Any LIBRARIANS here?!

[Vallie]

Are there any librarians on this board?

I'm a recent university grad and I'm trying to take a more specialized course to start my career. I was interested in becoming a teacher originally but unfortunatly due to the very strong competition here in toronto it doesnt look like thats going to happen.

The thought of being a librarian very much appeals to me but I was wondering if there are any librarians on the board that could tell me more about the position and if you love your job and why!

thanks!

 

[Vallie]

Anyone?

 

[bookgirl]

I was a teacher who went back to get a masters in library and information science. I have been a librarian at a public library for 6 years. I did not get the school media certification, but if you like the school setting I would recomend getting an emergency certification to be a media specialist and then going back to work on your masters.

I choose to leave the school setting because I did not like the atmosphere. (love the kids but parents and administration suck and I was tired of paperwork and politics) I LOVE being in the public library setting, I am currently the Young Adult programer for a suburban branch or a large county system. I like working with the teens and I love working with books. Shelf management is so much fun, reviewing books, working of reading lists and displays. I also spend half my time on the reference desk and I find this challenging. I don't get bored very often and it's always interesting to help people with research.

Don't get me wrong it has it's downsides. I mean really why call the library for help without having your library card number, and parents who tell me there kid has a paper due and could I pull articles and books and give them a list of where to look in the book and they'll come by and pick it up. Oh and don't get me started on people who come in to use the computer and complain because we don't let them go to some sites, and you mean they have to pay to print out 100 pages, and no you don't get complete privacy and silence. Well you get the picture.

But all in all it's really a great job. But you have to realize that even libraries are in a crunch. I took a half time position with no benefits just so I'd be in the system, (I know of people who took shelving jobs with a masters just so they had a foot in the door) and it was 5 years before I got a full time position. I was in a situation that I could pass by some less desirable positions to wait for one I wanted, but even those who took any position had to wait.

I love the job, love books and I'm a people person, so if you are okay with that then I think it's be a good job.

 

[paintnolish]

DH is a school librarian! He has an extended contract, so he makes a little more than the other teachers. He gets to work with a variety of kids and grade levels (he is k-12 now, used to be in HS only). Also, even though there is a huge need for librarians (how many does each school need?), there isn't a lot of competition. He's been on 2 interviews and gotten them both. Most librarians are older and not as in touch with technology as those graduating today. I'll pass along any other questions you might have.

 

[Vallie]

Thank you both for your answers! Very encouraging!

I think I would LOVE working in a school (as I already currently do that)
or even in the public library system. I just wanted to make sure I was clearly understanding what the job entails and it sounds like i do!

so thats great!

 

[Praying Colonel]

Are there any librarians on this board?

I'm a recent university grad and I'm trying to take a more specialized course to start my career. I was interested in becoming a teacher originally but unfortunatly due to the very strong competition here in toronto it doesnt look like thats going to happen.

The thought of being a librarian very much appeals to me but I was wondering if there are any librarians on the board that could tell me more about the position and if you love your job and why!

thanks!

DW's a librarian. Originally she was going to teach Spanish and English, but then life happened--we got married, started a family and she wanted to be a SAHM.

By the time she decided to enter the job market about 12 years later, she no longer had the desire to teach, but she loved kids and loved books, so she started thinking about being a librarian.

On a whim she spoke with a librarian at our local branch one day, and learned that they were hiring library assistants--no library degree required, just a B.A. She applied and was hired at that branch as a children's library assistant. Then the library paid for her M.S. in Library and Information Science in exchange for a 3-year payback.

She now works as a combination Assistant Manager and Children's Librarian at another branch. Although she wishes she had more resources available to help her do her job, she really loves working with kids and loves her profession.

 

[librarygal]

I have been a librarian for over twenty years and have worked mostly in special libraries. If you like kids a school librarian may be a job for you. However, this is a terrible time for public libraries. Hours are being cut and there are hiring freezes everywhere. One small branch near us has lost five librarian positions. Even academic librarians are being let go because of money issues and the feeling that "everything is online".

 

[NotUrsula]

What the job entails depends greatly on where the job is. I'm a special librarian at the moment -- the largest part of my job is negotiating service contracts with the publishers of electronic journals. You don't get that in a school librarian's job description too often (most of the electronic access contracts that K-12 schools have are fairly low-dollar, and are almost always negotiated at the district level.)

