lover, I hope you saw my comment to Will’s post yesterday. The numbers are just so, so against you right now. Even for the few jobs that might spring up, you’ll be competing with hundreds of laid-off librarians who will have had experience.
You’re also idealizing the public library. The library of your dreams most likely no longer exists. Libraries are abandoning reference, shifting to emphasis on popular reading and movies, and deprofessionalizing their workforces since they’ve discovered they don’t need master’s degree holders to do most of the work on their new model public desks. Circulation bots and ebook-delivery bots are replacing human beings, because bots cost a lot less than a human does. It is true there will be a small pool of opportunity for a few managers to run the new library model, but from what I read in your letter that work would not be compelling to a book lover like you.
Twenty years ago you would have been just the ticket, and anyone would have loved to have you enter the profession.
Even today many would embrace you still… Except so few have anything for you, jobwise.
A reality recheck: The supply of MLS holders, both new and experienced, drastically (drastically!) exceeds positions open; library funding is not likely to ever return to previous levels, because severe pressures will continue to bear on local budgets (in part due to local governments having to cover retiree pension costs); the trend in libraries is toward deprofessionalization.
Do not even think of taking on more debt to obtain a degree that is highly unlikely to get you anywhere. I say this with regret, but say it because it needs to be said.
Please don’t do it. Debt is oppressive, even when you take it on to do something that bears results.
Boy, you are making me depressed! But not everyone is abandoning reference – it’s changing radically, and our focus has gone from finding as much info as possible to filtering the overwhelming amount of info for the patron and creating added-value resources. Formats have definitely changed – I’ve got a tiny paper collection and it keeps getting smaller. We get fewer actual questions, but rising use of self service finding aids which have been created by our reference librarian.
I think it’s a mistake for libraries to lose professionals and dislike many of the new hot “service” (or is that “lack of service”) models. One thing that makes a library stand out from just about any other place the patron goes is excellent customer service. It has been our bread & butter, saved our funding, and kept our use statistics rising. The introduction of a business model to library service was one of the most boneheaded ideas in the history of libraries.
Jumping off soapbox now.
But yes, now is NOT a good time to go for a library degree.
Joe, I really don’t think it as bad you say. Maybe in some states and in some libraries, but I see such an exciting future for public libraries. Yes they are changing but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be worse. Even if we get rid of all the print books, people are still going to want a librarian to help them find new digital reading material.
I admit that it really bothers me that you think the shift to popular reading materials isn’t a good one – I think those readers need just as much help finding materials as any others. In many ways I think libraries that expand their readers’ advisory services and focus on popular reading collections are the ones that are going to be the most successful in the next several years.
I didn’t say the shift to popular reading was bad, just that it is happening. You are assuming I think it is “bad.” If my funding is dependent on circ stats, then I’m going to do everything I can to drive up circ. In this light, there is no “bad” reading, only reading that is less fundable than other reading.
Whether you think the shift is good or bad depends on your view of what the mission of the library is.
Book Lover needs to realize that working in a library sometimes means helping people find books that he or she doesn’t like or doesn’t think are worthwhile. The advice in many posts here that he or she should first see if a job helping the public is to his or her taste, is good advice.
I also think your optimism here is wrong. The crunch on local budgets is pretty much nationwide, and it isn’t going away any time soon. Few libraries will be expanding services in the foreseeable future; most will be trying to just hang on.
What about those 2,000 other MLS graduates now looking for 1,000 of the available jobs? Shouldn’t Book Lover be worried about the job market about now?
You wouldn’t do badly looking to follow Laura Pearle’s example, either. She’s involved in the field, mentors others, and has dealt with many a library crisis – including having one burn to the ground.
Engineering. I’d recommend engineering, if you were my daughter. Look, I followed my heart in college and wound up with a BA in history (nearly useless) and a job in a paint store. While I love my job in librarianship, there is no way I would have gone for the MLS had I not already been working in a library with a clear path to use it, and there is NO way I would have gone into debt to do it. (I saved for two years before starting, and worked full-time while getting it.) Personally, I wish (almost daily) that I’d done something more practical while younger. Sorry to be cynical. That said, you’ll make the right choice for you.
Interesting point. I have a friend whose first degree is in dental hygiene, solely because it is practical. I have to say, it’s worked well for her. Her work as a dental hygienist funded her BA and MA in history, her true love. She also can find relatively good-paying part-time work while doing other part-time work in fields closer to her heart, such as archives and special collections (which have loads of part-time, project jobs and few permanent jobs). Being a dental hygienist has allowed her to travel around the country and even to other countries, picking up enough cash to live by doing dental hygiene.
Her experience over the past 20+ years has changed my thinking somewhat. Yes, follow your heart, but also think practicaly. We think that our paid work should be our biggest fulfillment, but it’s OK if it’s just be a job that you like and gives you money to enable you to participate in that which really fulfills you. Find a job, go to library school part-time to limit the debt, look for a job in libraries, but if it doesn’t happen, look for ways to do whatever it is that drew you to library work. I happen to think that places like Girls, Inc. would love someone like you to come in and get their kids involved in book talks, book groups, etc., and you might end up doing more good for the community than you would have in the library.
It’s never a good idea to go deep into debt – I’ve got a daughter who just graduated in May and she is still looking for a job. Times are hard, no matter what your major is, and I don’t think going to grad school without any real life experience is the answer. Luckily, we can cover her expenses for a while.
Want to share your love of literature? Offer to run a book discussion group at your local library. Start a blog. Find a job in a library or at a book store, and discover what it’s like to work with the public in that sort of setting.
I love literature too, but I always chuckle to myself when a potential employee says in an interview how much she loves books and literature, and that’s why she wants to work in a library. Yes, that’s great, but what you really need in a public library is a love of helping people of all sorts, and skill in dealing with them, warts and all. If you love interacting with the public, and can share your enthusiasm for literature with them, you will be a fabulous librarian. But know the reality of life in the library before you commit all that time and money for a professional degree.
I love going to work, can make a decent living at my job, and I laugh every day – to me that’s the definition of professional success – think about your own definition too – what do you want to achieve?
Now comes the old fogie bit – you are young, take some time to look around this great big world before you commit to a graduate program. I ended up with 2 Master’s degrees, one in my 20s, and one in my 40s – it’s the latter one which brings home the bacon today. Good Luck!
Listen to this lady! Good advice!
Great advice! And I absolutely agree you certainly want to like books and reading if you are intending to work in a public library, and nowadays you’d better like technology too, but the #1 thing you’d better like (and I love it myself) is helping people because that is indeed the number 1 focus of public libraries.
And I might add that it isn’t just about finding that next good book to read or even books for a research project it is a great deal of fielding basic questions like “Can you print some photo copies for me?”, “Can you print my computer document/web page for me?”, “How much does it cost to print?”, “Can I have a guest pass to use a computer?”, “Where are the cookbooks?”, “When are the children’s story hours?”, “Where are the bathrooms?” and then more in-depth computer usage questions like “How do I write a resume?”, “Where I can I find job listings online?”, “How can I get an email account?”, “Does Oprah have a website?”, “How do I use a computer to get online?” etc. etc. Those are among the most frequently heard questions at our reference desk and you’ll note that none of those is an in-depth I’m doing a scholarly project or want a new good mystery type of question…we get those questions too but the scholarly ones (even including database access) are I would estimate less than 10% of the volume of questions we get asked and I’d say the same for the “What good new book should I read?” type questions – most of those questions are actually fielded by the circ staff not those of us at reference…
Nothing gives me more pleasure at work than helping somebody find the exact book they want, or the web page they need, or a myriad of things they come looking for at the public library.
Keep in mind, though, that the road to promotion in libraryland is paved with good intentions, but once you get promoted high enough, you get away from helping the everyday user.
