Joke?

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.

Online School

I think I made the right decision in choosing which online school to attend. After meeting and talking to some students in the other program I considered, I'm confident I chose the right one. They talked about not having time for a social life and how much the classes were kicking their ass...es.

Not that my online school is the easiest thing I've done but I'm surprised more people aren't going there. If your job is to locate information, wouldn't you research a school that's engineered for full-time working individuals, is cheaper and can get you done in two years flat?