The usual breakdown in larger libraries is between Technical Services and Public Services. Public Services are the people that you see -- they work as branch managers and in Reference and Circulation. Technical Services are the people that you don't see; we order and process materials, handle business functions such as vendor contract negotiations, and maintain the computers. In very small libraries, one person might handle all those things, though most of the time, in an independent small library, money (specifically the lack of it) usually imposes limitations on what kind of services are offered.

The PP who said that the market was dead right now is absolutely correct. Librarians mostly work for government agencies of one type or another, and when tax revenue is down, positions are not filled. The entire system of the Free Library of Philadelphia came within days of complete shutdown a few weeks ago; only a major last-minute letter campaign persuaded the PA legislature to save it with emergency funding. That was a short-term reprieve for their 43 libraries and the 3000 people who work there.

One of the Catch-22s of library work is that you won't get hired as a professional unless you have library experience. Therefore, my suggestion to you is that, before investing in a degree, try to find some paraprofessional work in a library setting (part-time will do just fine.) See how you like it. (I warn you that the pay will not be great -- it almost never is; this is a pink-collar ghetto.)

BTW, re: the PP who said that her husband the school librarian seldom encountered competition is probably correct. Male school librarians are rarer than hen's teeth, and I imagine that gives him quite a competitive advantage. (Anyone who has ever worked in a high school knows that male personnel are highly prized because there is a perception that they can be called upon to assist in situations where physical strength is needed.)

 

[HugsForEeyore]

I am a part-time librarian in a public library. My library is one of the last fortresses of the "good old days". Most of the full-time librarians here make over $70,000, with incredibly generous medical benefits and pensions. Tons of vacation time, personal days and sick days (for the full-timers, not me - I don't get anything). Everyone here still believes the union will always protect them, and there will never be cuts in salaries or benefits since "they were promised". And my fellow staff members use every llittle bit of their medical benefits - it seems every day someone is out visiting some sort of specialist for any little ache or pain.

Sadly the result of this is a lot of well-paid too-comfortable librarians who don't try (since they can never be fired, right?) and give the job the minimum effort. The people in our town HATE the staff, we have a horrible reputation and the librarians don't care. The town already can't afford the salaries and astronomical medical benefits, so there aren't going to be any new fulltime hires - everyone new will be part-time or a temp. So I can never be full-time, so I have to decide if I want to look elsewhere or find another part-time job to add to this one. Eventually in the future the library will become mostly benefit-less part-timers. I know other libaries without a single full-time person on staff.

I guess the point of my post is the full-time jobs with generous benefits are very hard to find now. Those librarians who got those job aren't giving them up! But I do see lots of part-time work out there, which has been my entire career now (going on 5 years with my MLIS).

I don't know much about school librarians, but most schools here want certified teachers with many years experience on top of the masters degree in library science. Far harder to break into than public libraries.

If you are willing to be poor and string together part-time jobs, then being a librarian can work for you! Even so, I have no regrets - I make far more as a librarian than I did with my undergrad computer science degree.

 

[Vallie]

Good to hear both sides.

It seems that here where I live Librarian jobs are more available. Ive seen many postings in school boards and library job sites for available jobs. But I will be calling around to investigate further for sure.

 

[NotUrsula]

I am a part-time librarian in a public library. My library is one of the last fortresses of the "good old days". Most of the full-time librarians here make over $70,000, with incredibly generous medical benefits and pensions. Tons of vacation time, personal days and sick days (for the full-timers, not me - I don't get anything). Everyone here still believes the union will always protect them, and there will never be cuts in salaries or benefits since "they were promised". And my fellow staff members use every llittle bit of their medical benefits - it seems every day someone is out visiting some sort of specialist for any little ache or pain.

Sadly the result of this is a lot of well-paid too-comfortable librarians who don't try (since they can never be fired, right?) and give the job the minimum effort. The people in our town HATE the staff, we have a horrible reputation and the librarians don't care. The town already can't afford the salaries and astronomical medical benefits, so there aren't going to be any new fulltime hires - everyone new will be part-time or a temp. So I can never be full-time, so I have to decide if I want to look elsewhere or find another part-time job to add to this one. Eventually in the future the library will become mostly benefit-less part-timers. I know other libaries without a single full-time person on staff.