If you want to share your love of books with others and direct them to new authors, genres, sub genres, etc, work at an independent bookstore. While the pay isn’t great, that’s a great place to share your love of books. I volunteer at the library used bookstore. It’s a great place to share this love. I know that over the last couple years a few people have taken my suggestions and been glad later.
Right on, Leslie!
I have four degrees and the last one brought me the most success, both emotional and financial, reward I could hope for. HOWEVER, I had practically zero debt from my first three degrees (bless huge scholarships and fellowships), and I had thought long and hard before getting into the MLS(I was in my late 20s when I started my MLS). I had worked in libraries all my life and had a number of different jobs (ranging from working with schizophrenics to taking abuse and neglect phone calls for the State of Texas).
The “love of literature” also makes me chuckle. I love to read. I drink books…when I’m not at work. As an academic librarian, do I ever read at work or recommend books? Nope. Rarely if ever. I work with some of the best reference librarians, and half of them hate reading. I do tons of reference/research help, I buy books according to others’ needs and collection development policy. This is not to say my academic background in literature and gender studies doesn’t help, but I don’t get to peruse the books.
As far as the job aspects, I have been employed for almost three years. It took me a year to get this job, but no one retires from academic library positions (seriously, I knew an academic librarian that literally had a massive heart attack in his office before it was time to retire). The others have given you a solid picture of public libraries. Of course, you don’t have to work in libraries with an MLS, but that sounds like what you want to do.
I can’t remember who mentioned it, but you may want to pay off a some of the debt (I went to a private liberal arts school and I know some of my friends’ debts are atrocious),or get your MLS while working as a paraprofessional and use the MLS as a kinda a jump off point.
If you were my daughter, I’d probably give you the same advice my parents did (who, by the way never cared what I majored in or what I did, as long as I didn’t move back home:): Do what makes you happy, just make sure you pay your bills, eat right, and are happy. (yep, mushy, but it’s worked well so far).
If you are ready to clean up the remnants of bodily functions and work directly with the homeless, then you should be a librarian (public library). Personally, I find that these moments (mentioned above) make for some of the best stories, but it’s not all about the glamor of books.
Book Lover, for the most part I have had one heck of a ride in LibraryLand. I’ve worked in public, corporate and academic libraries. I DID NOT know I wanted to do this for a living!
I had to work my way through my BA and I did it by working part-time in an exceptionally fine academic library (UT Austin’s PCL). I moved into a full-time position upon finishing my BA and a year later applied to library school. In that year of full-time employment I decided that it was supremely important to LIKE the people with whom you spent the better part of your days. I’ve never regretted my decision.
My advice: get a job in a library and see how you like the work. This paraprofessional experience is vital if you want to get a job upon finishing your MLIS. If you can, enroll in a bricks&mortar program. Job applicants with degrees in the liberal arts, an online MLIS and no experience are a dime a dozen. Be prepared to move. It was the only way I could find a professional position back in 1984.
Good luck Book Lover. Despite my occasional grousing I have had a remarkable career and am in the best position of all right now: a small academic library in one of the largest cities in the U.S.
Book Lover,
I, too, am not a librarian; I’m a professional musician. My decision to go for my MLIS after earning two degrees in music was, in part, a similar love of books, libraries, and other related interests. The larger part of my decision to pursue the degree, however, was the idea of a steady paycheck. Where I living a year ago I had virtually no work, and when I did, it was out of town. I applied and was accepted to three universities ranked in the top five in the country. All were enthusiastic about my ‘diverse’ background and stated interests. Did they have any money to offer? A (tiny) drop in the bucket–especially tiny that all are out-of-state. Am I in a position to take on any loans? Absolutely not, so I deferred enrollment a year. In the meantime, my family has moved ‘back home’ after seven years; I am back in town with my quartet, and suddenly my music career is, well, not busy, but busier, and I have since begun a few projects that are promising. So, why am I telling you this? Well, after a tremendous amount of thought, I have decided NOT to pursue the MLIS. It was a difficult decision…the support I had throughout the application process and for the idea of a second career was tremendous. I also knew that I really enjoyed the volunteering in my children’s elementary & middle schools and the music library at a nearby private university. But the cost factor, in addition to some personal family matters that have since risen, was simply too much. And once I made the decision, the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding was let go. As time passed I knew it was the right decision for the right reasons. And guess what…I’m still working in libraries, and I have the wonderful advantage of working when I wish, for people who are happy to see me walk through their doors, and knowing I’m making a difference in a lot of small ways.
Now, I’m not saying not to go for it, but realize there might be a way to have the experience you wish without going into debt. I wonder what your plans for work were before this revelation? If the job prospects are good, maybe you and your parents can work out an agreement for you to live at home so you can sock away every dime you earn toward the degree. You are at a distinct advantage because you are responsible to no one but yourself. Oh, to have that freedom again! Give yourself some credit–it takes a lot of gumption to try and make this work–rely on yourself, not the government or anyone else. Do talk to your career counseling department at your current school, and do your research.
Follow your heart, but use your head wisely! Good luck!
Oh, and listen to the good folk here–they are worth their weight in gold!!!
I think my first question would be how determined are you to work in a public library? (I’m assuming that is the public library forum you want to work in)
If you really love libraries and library work and are determined and willing to persevere for a number of years, keeping in mind it may be 5 – 7 years or possibly more in the current economic climate, and volunteer in a library, then take a part time job there (probably in addition to working full time elsewhere) staying enthusiastic and volunteering to help out all the while – being a real team player at a library for all that time (and I’d network locally too — individual public libraries are usually part of library systems so go out and meet other people in the system at meetings and gatherings) then I’d say to go for it – go get your MLIS.
I think eventually you will find a full-time in job that fits your education – but it may be 10 years before you get that point.
I know something about that type of situation as the long road has been my experience. I worked 30 hours per week on average, at my local public library, which was then a civil service institution, from the time I was almost 18 until I was 27 doing page and circulation work – I took many civil service exams and got to a point where I was in the top three for each exam right where I needed to be to be considered to be hired (they had to hire from the top 3 via their test scores) and in all that time a full time position never materialized. Since I couldn’t get in full time at 27 I left the library and did other things (sales and office clerk work mostly), started working on my college degree and then when I was 32 (by which time I had no doubt what so ever I wanted to work full time in a public library setting assisting patrons) I obtained a part-time position at my local public library while still working full time elsewhere and hoping that it would lead to a full-time position and then…insert drum roll here for dramatic effect….my public library had funding issues, cut all the part-time staff and then closed in 1999.
Fast forward to the spring of 2000 and I heard through the local newspaper and grape vine that the library was going to be reopen and as a Free Association library (so much for all those civil service exams I took!) so I sent my resume and a letter indicating that I wanted to work at the library to the new Board of Trustees president and the newly hired library consultant and once I discovered that the library consultant was going to be responsible for hiring the new staff – I called and either spoke with her or left her a voice mail message every week for several months. I finally landed an interview late in the summer and what position was offered me with my almost 10 years of circulation experience and a ton of customer service experience in between library stints? A full-time permanent position at the library as….insert drum roll here again for dramatic effect – the administrative assistant! Essentially the job outline was to that I was to be the library book keeper – needless to say that wasn’t really what I wanted to do but took the job. And in relation, it is notable that the powers that be that were putting the library back together again (most of whom had never worked in a library) thought that we could run the library mostly with volunteers and just four staff members including the library director, a reference librarian, a head circulation clerk and an administrative assistant (me!) and that the population of just one of our municipalities – the city itself was about 12,000 at the time…and you have one really, really hectic time that unfolded over the next couple of years.
