Tag Archives: library school

Training

What Should Library Graduates Know?

Whether or not you have a library degree, you work in the profession and you know the ideas, skills, and other things that are important to you and your workplace. Share those! Your voice, and your experience, is important here!

“The Simmons College School of Library and Information Science is conducting a brief survey intended to identify core skills and knowledge areas for the MS(LIS) program.  We are interested in which skills and knowledge areas you perceive to be most needed in the field now, and in the near future.  Your responses will help as as we review and continue to revise and improve our curriculum to ensure our graduates are well prepared for the job market.

Your responses are important. The survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.  Please access the survey and respond by Monday April 17th.
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

What is a librarian?

I have a plan. (187/365)Warning: this post is more than two sentences long…

Librarians are at the most critical time in history to define themselves. Yet there appears to be an ongoing  struggle to find clarity/passion  around  core functions or even a desire to get real about “owning” the fantastic set of skills that librarians possess!

Library users just want help, on their terms. They are not necessarily interested in all of the cool ways that librarians manipulate the world of information, even though we very much want them to care! They just want great service for all of their needs; and one stop works best in their busy lives! But, how well does this work when librarians hold on to traditional models of what an academic, public, and school librarian do for the user? Is it possible that librarians are willing to serve the user as long as the user need fits nicely within the realm they reside in?

In our search for staying relevant and moving towards the library of the future, the library workplace  is becoming much more demanding, requiring broader skill sets. This change in expectations often causes discomfort and some even question whether an MLS is what is needed in the field!

I recently read a great blog post called What is a Librarian? on the LITA blog which examines this topic, and it is worth a read. My favorite quote from the piece is this…. “If you care about information and want to do good with it, that’s enough for me. Others are free to put more rigorous constraints on the profession if they want, but in order for libraries to survive I think we should be more focused on letting people in than on keeping people out.” Amen!  Oh wait, there is more…

In a related  post titled MLS Required, Barbara Fister writes….”… when undergraduates ask about library school I try to be realistic – jobs aren’t plentiful, the pay isn’t great, some organizations are pretty toxic. Getting a foot in the door is really hard. You will have relatives who will repeatedly use the phrase “buggy whips” and laugh. But if you do apply to library school, don’t do it because libraries feel like safe places. Get good advising, try things that you feel ill-prepared to do, challenge yourself. Because those challenges will keep coming and you might as well get the hang of it.”

Patricia-

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/qc788l4, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Do You Work With an Academic Trendsetter?

MLA LogoThere are only three weeks left to nominate someone you know with a proven track record in bringing creative and quality programs, projects and/or services to your library!  The Minnesota Library Association (MLA) is accepting nominations until Thursday February 28, 2013.  Click here for more information and nomination materials.

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Ten Things I Didn’t Learn in Library School

From the blog Letters to a Young Librarian, comes a frank and funny blog post Ten Things I Didn’t Learn in Library School, Academic Edition about the top ten things that library school didn’t prepare the author for. This particular blog post is focused on academic libraries, while a similar post by Eric Riley focuses on public library work and “interesting” experiences he wasn’t exactly prepared for. You’ll laugh as they recount stories about dealing with difficult patrons, “janitorial work”, and the balancing act when it comes to working with and supporting faculty.

In particular, I appreciated the statement that, whether we like it or not, “the library (the department) is not always in charge of how the library (the space) is used”. I often struggled with this exact concept at the last library I worked at — the library was a prime spot for many events, with at least 80% of all campus events occurring in the library — even events seemingly unrelated to the library and its mission. Overtime, I had to find ways of managing this and still supporting the students with our resources even when the library (space) was otherwise occupied. Additionally, if the library got to take credit for the event and awesome free food — all the better!

So, take a look at the blog posts! What are some statements you agree with? Are there others that the authors missed? Check it out!!