I guess the point of my post is the full-time jobs with generous benefits are very hard to find now. Those librarians who got those job aren't giving them up! But I do see lots of part-time work out there, which has been my entire career now (going on 5 years with my MLIS).

I don't know much about school librarians, but most schools here want certified teachers with many years experience on top of the masters degree in library science. Far harder to break into than public libraries.

If you are willing to be poor and string together part-time jobs, then being a librarian can work for you! Even so, I have no regrets - I make far more as a librarian than I did with my undergrad computer science degree.

Please note that HugsforEeyore's situation is a bit special, because she is in a unionized public system. Not many of those still exist in the US. To be frank, there were never very many of them to begin with, and almost all of them are in major cities in the Northeastern US, and in Chicago. I've worked for three public systems, a vendor, two major universities and two nonprofit foundations; but I have never worked in a unionized workplace.

Full-time jobs with benefits are still the usual norm for professionals in the majority of accredited universities, government and private sector special libraries. Part-time is more common in schools and public libraries. Many of the schools in my state use what are known as circuit-riders -- district employees who serve several schools simultaneously. They do one or two days per week at each school in their rotation. However, there is no state mandate that a school must have a librarian at all; the district is free to cut the position as they wish.

Around here (US midwest), schools are not difficult to get into if they are hiring librarians at all, because they don't demand much experience. What they do demand, however, is teacher certification and a media specialist certificate. I have 22 years experience as a professional librarian with an MLIS, and experience with handling budgets well over $1 million. I couldn't get a job as a school librarian if I offered to work for free, because I don't have an education degree.

Oh, one more thing, and I know this is the norm in Canada, too, as I used to do a lot of work up there when I was a vendor. If you are serious about career advancement, you have to be willing to make lateral moves. As a general rule, libraries don't promote from within on the professional level; they like to get new blood from outside. Being tied to one geographic area will really hurt you if you are ambitious.

 

[gregokdisney]

My district has a full time librarian in each school, and that's almost unheard of in this day and age. I've also heard that full-time librarian jobs at public libraries are getting harder and harder to find because they are filling the jobs with para-professionals, aka, perfectly qualified people who don't have the M.L.S. degree. I was very nervous about finding a job, especially since after I completed my M.L.S. degree I went to school another 2 1/2 years to get teacher certification. The stars were aligned when I got my job, because librarian openings in schools are very rare around here!

That's the negative part. The positive part is that I love my job! What's not to love? I get paid to introduce kids to great books and to think up ways to get them reading, and to buy great books for them to read. I run a book club and get to read and discuss books with them. I also help the students and teachers with research needs. As a school librarian, it's kind of a reference librarian job combined with a children's librarian job combined with the directorship of a library job! I do it all, but I love every minute of it, even the dreary stuff like shelving. I take pride in keeping the library ship-shape.

I love helping people find information. When I help a student or teacher find exactly what they are looking for, and they are so grateful because it seemed impossible to them, it just makes my day.

The thing I tell people considering this job is that it is very much a service profession. If you don't like helping people, it's not for you. I may be involved in re-shelving a million books, but if 10 kids come in while I'm in the middle of it, I have to get up 10 times to help them. I know so many librarians who get burnt out on the people part and become very disgruntled, so I stress that you need to have a service-oriented personality to go the distance.

 

[Vallie]

Hmm... alot to think about.

We only have one Masters degree program here in Toronto, but we do have a Library Technician Course which is what Im looking into taking.

From what Ive seen from job postings with my B.A and that diploma I can get a job at a school, public library, special library or college/university library.

A library tech is NOT the same as a librarian, Im aware of this. Like I said Im most interested in working in a school setting or public library. From what Ive seen posted on school board job postings, that diploma and a couple years experiance is what I need.

I hope Im correct in this because I am really excited about this program.

This diploma can all be done online and currently I have a pretty good position. Should I be volunteering/trying to find part time work to build up my experiance at a library?

 

[si-am]

I was a school librarian for several years and hated it.

I wanted to be around the kids, wanted to promote books and reading. Instead I was told my primary job was to sit in my office and catalog and place book orders. I had to maintain and run the Accelerated Reading program at the school which I *hated*! (We weren't supposed to let kids check out books not on their designated AR reading level. )

The few times I tried to shelve books or sit at the front desk and chat to kids checking out books, I got in trouble with the principal for "slacking off" and doing the parapro's job.