Moving right along when we reopened the library in 2000 I was the only one on the new library staff that had worked there before so I was initially the only one who knew where things went and/or how some things worked (Did I mention they did a complete re-model of the library too and took all the books and materials out of the library and later we had to put everything in its new, and frequently yet to be determined, place?) So I worked as the administrative assistant and jumped in and helped out with everything out on the floor that I could from fixing the temperamental microfilm machines, to covering circ shifts and processing new books and as time passed and we moved into 2001, and it became apparent that just four staff member to run the library wasn’t enough and during that time I realized what I really wanted was to be a librarians…. And I was able to obtain first a position in circulation, later a position that mixed working at circ with working at reference and finally four years ago a full time position on the reference staff. And during the last 10 years I completed two college degrees, a two-year degree at CCC and a four year degree at Empire State College (Online) and am now working on my MLIS (also online) so perseverance has paid off for me — and if reading all of this and thinking of all the time it has taken for me to get to that full-time reference position and seeing yourself in a similar position for a few years doesn’t make you run screaming out into the night – then go for that MLS!
I also attended a private liberal arts college in New England (but I was in Massachusetts rather than Maine) and majored in English. Jobs were hard to find 30 years ago, but I ended up in a small to medium sized public library. Most days I love it, but there are also some people who will test your sanity.
I have a MLS, and I wouldn’t have gotten my job without it. I am fortunate that the job I started out in has changed, and I have been able to grow with it. I also had some experience working in my college library which was very helpful in finding work. That being said, I’d be cautious about taking on much debt. The pay, if you can find a job, isn’t that great.
If I were you I would try to get some experience, see how you like the library as a workplace, and then decide whether or not to pursue a MLS. If you a a good worker and your employer knows that you are interested in becoming a librarian, they may be more willing to let you help at a variety of jobs or at least shadow one of their librarians. If you can find a place which fits you, go for it. If you end up disliking the actual work, look for something else. You can always read on your own time; librarians aren’t paid for the time they spend reading anyway.
Get a clerk job first. Since you’re still in college, maybe there’s even time to get a student job in your school library. That will put some experience on your resume, so when you graduate, maybe your public library will be more inclined to hire you.
Once you’ve got your foot in the door at the public library, stick with that for a while until you get a sense of whether anyone in your area is actually hiring MLSes.
My daughter is a senior in high school and applying for colleges. She wants to be an actress. My son is a musician and my undergraduate degree was in film. I am not a good person to answer this question. I have worked at many jobs and I survived. Avoid student loans which are contracts with the devil, but pursue the degree part time if necessary. I love being a librarian.
Book Lover, you sound like you would be a great school librarian or English teacher who could turn students onto reading. Loving literature is not the only requirement in becoming a librarian. I have seen librarians who got into the field for that reason who did not do well, because they didn’t realize the many different facets of the job. Have you thought of the Teach for America program? or maybe even substitute teaching to get a feel for the classroom. I know some states will let you do that without a teaching degree. I can see you being the Reading or English teacher who works hand in hand with a school librarian to really motivate student readers, or vice versa.Teaching in a charter school with innovative programs might be another option. In any case, FOLLOW YOUR HEART. The best job for you is one where you can share your passion for reading and literature. America’s students need librarians or teachers like you. And speaking as a retired school librarian, I can attest that is it a exciting job that is different and challenging every day. Best wishes to you.
Hi, Book Lover! Thanks for the kind words in your email to Will. I feel like I know many of the Unwinders, too; I love Will’s writing, but what keeps me commenting instead of lurking is the certainty of interacting with so many great people.
Okay, lemme have a go here *cracks knuckles*:
–Based on what you say in your email, you have no way of knowing if librarianship is your calling. No crime there, but I would hate to see you drop time and money on a degree based on the facts that you love books and enjoy keeping up with the Unwinder ramblings. Ain’t enough.
–I totally get where you’re coming from in feeling the pressure from your parents, and probably others including yourself, to know What You Want To Do With Your Life. Hint: that whole idea is crap. You don’t have to know your ultimate purpose to get *a* job, *any* job, that will give you the time to blossom into the person you can become if you just let time work its magic.
–If you start working in libraries, and you just can’t imagine doing anything else with the rest of your life, then by all means get the degree. Otherwise, keep your love of books and people alive in your off-work time and find a job in anything that will feed and house you without making your integrity shrivel up and die.
No matter what you decide, all luck and happiness to you. Keep us posted–I want to know what you choose, and why, and how it pans out. Be well!
If you were my daughter, Book Lover, I would not advise you to become a librarian at this time, especially not if you have to go into debt to get the degree. And I hate to be so negative, because I know what it is to want to be a librarian – I decided on my career in 8th grade. But times were very different then in terms of employment possibilities. I won’t repeat what so many Unwinders have already written so well about the lack of jobs and changing nature of the profession. Unfortunately, it’s all true.
I’m also concerned that you may have an overly optimistic view of what the job is. So much of it is NOT about setting up creative and exciting book clubs and convincing ordinary people about the wonders of literature – most of it is much more mundane. And it’s quite possible that librarians more senior than you will be the ones who want to do the book clubs and the less routine work.
You didn’t mention the age of the people you’d like to work with. You might have more luck if you wanted to work with children, just because you’d have an additional career possibility – school librarian. In my area, school librarians are paid better because they are covered by the teachers’ union. But teachers are also being laid off, and school librarians are probably regarded as less essential than classroom teachers by cash-strapped administrators. That’s been the case in previous economic downturns.
My suggestion is that you first find a “day job,” one that will pay you an adequate wage while you pay off your existing debts. While you’re doing that, try volunteering at the library in order to get some experience and also to see if that experience is living up to your expectations – see what library work is really like. You may not be doing book clubs – the library you’re volunteering in may have much more pressing mundane needs. But maybe you’ll be lucky, and even if not, you might be able to organize a book club of your own, either there or through a local book store.
And after all that, if you still feel that librarianship is your calling, go for it – but by then, you’ll have a more realistic view of what it will be like.
I absolutely think that you should go for it – librarianship needs more passionate and dedicated people. However, don’t take out a lot of loans. Even if you get a job librarians never make enough to be paying back lots of student loan debt.
There are plenty of programs that offer scholarships, or even better ones that will offer assistantships which means getting valuable library experience and getting your tuition paid and just about enough salary to live on. This will almost certainly mean moving somewhere and committing to as much as two years as a full time student, but it will be worth it.
This is what I did and at the end of two years with a combination of grants and assistantships I only owed a few thousand in student load debt. Plus all the work experience I got as a graduate assistant made a huge difference when it came to getting a job.
Whatever you do, don’t let others pessimism about the profession make your lose your passion and dedication, there are jobs out there now (Chicago PL just announced new branches and jobs), and there will be jobs in another 2 or 3 years when you are done with your degree.
You have asked some difficult questions. I am four years retired and my MLS dates back to 1974—so my perspective on the job market and the value of the MLS may not be too helpful.
I loved the courses I took in “library school” and actually loved most of the twists and turns my career took. It makes my heart glad (much like the fox in THE LITTLE PRINCE) to hear your hopes and dreams. I would hope and dream them for you as well.
Like many who have spoken already,though, the idea of the large debt would be daunting to me. Only you and your family know how this might all play out. Your salary as a beginning librarian will not likely allow you the pay off that debt quickly unless you have help from your family.
I think the idea, posted by several here, of taking a para-professional job in a public library and working on your degree slowly might be the ticket. Doing it this way you can see if you like the business and your employment might put you in line for a professional job when it comes open.
I don’t know the climate at present, but just a few years ago my local library was hiring para-professionals with Bachelor’s degrees to work the general reference desk and our City was helping with tuition reimbursement for them to work on their MLS.
