Shame on Library Schools!

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14 Responses

  1. Anonymous says:

    I find this blog the day after I submitted my application to a college to begin their MLIS program. I have someone who has continued to try and dissuade me from the MLIS and even still this article disheartens me. I started in a teacher education program and figured out it really wasn’t what I wanted to do.

    • Regina says:

      Here’s a different way to look at library school. Now that you are more aware of the facts, demand some changes from the inside! Use your grad experience to get library school teachers to think BIGGER about what they teach, and what to provide students, i.e., more internships and stronger job placement.

  2. deccan says:

    Thanks. Inspired by your question, this morning at Linkedin, I did a survey of this kind of treatment (on one side) and some links to what may sound like the other side’s view. The post is now up at my blog: Librarian’s (LIS) career inside—or outside—jobs in the traditional library setting: Hype or Hope??? at my blog for Library Technicians’
    http://lit2542006.blogspot.ca/2013/08/librarians-lis-career-insideor.html

  3. JT says:

    Employment prospects in libraries may not be good, but the the skils learned in library schools can be applied in many other fields. If someone sets their sights on working in a public or school library, they may have trouble. But they should look wider and the schools should emphasize those other possibilities. Mine did.

    • Regina says:

      I agree. Library schools should be emphasizing other possibilities. Currently they teach students to be library advocates, but don’t do much in the way of breaking the mold that the profession is trapped in.

  4. wordsforthis says:

    This is an excellent post. Since graduation in 2010 I have been aware of the dire job market but my dismay has been steadily increasing in the past year (job hunting for many months will do that to you) when I see the number of people going into library school/interested in the field of librarianship and the number of people already in the field without jobs. I have thought back to my library school program and how EASY it was. I flew through it, without seeing the ease of it as a sign of the state of librarianship. You point out how programs are just accepting students and churning out graduates and I think that shows the umbrella problem, that library schools need to be held to a hire standard (aka accrediting entities need to do that asap), create programs that prepare librarians for the demands of the diverse workplace, and evolve with people, technology, and the digital age.

    • Regina says:

      Finding a library job today is difficult. It shouldn’t be when considering all the fields that actually NEED librarians. Consider Electronic Medical Records or E-book Software Companies. Librarians could make these products better and more user-friendly, if only the companies knew and appreciated what modern librarians do. Library schools must stop continuing to contribute to the “glut” of grads who lack the skills they need to compete and promote themselves. Much of what makes me an effective and dynamic librarian, I learned on the job or taught myself. It had very little to do with what I’d been taught in library school, which was mostly theory. Such a shame. Such a waste. Library schools need to wake up and improve their product!

  5. Anonymous says:

    I have personally dissuaded 2 people from getting an mls; even though I have one.

    Saying a university has a moral obligation is like saying a corporation has a moral obligation: it’s a pipe dream. The buyer must do the research and make the choice. The two people I spoke with did just that: asked someone in the field. They avoided the costly mistake of attending Drexel university by having a 5 minute conversation!

    Univetsities exist to make money; their only obligation is to follow the law. And no law will restrict commerce not in America.

    • Regina says:

      I agree that incoming students should beware of their choices before deciding upon library school. However, if library schools don’t understand how the job market has shifted, how can they train graduates to cope, compensate, overcome, or re-invent the field? I for one expect more from higher education institutions, especially since they’ve raised tuition so much within just the last decade.

      • wordsforthis says:

        I think it’s also up to the professional associations/accrediting organizations to make this an issue. Obviously librarianship isn’t the same as the medical field but what if they didn’t adapt with up-to-date research and “consumer” need and were still using whiskey and saws for surgery? I see a parallel but I definitely think it’s next to impossible to create a sweeping change within graduate programs.

    • Chris C. says:

      I am also dissuading many people from getting an MLIS. They will come out of school in debt and unable to get a job or a job that pays a living wage so that they can pay back their loans. I have been looking for a job for over seven years – the job I had was going the way of the dinosaur and I knew that the library (worked there for over 10 years) would be closed at some point so I started looking ahead of time. No jobs to be had or if there are jobs, literally 300 applicants. Something is wrong with this picture. DON’T GET AN MLIS. Go into healthcare or a field where you will be able to get a stable job.

      • Regina says:

        Chris, when I was getting my MLIS, I kept asking why librarians weren’t more involved with electronic medical records. They SHOULD BE, right? It’s a shame that more library schools don’t collaborate with other departments to create meaningful internships for their students. Consider how powerful hands-on experience with pre-med or nursing database structures could be. Not only would the grad be more employable, but the medical records (and other) fields would recognize, “Hey, librarians know how to organize data and provide access to info in user-friendly ways.”