Ugh. Maybe it was just the school I was in, but it was terrible. I let my media specialist certification expire and have no desire to go back.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

Please note that HugsforEeyore's situation is a bit special, because she is in a unionized public system. Not many of those still exist in the US. To be frank, there were never very many of them to begin with, and almost all of them are in major cities in the Northeastern US, and in Chicago. I've worked for three public systems, a vendor, two major universities and two nonprofit foundations; but I have never worked in a unionized workplace.

Yep! Here in NJ, many libraries are part of CWA (Communication Workers of America). I am not a part of the union, since as a part-timer, there is not much they can do for me (except take my money for dues). Some of my coworkers don't like me since I am willing to work without benefits and without a union to "protect" me. I believe the unions will lose effectiveness in the future, and librarians better be ready to work harder and market and sell themselves to stay employable. Right now, we have too many who hide behind the union.

The other poster who said this is a service-orientated profession is exactly right! Customer service and people skills are #1. Sadly at my library, we have librarians and staff who deliberately are as rude as possible, since hey - if the patrons get too annoyed and stop asking them questions, all the less work! No I am not kidding either.

This thread is reminding me I need to update my resume and get a new interview suit ......!

OP - overall, I enjoy my profession (believe it or not!). I like helping the kids, I like the technical parts (like interlibrary loans, cataloging), I like finding lost items (that can be like a little treasure hunt!). But the profession is so hard to break into here, since the full-time, unionized librarians are very comfortable and aren't going anywhere!

 

[NotUrsula]

Hmm... alot to think about.

A library tech is NOT the same as a librarian, Im aware of this. Like I said Im most interested in working in a school setting or public library. From what Ive seen posted on school board job postings, that diploma and a couple years experiance is what I need.

I hope Im correct in this because I am really excited about this program.

This diploma can all be done online and currently I have a pretty good position. Should I be volunteering/trying to find part time work to build up my experiance at a library?

Yes, you should be volunteering or trying to get a bit of part-time experience. Libraries will be looking for that once you finish school and start looking for full-time work. This is especially crucial for people who do online programs, as you probably won't have a resident practicum.

I checked, and it looks like the Ontario group for degreed paraprofessionals is http://www.oaltabo.on.ca/site/?q=node/2. You might want to sign up on their site and see what advice their members can offer you.

In the US we call degreed paraprofessionals Library Associates in most cases, but it looks like the Canadian term is Library Technician. These jobs commonly are more likely to be offered on a part-time basis than those that require an MLIS, but the bright side is that there are usually more of them. I used to be one -- the university I worked for allowed us to pursue graduate degrees at their SLIS during work hours and reimbursed for tuition.

I was a f/t Library Associate (with a BA) for 4 years before I finished my MLIS and moved elsewhere to start my professional career: I was a copy cataloger. (Note that I did NOT have a choice about the moving -- that university, like many others, has a policy of not hiring their own graduates in faculty positions. Once I got my Master's, I had six months to find somewhere else to go. They would not let me remain in my Associate position longer than that once I had the terminal degree.)

 

[Crankyshank]

I'm in my first semester at library school (dual program in history/GSLIS). I'm enjoying the courses, but I have to admit I'm very stressed out about the job situation. Most people in my program either work at a library, or have had library experience in the past. Library jobs are incredibly scarce here and they all want a MLIS + experience. I am at a loss to figure out how to get experience.

 

[yoopermom]

I earned my MLS (as it was called then) when the demand for school library media specialists was high, but have now been on layoff from my last position for five years. I would LOVE to get back into a library, ANY library, but here in the U.S. it's very difficult. Having said that, I loved the work and never regretted going into the field. Right now I'm volunteering at our local public library in the hope of getting my foot in the door...

Good luck!

Terri

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm in my first semester at library school (dual program in history/GSLIS). I'm enjoying the courses, but I have to admit I'm very stressed out about the job situation. Most people in my program either work at a library, or have had library experience in the past. Library jobs are incredibly scarce here and they all want a MLIS + experience. I am at a loss to figure out how to get experience.

Volunteering counts, so start making calls; current funding being what it is most libraries will be thrilled to have you. I don't know anyone who hires who will insist on paid experience for a new grad, but you'll want to have at least 1000 hours of volunteer time under your belt in the area that you mean to practice in; more would be preferable.