Keep your enthusiasm and your high ideals but be a realist too. Since you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that today’s library is not the library of your grandmother. You also know that you will meet people who are burned out and bitter, but here’s a funny thing—you can learn something from them too. Keep your eye on what you want to achieve, but take pride and pleasure in small triumphs, and by all means learn something from everyone you meet.
I found it a very rewarding career but not always an easy one. You have to be a self starter and often a self congratulator. We all love Nancy Pearl and Will Manley, but we can’t all be either of them. They are stand out stars in our profession.
We Unwinders are really fortunate that the divine Mr. M decided to write a participatory blog! He creates a place for us to sound off, smart off, wallow in our own self pity, and in general be human and be heard.
I guess what I am saying is, be ready to be happy with your career whether it is large or small. I still believe it is, like teaching, a career where you can have a positive impact. Maybe not like a comet but maybe just like a twinkling star.
Since you are a reader of this blog you already know that I am a rambler so I won’t apologize for the rambling here. I am just talking as if we are chatting over a virtual beer. Well for me tonight it is cranberry juice, but I digress.
I wish you the very best in whatever you decide to do and hope you will continue to “unwind” with us!
Wynette, is the cranberry juice mixed with anything clear and strong?
Virtual beer is an idea whose time has come!
Usually stirred into a little vodka—-but not tonight—-just the straight cranberry juice. Worse luck!
Can I get a virtual hot cocoa with vegetarian marshmallows at the Unwinder Bar?
Y’all are reinforcing my perception of the Unwinders’ comment section as being like the pub in “Dr. Dogbody’s Leg.” That is a wonderful thing, and I thank you for it.
Okay, now I’m going to do a “Jessa”—*wipes sentimental tear and shuffles off to bed*
Did I do it right?
Wynette, you sure did.
I’m so convinced that I even believe you when you say that there was nothing but cranberry juice in your cranberry juice. Sentiment, alas, often comes in liquid form… but that sounds like the real thing.
Believe it! *does not shuffle off to bed but goes in search of virtual vegetarian marshmallows*
You guys are FUNNY! I’ll take one of those virtual Irish coffees now…
*slides one down the bar to you*
If you can have a virtual drink, can you get virtually drunk?
*answering his own question* Evidence in the form of some postings to Will Unwound suggests that you can.
And that orthographic trick has a formal name, you know: The Jessa Aside.
If you get virtually drunk, can you get virtually arrested for virtual streaking? Or do a virtual walk of shame?
LOL, if only I’d invented The Jessa Aside. Alas, I merely (over)use it. *thanks Joe, then reaches for another cough drop*
There was an online place where I used to get online root beer floats when everyone else was getting Stoli. (I got the occasional alcoholic drink as well, but a virtual hangover is no fun.)
Me thinks there must be some connection between librarians and musicians…you’re as bad as we are.
Mention food or drink and the conversation takes a new life. Now that it’s dipping well below the freezing mark, my drink of choice is red wine!
I was in a similar position as yours. I got my B.S. in history from a public school and graduated with approximately $22,000 in loans. I had no delusions about getting a job with a B.S. in history from the get-go, but I originally planned on getting my Ph.D. After looking at the job market for history Ph.Ds and seeing the overall trends with tenure, I decided to do what I saw as the lesser of two evils and get my MLS. Sure my Ph.D. would have been paid for, but going two years and being unable to find a job versus going to school for six to seven years and being unable to find a job seemed like the best choice for my mental state
So, I’m in the middle of getting my MLS, and by the time I finish I will have approximately $45,000 total in loans (ahhh I haven’t thought about that in a few months and it hurts!). I have heard about a federal program where if you work in the public sector full-time (libraries and many universities qualify) for ten years and make 120 loan payments on time the balance is forgiven. I haven’t got to the point where I have seriously looked into this yet so I can’t comment on the validity or the specifics, but if you are really worried about it, it is something worth investigating. As for me, with my circumstances and interests I felt like getting an MLS was the best option and I have just kind of accepted the debt.
Like you, I think it would be wonderful if people with student loans could get a “bail out,” but I’m not holding my breath. It’s shameful how much debt people in the U.S. must acquire to get an education and how high the interest is on even government student loans. From a financial perspective it is almost not worth it. I think the girl who took a $22,000/year secretarial position right out of high school will likely have a higher lifetime income than me by the time I pay back my loans. However, I love to learn so I feel that it has been worth it in that regard. Sorry this got a bit long, but best of luck to you!
The pessimistic comments make me sick.
No, I mean, literally. I couldn’t finish reading the thread because I freaked out and almost had to go throw up! I am at this moment going into debt to obtain an MLS degree because working in a library is the ONLY thing that really makes me happy. I love everything about it. I worked in a public library for a year and have worked in an academic library for a few months now, but it is a student position that will end when I graduate. I work very hard at work and school. I have a 4.0 and am getting tons of experience. But I know that when I get out, I’ll probably wind up working a photo booth at Six Flags like a degreed friend of mine in TX to make ends meet while I lament the fact that there isn’t a job for me. Meanwhile my friends from my old library system say, “Don’t worry, you will get hired!” Yeah, easy for them to say. They’ve had their jobs 10+ years. They don’t know what it’s like trying to break into the profession right now.
Book Lover: Go shadow some librarians. Working in a library won’t necessarily give you an accurate idea of what a librarian does, since you’ll be a paraprofessional and most likely just shelving or doing circulation. Find some actual professionals, be they degreed or no, and see what they really do on a day-to-day basis. Also, find some MLS students and talk to them about how they feel school has really helped or not helped them. Find someone going through school NOW, not someone with fuzzy happy memories of younger days that look a lot brighter in hindsight.
Understand that your love of books means very little in library school. Turning people onto books is called “reader’s advisory,” and for most of us, it isn’t the major part of the job AT ALL. My college offers only one course in it. No, you learn about information, how to be a manager (in theory!), organization, public relations… If you want to get people interested in literature, I suggest you continue your education in literature and become a professor, because sure, you will be teaching people who don’t give a flying crap about Austen, Hemingway, or Salinger, but they represent the general public. You will at least have the ability to make an impression on them, a more lasting one than a short readers’ advisory interview would allow. Library isn’t so much about books now, anyway: the big draw in public library is movies and the public access computers.
I won’t say I haven’t learned anything in library school, but I will say I haven’t learned nearly as much in a year and a half as can be learned on a desk in six months. You get an almost purely theoretical education. When you ask, “How the eff is this going to help me out there?” (and oh, you WILL ask), you will hear “This is a professional degree, not a vocational degree.” Okay, why is that? How is it helpful?! Half the time I feel that the point of school is to turn me into an ALA drone. “Equal access to information!” Please. While I do believe in that concept, people aren’t coming to librarians for equal access to information. They think they’ve already got it through Google.
My library school education has been filled with instances of me being told how important technology is (without being taught how to use anything more complex than podcasting software), or being told that we aren’t in competition with technology because we’re the ones on the cutting edge of it. Um, REALLY? Then why is it that the librarians at my job don’t even know how to make a printer switch to single-sided, let alone make a website? Why is it that they have no interest in learning? And these, for the most part, are NOT older librarians.
In every class, I have had to address some form of the question, “In this digital age, how can libraries keep up and stay valid?” We are expected to answer with something along the lines of, “By using technology and marketing aggressively, and gosh darn it, being SWELL!” I have a current textbook that says we aren’t in competition with the internet, but with physical bookstores. Well, that’s good, because I just got done with a stint in that industry, and they’re fighting not to go out of business! Why? Because of ereaders and amazon.com. You know. THE INTERNET. So, anyhow, once they’re gone, we won’t have any competition, right? Because we aren’t competing with the internet, allegedly!
I like school. I like making good grades and getting a pat on the head for it. But I love libraries. Libraries are the love of my life, I work in or use them constantly, and what I see in real life and what I am told in school are not the same. Remember that many professors (the vast majority at my school) have not practiced in YEARS.
