I've gotten the impression from a few librarians that Library School is something of a joke. That it's a formality to becoming an librarian but little in the school actually prepares you for being one. It's a lot of reading, theories and essays that play little to no role in your actual duties as a librarian. If I'm hearing this from librarians that have been out of school for 10-15 years, I'm wondering why school hasn't evolved along the way.
One college I considered had a lot of coursework involving building databases and learning XHTML, which does not appeal to me. I asked a current librarian about that and she was like, "Yeah, that seems unnecessary."
Even now, I'm feeling some of the coursework we're doing is nice and all, but it seems like so much more is learned on the job.
I'm starting to wonder about my classes, too. In one class, we're supposed to do some readings and then make posts on the discussion board. Let's say this one post is worth 30 points. Some people's posts are like 4-5 paragraphs with anywhere from 1-7 quotes / sources cited. My posts are 3 paragraphs with no sources cited, and I get a 28/30 (which is a 90%). So is it really worth the effort to research 7 sources to get an extra two points? Not when you've got Star Wars: Battlefront 2 calling your name.
1 comment:
On tech skills: Web design, programming and database management can be extremely helpful in making you a more desirable and flexible candidate. The job market being what it is these days, you may need that. Public librarians in large systems with centralized control and departments may not need advanced tech skills, but I worked in a two-branch public library that had me do website design and cataloging along with reference work. If you can't get a job in a public library, you will likely need strong tech skills to work in an academic or solo library. Check out some of the job ads--academic libraries are where most of the jobs are right now, and they especially want people with backgrounds in database management and/or digital archiving. If I were in library school right now I'd definitely focus more on info tech/info architecture/digital archives.
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