I’m certainly not alone in my feelings. I have voiced these opinions to many other students and have had others voice the same complaints. I know I sound like a bitter, petty little person for saying a lot of this, but I’m NOT bitter…I’m worried and desperate, because I don’t want to waste all this time and money and wind up NOT getting to work in a library.
So, Book Lover, if you feel like you’ll wither and die without libraries (like ridiculously dedicated me), get your MLS. Otherwise, go into teaching or look into joining the ebook craze somehow.
But about your parents? Make your own decisions if you fiscally can. Here’s another fun story: At 18, I wanted to get a degree in Library Science. My parents scared me out of it, telling me I’d starve to death. Had I ignored them, I’d have hit the job market when the economy was peaking and I would not be awake at 12:30 in the morning spilling my guts (kind of literally) to a bunch of complete strangers.
Love,
Terrified Librarian-to-Be
Frightened…you are an excellent, compelling writer. Your comment is touching and alarming at the same time. Have you ever thought about starting a blog and getting your name and profile out in cyberspace? Might help with your job crusade. I’m serious. You are seriously talented.
Will,
Thank you for the compliment! Currently, I only have a review blog. I am on the portfolio track at my school and one of my program goals is to gain familiarity with teen materials. (My ultimate dream job is to be a YA librarian.) To meet the goal, I started a blog of book, movie, and game reviews. I don’t have a professional reflections blog at the moment… Maybe starting one is just the project I need to keep the winter break blues at bay!
I’m going to try and be helpful and chime in here. I too am going to library school right now – and I am fortunate to already having 20 years in the field and a full time position in the reference department of my local library. And I have to say that library work is a calling for as it for you – so I wouldn’t give up. If you are really determined and already are working and networking in the library that will help you in your job quest.
And as someone who has already worked in a public library for 20 year and is just now working on her MLIS I can tell you that the #1 thing I’m struck with about library school – is that it is divorced from the public library reality in its emphasis on the technological and how to search for information.
I just finished a class on information access and we spent 6 weeks using DIALOG which I’m sure many Unwinders are familiar with – and while it is a neat search tool the cost of each search (which is displayed when log off) makes it a cost prohibited for public libraries (each individual search session might cost $10 or more…) so I really felt that although it was a neat tool – it wasn’t a practical one to show people who are going to work in public libraries. And from the other side of the equations no where in this class did they offer us an example of the software public libraries use to search for items and circulate books (i.e. SIRSI or Polaris etc) so if you love the public library work – in terms of not just books but also of helping patrons then I think you’re ahead of the game. From what I’ve seen too many people graduate from library school today, have never worked in a library before and they like the tech/search side of library work and low and behold find when starting out working in a public library – that they don’t like it because that is not what most of the work in public library consists of (at least not in a medium sized public library like mine – can’t speak for a big city public library because I’ve never worked in one).
So cheer up! Your library experience and love of the work will probably translate into your application/interview being put in the to-be-considered stack instead of the no-experience-and-no-dice stack of applications/return interviews. And just keep networking in library land, and volunteering and eventually I am sure you will land a full time job –if you are determined enough and persevere it will happen. It may take some time, but it will happen – so if this too, public library work, is your calling — stick to it and take another non-library job at first if you have to but stay enthusiastic, network, be a team player and keep volunteering and/or working part time in a library.
Linda,
I could not agree with your perceptions more! Having been through a large chunk of my library schooling, I can now use an academic database like a champ, but as a hopefully-someday public librarian, I know that won’t be a huge part of my job. The only time I have seen Sirsi demonstrated in class was during an assignment in which we each had to find a good, bad, or ugly website or OPAC. One student chose Stanford’s OPAC (powered by Sirsi) and showed how much more easily one could search Stanford’s catalog via WorldCat. (So eager was he to sling mud at the Ivy League school, he missed the fact that our university library catalog has exactly the same problems.) The only time Polaris has come up was in that same class, when we were each asked to find an OPAC to analyze, and I chose one powered by Polaris.
What have I seen covered so far that directly relates to public library? How to make podcasts, start blogs, plan programs, make flyers/bookmarks/postcards, and write press materials. All of that was in one class, and I want to add that it hardly takes a master’s degree to make a flyer using a Publisher template.
You’re right, too, about so many graduate students having no library experience. A friend of mine and I were talking about that the other day: How do these people even know they want to work in a library? Do they know what goes on in libraries? I tell you one thing, they aren’t going to find out in school. We just learn how things SHOULD work, what we SHOULD expect. School is an artificial environment.
Occasionally one of the professors alludes to the “problems facing public libraries today.” One of my favorite examples is the “homeless people in the library” situation. This topic has come up again and again in class…for the ten seconds it takes the professor to mention it and add, “Your generation of librarians will be the ones to find a solution!” Okay, well, then. A.) I guess we will have to find it on our own, because apparently we aren’t going to discuss it in any depth in library school. That would be too depressing and not leave room for congratulating ourselves on our technological know-how! Also, B.) Oh my gosh, my generation of librarians is going to fix the problem! We are all getting Nobel Peace Prizes for ending homelessness, because that’s the only real way to end the dilemma! I know exactly what I’m going to wear for the presentation ceremony!
I wish there was a class called LIS 5689: Public Library Reality. It would have field trips. The text book would tell you the gory truth. You would learn things like:
-bio-hazard cleanup
-telling the difference between a lost/abandoned child and one whose parents are merely disinterested
-how to stop middle-to-old-aged patrons from verbally/physically assaulting teens for “being too loud; it’s a LIBRARY!”
-how to use a Wii (because this class is not all bad, folks!)
-basic printer maintenance
-how to defuse the tension when a mom and child come to you for a “short book, the report is due tomorrow” and you’re pretty sure that if either you or the child make a sudden move, Mom is going to grab a blunt object and make you VERY sorry.
-information literacy: make sure the patron cares before you start trying to teach them catalog techniques
-how much farther you’ll get with patience and a smile than by showing your expertise
-your degree: your patrons don’t know you have one, and they don’t care. Just make the computer reservation, important stuff is happening on Facebook!
What do you say, Linda? Let’s write our own curriculum. Maybe we can sell it!
Oh my Gahd, woman, I just laughed myself into a coughing fit. Get thee a library blog! We need you!
Terrified,
I’m going to address the more practical side of your comment…paying the bills. Speaking from many years experience, if you love what you do, you’ll find a way to do it, but that way may not always pay the bills. Having other skills will, even those as simple as typing. Get chummy with those career counseling folks at your school and let them earn their pay–that’s what they’re there for! Produce a variety of resumes that reflect your skills, interests, activities, etc.–of which you have many–but that aren’t in library speak. Be willing to be consider any job; you never know, that admin. job in Podunk might just lead you to your happy library gig.
Oh, one more thing, if you don’t come up with a job immediately, go to a temp agency. It’s a back door way to check out different industries and/or job descriptions. You get a paycheck; experience to add to your resume; with larger angencies, you can receive training for a variety of computer programs and other specialized skills; and often, the temp job can become a permanent hire.
You’re in the final stretch–hang in there!
Elizabeth,
You give great advice, and I will certainly be adding it to the Safety Net. The public library where I worked was in one of those hypothetical Podunks! I loved it there. We didn’t have as much to work with in terms of services, staff, or materials as urban public libraries, and my boss did get told she would go to hell for throwing a Harry Potter party, but the patrons and the pace of the job were wonderful. Honestly, I’ve never seen a library that made me think, “Ew, I would not work here!” or read a job description and thought, “Ugh, that sounds atrocious.” I’m hoping my flexibility will help me somewhat; I know a few people who are holding out for certain types of jobs like cataloging. Now is not the time to be picky.
I appreciate your suggestions so much!
OMG, Frightened. Where were you when I was in library school? I really could have used a friend who felt like I did, and from this comment, oh man do you ever feel like I did. Oof.
*hugs* Hang in there. Don’t puke. There’ll be something out there for you; you may have to move for it, and it may not be in a library, but with your insight and writing skills, something will definitely work out. In the meantime, stop by the Unwinder Bar in the previous post, take deep breaths, and know that you will make yourself a place in the world.
Jessa,
You’re definitely right that it helps to have friends who feel the same way. I think just about everyone from school who has discussed these issues with me feels the same way. On the other hand, while the moral support is nice, the situation is also a little depressing because there’s this unspoken thought bubble hanging over all our heads: “If so many of us think library school has these problems, we are probably right. So why are the problems still there, and what does this say about the validity of our education?”
So…will you teach me to swing a shovel?
“If so many of us think library school has these problems, we are probably right. So why are the problems still there, and what does this say about the validity of our education?”
Questions that haunt all of us as we start our first jobs and realize that 99% of what we needed to know, we learned from our assistantships and volunteer gigs.
Will I teach you to swing a shovel? Hells yes! I’ll even gift you your first one. *hands you a shiny new shovel suitable for removing other recent grads from the job pool* En garde!
Dudes and dudettes or if you prefer dudettes and dudes, check out my next post. It’s all about how Frightened has changed my world view about library things. Please stay tuned.
Oh, and one other thing, “Frightened” where does gaming fit into the whole gestalt of the public library milieu? Call me an old codger skeptic.
Will, library-sponsored gaming is an entire blog post unto itself, with about 150 comments, methinks.
One thought I had when my library offered gaming programs: The folks over at City Parks and Rec must have wondered what in the hell we thought we were doing…
I second Will’s comment. You are an excellent writer and extremely insightful.
It took me a year to find work after I graduated from UT Austin (and I’m not a person who can function without a job), but I finally found something perfect. It is ugly out there, but the heart wants what it wants.
And I had my moments of panic stricken nausea. For some reason, Moose Track ice cream always helped
A.E.,
Oh, I wanted to go to UT so much! My family is in Austin, but I didn’t have the money to move there. I am at a university with, how shall I put this, a strong anti-Longhorn sentiment.
Moose Track ice cream! I’m on it!
A.E. – thanks for the validation. Frightened is a great writer. Certainly caught my eye. I have always enjoyed your comments, A.E. and so I’m relieved you are in agreeance with me. wm
Frightened, you are holding more cards than you think. As you can learn from my self pitying posts here I’m middle aged, experienced, and out of work. I’ve been job hunting for several years and based on my extensive experience I think you are in a better position to find a job than I am. Especially if you can relocate. You and Booklover are going to be OK.
Billy,
Thank you for the comfort. I hope you find something, too. I can relocate, and I hold that fact close when I freak out too much. Many of my fellow students already have jobs, of course, or they would not be in MLS school. However, a fair amount of them will have to find jobs after school and are unwilling to move: either they have always lived here and can’t imagine leaving, or they are married and their spouse already has a good job here. My mobility will hopefully be a blessing.
You hang in there. Best of luck.
Well, I’d go for it anyway, and maybe in the meantime you could set yourself up as a readers’ advisor. Be like Nancy Pearl on a smaller scale. Go talk to librarians and offer your services (free at first) as a book talker. Talk up the kind of books the librarians would like you to talk about, and go from there. If you have enough charisma and knowledge and a sense of humor, who knows where it could take you? Nancy Pearl the second? Do the same with the local newspapers–ask them if they’d like a column (written for free at first) about good books to read. Etc., etc. Best wishes in whatever path you follow!
I’ll tell you the same thing I plan to tell a student of mine who recently decided she wants to get her MLS: There are no jobs. Library schools are putting more degreed librarians into a job market with very little available. You will probably have to move to an area you don’t want to live in to get a job.
Love of books means nothing to hiring committees. Had I mentioned how much I love books in my grad school interview, I doubt I would have gotten in. I certainly don’t inform hiring committees about my love of books. It simply does not matter if you like to read or love books. Libraries are more than books. If you can deal with rowdy patrons, unrealistic demands from higher ups, filthy smelly books (because they are disgusting!), complaints about lack of computers and short computer times, bodily fluid messes, complaints about scratched DVDs, and hostile reminders that patrons pay your salary, you’re on the right, realistic track. Librarians do not sit around and read all day. Hell, if I could get through one professional article a week, I’d be happy!
If you were my daughter, I’d be upfront about the prospect of finding a job. I’d tell you about how long it took me to find my first library job and the emotional toll it took on me and my family, and how long it takes me to find my second library job. I’d tell you to get a job in a library first. How do you even know you love working in libraries when you haven’t worked in a library? Get a job as a page or at the circulation desk. Volunteer at a few libraries. Right now, I’m not sure what you’re basing your decision on, other than your love of books. I’d also remind my daughter about some friends of mine, who have their MLIS, and after two years still haven’t found a job other than the Gap or a coffee shop, and about the possibility my family had to move to Oregon but had to turn down because I’d be one of those librarians working in a coffee shop.
And if none of that dissuaded my daughter, I’d remind her that I helped pay for her first degree. This one is completely up to her. Without talking specifics, even if I put every single cent I earned in a year toward my student loans from undergrad and grad school, I could not pay them off. Should this not matter, I’d encourage her to go part time, as I am with my second masters–oh yes, if you want to be an academic library, you’ll need two masters to be taken seriously–and take one class at a time, paid in full, while paying off loans. I’d also tell her to try out real life and spend some time outside the classroom to figure out her passions. I think it’s absurd to think people can decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives when they are 12 or 21. I think going directly from a bachelor’s to another program is a terrible idea. Get out of school for a while and learn how the real world works.
I am now up, drinking coffee, and reading the posts from Frightened and Carrie. They both gave you some great advice. If the library profession is going to survive and evolve and grow, it is going to NEED people like you who love it and actually want to be part of it. I hope (selfishly)that your journey takes you there.
Get a library job first and hold off on grad school. Experience counts for so much more when it comes to getting a full-time librarian position. If you spend a year now working as a library assistant or library clerk, you can then decide to go back to school full-time for your MLS or work that clerk job part-time while getting your MLS online.
I graduated with my MLS in December 2008 with only an internship as far as “library experience” goes. Needless to say, I spent a year looking for a librarian job before taking a pair of clerk jobs in different counties. It ultimately worked out for me, but I would have been better off to get some “library experience” before/during the MLS degree. Besides being better prepared for the job market, you’ll also have way more to contribute in library school if you can draw on experience in the field.
That all being said, I love being a librarian and hope you ultimately do as well! Good luck!
I do love this blog! There have been some really great comments here so far, especially those urging you to get some experience before committing for library school. I’ve been lucky enough to work for my school library in a full-time para-pro capacity while working on my MLIS, and as such have been informed about hiring for full librarian positions here, and the folks who have actually worked in the field are the ones who get called in for interviews. It *is* a tough job market, but there is *some* hiring going on and having actual library experience, instead of just a shiny new degree, is a huge plus. Think of your job search at the end of the degree rainbow and get some experience before committing to the debt.
Book Lover,
A number of people have talked with me over the years about wanting to become a librarian. I do my best to talk them out of it by showing them the negatives. If they are still passionate about it and convinced that it is their calling, then I try to advise them on how to proceed.
The first time I heard Nancy Pearl (PLA in Seattle in 2004), she mentioned a string of her favorite books and authors that have also been lifelong favorites of mine, and I almost stood up in a room full of several hundred librarians and cheered. We need more librarians like her, and if you follow in her footsteps we will be fortunate.
The negatives are there. But if it is really your calling, go for it. Best wishes to you.
““How could you get to the middle of your senior year in college and have no idea what you want to do with your life?” That’s what my parents keep asking.”
It took me another 30 years after that. You’re not alone!
I haven’t read any of the other responses yet. I encouraged my daughter to get her MLIS. Unfortunately, she now is in that 5 figure debt and no librarian job. She even has experience working in a library while working on her degrees and gets high recommendations from the people there. But no luck on the job front. In fact right now she can’t seem to get any entry level job using her education which is more frustrating for her.
I love my job and would encourage anyone to join the field. But realistically, economically, I would recommend that you get your bachelor’s, find a place to work, then go on for your master’s with their support.
Oh goody! Advice.
I am a forty something, long term out of work librarian with years of experience, good references, regular in all my habits and reasonably prepossessing for a bookworm.
Even though I apply assiduously, network as well as I can, and interview well and fairly often, I regularly lose out on jobs to new graduates.
As a new graduate with your academic pedigree, I therefore predict you will meet with all success. Believe me; it’s easier to start at the bottom and work your way up than it is to give up your place in line and try to start all over again.
Yes, you might have to relocate, but what the heck.
Regrets? I’ve had a few; but not too few to mention: Never never never leave a job unless you have a new one lined up. Especially if you’re moving across country so that your spouse can care for an elderly parent. Gratitude and sympathy are nice, but they don’t pay the bills. Also, don’t let parents or friends talk you out of law school because they fear you’ll wind up like their boozy attorney friends. At least their boozy attorney friends can always find work.
No matter what field of endeavor you choose, here are a few maxims I would inscribe with indelible ink in your commonplace book.
“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”
“A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.”
“No good deed goes unpunished.”
Uh…
I meant to say “EVEN if you’re moving across country so that your spouse can care for an elderly parent.”
Too late, Mrs. Charming (or Mrs. Billy) already saw the comment!
Take a gap year and explore the library world. If you have the opportunity to live at home, I would suggest that you start out volunteering this would give you the opportunity to explore many different libraries, although libraries offer the essentially the same product, delivery can be very different. I love being a librarian; I came into this field as a second career, and feel that this was my one true calling. I never think of it as a job, it is just another extension of who I am.
Susan
This appears to be going viral. It seems to be appropriate for here.
[http://www.counterpunch.org/absher12072010.html]
OMG – it’s COOL to be a librarian??? There goes all my nerd cred…
Most librarians I know are brisk, efficient and not terribly reflective. Quirky interesting people are rare birds in any field
There’s been lots of good advice here, and I’ll try not to repeat too much. What I’d like to add is that if, after reading all this, you still feel like being a librarian is what you want to do, find a way to do it without going into debt. I cannot emphasize this strongly enough. Debt is a prison, and especially so when you may have trouble finding a job in your chosen profession. Here are my suggestions:
1. Get a job. Any job, although a paraprofessional library job would be ideal. If that’s not an option, get a job that gives you a lot of experience working with the public. Basically, though, you just need a way to support yourself and pay for school.
2. Find an accredited online MLIS program that will allow you up to 7 years to complete your degree, and make sure you can afford to take one class a semester on your current salary. This may be hard, but it’s doable. We have several staff members doing this now.
3. Take one class a semester while you work, until you finish your degree. Depending on the program, you can probably do this in 5 years, but it shouldn’t take more than 7.
You will finish without incurring additional debt, and hopefully by that time the worst of the economic crisis will have passed and there will be more jobs available.
My advice always is to follow your heart. I, too about 35 years ago was a student at a small liberal arts college in Maine that begins with a B. Actually that school has turned out a lot of great librarians. Although, a little different than you, as long as I can remember I wanted to be a librarian. However even then the prospect of taking on more loans to do that was about the scariest thing I’ve ever done and like now the job market was abysmal. When I finished grad school I had no idea if I’d get a job. Well, the first one I got wasn’t a great one, but eventually the right one came along and I think you too could persevere.
I think library work is about the most rewarding thing that a person can do. The satisfaction that I get every day is more precious than gold. And, most of the people I work with and my librarian friends feel exactly the same way. I just don’t see the negativity in my little corner of the library world that people have been expressing here.
I hope that you’re able to find the right path for yourself and that if you do choose to become a librarian you’ll have as wonderful a career as I have.
So many comments already that I feel somewhat superfluous but that’s never stopped me fom putting in my two cents before so here goes. I was a library clerk while in college (1963-1967) (history and English major) and applied to library school but didn’t get accepted. I got a job at Chicago PL but left after a year (I didn’t get along well with my supervisor but no one bothered to tell me she was retiring soon). I changed careers and spent 23 years in banking. At 48 I went to library school (we won’t talk about the debt I am still in) and got a FT job 4 months after graduating. I am still at that library, managing two departments and getting ready to retire in >6 months. Only in the last couple of years has my salary reached the one I left 19 years ago when I left banking. But I am forever glad I made the change.
Librarianship is definitely changing. But I will tell you that the book is NOT dead. I just returned from several days at the Guadalajara Int’l Book Fair in Mexico, buying Spanish language materials and browsing the booths of 1900 publishers. I’ve been there when it is open to the public and boy, do they come is teeming swarms to buy books! Kindles and their brethren may be taking over the USA but in Mexico it’s books, baby! Toddlers to old folks on walkers, carrying bags of books they’ve purchased (public libraries in mexico are waaaay different than here).
Dear Book Lover, get a job in a library and get some experience. Make yourself essential. No one has mentioned it so far but there are still some libraries (us for instance) who provide some level of tuition help for the MLS degree. From my own experience, please do not go into debt if you can possibly avoid it!!! Loving books and liking to read do not make a librarian. Dealing with the public is usually not easy but often rewarding. Decide if possible whether you want public or academic; public service via reference or background service like cataloging. Work in a bookstore and volunteer; work PT in a public library and get the lay of the land. Try to actually attend a library school, if/when you decide to go for the MLS. Be willing to relocate if at all possible. If libraries are your heart’s locus, then follow your heart. It will take awhile to find the job but, Joe’s comments to the contrary, you will find one. But if it is just something you’d kinda like to do, find another career path.
Let us know what you do, please!
PS
I got my MLS at the University of Missouri/Columbia at a time when Mizzou was considered an inferior program and a lot “good” students opted for better rated progams. BUT amost everyone at Mizzou had some kind of tuition waiver and a little job in the library. I had already spent time in a “good” program before finishing up at Mizzoui and knew I was better off with no debt no matter where my degree came from. Moral: Seek out programs with good financial aid and don’t pay attention to the rankings.
I agree. When I was helping screen job applicants, we rarely looked at where the applicant got their degree, but when, and if there was any prior library experience. Those with experience were prized above those without, not matter how prestigious the graduate school was they attended.
MIZZOU ROCKED! Class of 89′ John B
One of my sharpest colleagues ever did her undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago and then her MLS at Mizzou. So I always had plenty of respect for the school.
Just goes to show you.
Well, If you were my daughter I would want you to be happy. That being said.
I would suggest that you NOT become a librarian – we already have way to many graduates who are unemployed or underemployed.
It’s beginning to look like being an English major – how many of them can actually find a job in English…
Become an Environmental or Water rights Lawyer, do good, make a ton of money which will let you lead an interesting and traveled life and retire early; and support your local libraries/librarians.
Best, John B
I had to sleep overnight on this one. The key element for me was you saying, “If I were your daughter.” First of all, if you were my daughter you wouldn’t have student loans, but you wouldn’t have gone to a fancy private college, either, but you do and you did so that’s a factor. Quite obviously your education has taught you to be a good writer if you weren’t already, but unfortunately it hasn’t given you a vocation, so I understand your need. Your greatest liability is that loan. Attack it with a vengeance. Debt is not a good thing.
I am a little concerned about you thinking of librarianship as a “calling,” something we have discussed here. When you treat a profession as a religion I think you are going to get into trouble. I mistrust anyone with a cause; it’s a red flag. I speak as someone who was there once. It took me a lifetime to recover. Nancy Pearl as Oprah? I admit to having my very own Nancy Pearl action figure, but that’s over the top. Then again, so is Oprah.
If you read the comments here you find that many people think librarians are under-valued. Although I see no evidence, it is even claimed librarians make less than parking lot attendants. If nothing else this shows you the massive inferiority complex librarians have. We want so much to be treated as professionals, but the rest of the world, ignorant though they are, scoffs at the idea and suggests we are no longer needed. Regardless of the truth of this, you will have to battle this your entire working life. Pay attention to those ‘burned out’ librarians at your college. Though “librarian burnout” is an oxymoron compared to a sergeant with several tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, it tells you a bit about the attitudes in the profession.
Then there’s the issue of jobs. Some people claim they are out there. Some people claim there are none. The bottom line here is that there is no shortage of librarians seeking work and the job market looks not especially rosy over the next few years. This is not helped by online degree mills pouring hundreds of graduates into the pool each year. I think that unless we have a complete collapse, those jobs will come, but it won’t be tomorrow. Do look at the status of governments these days. They are not doing especially well and they are just about the only source for library jobs. States and cities in bankruptcy are not going to be seeing librarians as a priority.
So if you were my daughter I would say, slow down. Your goals are your own, of course, but don’t jump into this without scrutinizing the frayed and faded edges of this profession and its attitudes. Also, you’ve been living a fairy tale in that private exclusive college of yours. I doubt you have seen the real world. Join the Navy and learn something useful while you ponder just how to keep this fairy tale going.
I think you made some strong points here, Mick.
However, not knowing Book Lover’s entire background, I would hesitate to assume private school=little experience/bubble. By the time I entered the private undergraduate school I attended, I had several cousins who had been murdered, buried ten friends from self-inflicted gun shot wounds, was assaulted, and dodged bullets (without going to the military). I suffered from a bipolar disorder and PTSD. And we want even talk about my own struggles with suicide or alcoholism. I found a way to pay for all my school on my own, because, well, I grew up working class, and there was no college fund. Although she may have a more, shall we say, “rosy” view than wise, lets not say she is completely naive in all facets of life (after all she is thinking practical when it comes to paying off loans or going back to school)
One of the things that struck me most about your post is the clamoring for “professional status”. I’ve never gotten that, but, like you, I think that is where the burn out enters the room. I think people focus entirely too much on that, and, quite frankly, I’ve never understood it, even in library school. I never worry about feeling “under-valued” or inferior. I figure I got a job, I like it, if it changes, and I don’t like it, I’ll move on. But then again, I’ve dodged bullets.
“I want to bring what I have learned in all my literature courses to the public library and set up all kinds of crazy and creative book clubs. It is so cool when after almost 16 years of school, you finally discover why you were put on the planet. I want to turn the everyday common person on to books and literature.”
My wife does adult services at a public library, including book clubs. Book clubs usually choose their own books. You might have little say in what the club chooses and often not like the choice. Nevertheless, as the coordinator you will be held accountable if the club members don’t like the book THEY choose. Doesn’t make sense but it happens.
As he often does, Mick gave me pause for thought. When he said. “First of all, if you were my daughter you wouldn’t have student loans, but you wouldn’t have gone to a fancy private college, either, but you do and you did so that’s a factor,” bells went off. I think that he and I may disagree on the value of the education that you’ve received at B. I think that experience is worth what you pay for it and is even worth borrowing for…but that’s not the question that you asked.
There is a bright line of difference between the B education/experience and what you’ll get in library school. You are getting neither an education nor an “experience” at library school. You’re getting your union card, a union card that allows you to have a shot at getting into the door in a closed shop.
I’d strongly advise that you not evaluate the worth of that next step by the same criteria that you evaluated what you wanted to do with your first post-secondary experience.
Yes, Bill. The best way to get through library is to close your eyes and think of England. And see my comment above about choosing a library school.
Agree with both Bill & Billy. I went to a prestigious undergrad school. It probably sounds snobbish, but for folks that have been to small, private, liberal arts colleges, library school may be disappointing. As others have posted, very few practical skills are taught. On the other hand, I found the theory part of it to not be particularly intellectually rigorous. I feel like library school should figure out what they want to focus on – practical or theory – and then do it well.
That said, I did learn useful information in library school courses. Having worked in libraries for several years really increased the value of my library school education. As someone else said, I could put things in context.
Book Lover, I’m honored to be among those you mentioned. And I don’t know whether to be honored or appalled that we have inspired you to this insane ambition of yours! I can’t blame you, though; when I decided to become a librarian (back when everyone spoke Latin and the woods were full of dinosaurs), one of the factors was remembering how much I’d liked many of the librarians I’d worked with at my student jobs in college. And, by the way, I was not a senior in college when I decided this. I was winding up my first master’s degree.
I have read some, not all, of the replies so far. I will read them all, but right now I have a project I have to get back to. Most of what I might say has been said better by others. I’ll just repeat a few things that seem especially important to me.
If you were my daughter (and I might mention that none of my three daughters, and neither of my sons, has ever expressed the slightest interest in following my professional footsteps, for what that might be worth), I would say:
–It’s wonderful to see you so enthusiastic about this. But give it time. Do your best to get a full-time paraprofessional or clerical job in a library. Experience from the inside what the library is like as a workplace. If you still feel the passion after a year or two, that’s a good sign that this is a real calling for you. (Or at least a good fit. We had a discussion a few months ago about whether it’s a good thing to consider library work a calling.) And in that case …
–See if your library will support your working on the degree part-time, a class at a time. Some libraries will give you some working time, and some will even help out with your tuition, usually in exchange for a commitment to continue working with them for a while after you get your degree. It can be a long slog this way, not as much fun sometimes as just being a full-time student. But:
–Whatever you do, don’t go further into debt if you decide to go after this degree. You have enough debt (and I agree with Bill above, by the way, that the kind of education you were able to get at Frozen B was probably worth that); debt is sometimes a necessary evil; but it’s always an evil, and for library school should not be necessary. Unfortunately Obama will probably not come to your rescue. He can’t, for one thing, now that the Republicans control everything from their new redoubt in the House of Representatives. And you’re not a bank. So. But you can, as I said, look for a situation where tuition reimbursement is a possibility, and take it a course at a time.
One last thought. I wouldn’t want you to go into our profession hastily; as has been vividly detailed, the employment picture is horrible. But–librarians are still needed, just as college professors were still needed even when the bottom dropped out of the academic job market forty years ago.
Just read your post and haven’t read the comments yet, but your “B” college in Maine reminds me of a little fun my office mate and I had in my first real job. This was in the late 1980s-early 1990s – a time of hiring again in cultural institutions after a decade or so of freezes, so there were a lot of us young people on the job being indulged by our older colleagues who were so glad to finally have some warm bodies to help with the work. (Yes, it was a wonderful time. May the same thing happen again in a few years!)
Anyway, one of these young colleagues – let’s call him Joe – went to the “B” school with a bobcat as the mascot. One of the school’s rivals was another “B” school with a polar bear as a mascot. My office mate and I had a whole game going where any polar bear thing we could find would end up on his desk. We even got him on a mailing list for those expensive polar bear tours in Churchill, Manitoba. I guess it was too much stress for him because he moved on to another (higher paying) field.
This reminiscence makes me think that we have lost a bit of our sense of fun in this time of economic woes. I’m going to try to bring it back a little to my workplace!