Librarianship

So You Want to be a Librarian? A Guide For Those Considering an MLS, Current Students & Job Seekers

By on • ( 59 Comments )

This WayI get a lot of email asking for advice either on getting an MLS, the job search or the skills needed. So I’ve pulled together a list of the best of the best advice for potential MLS students, current students and job seekers. In cases where the titles are not self explanatory I’ve grabbed a sentence or two from the post to give context

The Degree

The Job Search

General Professional Advice

Skills

Help keep this site ad free

Categories: Librarianship

Tagged as: , , , , , , , , ,

59 replies »

    • Thank you for the mention, Andy!

      Thanks, Bobbi, for such a great list of resources. I’m flattered to be included in them! Some of these posts have been extremely helpful in my job search, so now I’m off to read the ones I haven’t seen yet.

      Like

  18. Hi Bobbi! Excellent list you have compiled! I would like to add a blog post from my classmate Adelle about how to manage library school while working (since most of us were working while going to class). The link to her post is here: http://adellefrank.com/blog/how-to-survive-library-school. I also included a reply post on my blog elaborating on some of her points: http://risingwiththemoon.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/mlis-program-tips-from-a-classmate/.

    Thank you very much for providing access to these resources.

    Like

  21. Hi Bobbi. This is the list I have been looking for. I am mid-MLIS and am trying to find my way through the degree and into the field. I am working on a “Hacking the MLIS” sort of document (in the spirit of and totally ripping off Hacking The Academy), and wondered if it’d be alright if I included this post/list in my research. I plan/hope to publish it online in the same way that the Alt-Ac Profhacker folks did with the Academy doc. I think there are enough people writing about the degree that there should be some collaborative, accessible document that will outlast all our various blog posts. Interested?

    Like

  22. Pingback: links for 2010-09-03 « OU-Tulsa Library News
  25. Pingback: Inspiring stuff to read, Take 2 | Information Wants To Be Free
  26. Pingback: So you want to be a librarian « Bibliographic Wilderness
  27. Pingback: The MLIS vs. the MLS « The Infornado
  29. Pingback: i n f o d o n » September 8th

  31. Hey Bobbi, great list! Thanks for pulling it all together! For what it’s worth, I wrote a book with the very same title: So You Want To Be A Librarian. It gives a general overview of the field, different positions, and grad school.

    Like

  32. Pingback: Inspiring stuff to read, Take 2, From Meredith Farkas « Phx Friends of UA SIRLS
  33. Pingback: Looking for a library job? Hang in there! « Library Scenester
  34. Pingback: For Soon-to-be Librarians with Little Professional Involvement and Networking – Library Hat

  35. Dear Bobbi

    I’m a high school student, currently living outside the States, but I’m extremely interested in becoming a librarian, and the more I read about it the more I like the sound of the job. However, I’m really worried about the fact that I’m a practising Muslim girl, wearing a hijab (headscarf). I read somewhere that as a library student you should try to stand out and this will be easy, but do you think that this will stop people employing me?

    Please reply,

    Bayan

    Like

    • Dear Bayan,

      It sounds like a difficult question to reply because of the little available. Are there women wearing hijab working at libraries and other institutions where you live? If so, you should ask them. Or are you planning to move to the US and your question was related to the job market there? If it’s the second, again, it’s a difficult question – many organization have as a policy to hire people from minorities, but I wouldn’t guarantee anything.

      It seems to me that you may want to continue your research by asking people you know, but then again, it’s just my idea.

      Best,
      Julia

      Like

  36. Pingback: So You Want To Be A Librarian » Some Recent Links!
  37. Pingback: Is She Crazy to Want to Work in Libraries? Advice for a Potential Librarian. | Librarian by Day
  38. Pingback: Pink and Libraries | Random Thoughts
  39. Pingback: A blog with an indentity crisis | the lisa chronicles.
  40. Pingback: On my very first interview… | Angela Pashia

  41. do the 36 credit hours needed to get a masters in library and information science include the basic courses like college algebra and such? or do I not have to take those because I’ll be going into a graduate program?
    (highschool junior)

    Like

  42. It looks like there was some great information links on this page at one time, but I tried 4 links, starting at the top and they are all broken.

    Like

  43. Pingback: #MLA DEAL Career Post 1: Begin With The End In Mind « Development of Emerging & Aspiring Librarians
  44. Pingback: Building your professional presence » New Librarians' Symposium - NLS6
  45. Pingback: Snapshot 7.11.12 | Little Big
  46. Pingback: A Blog With An Identity Crisis | Exit, Pursued By A Bear
  47. Pingback: “The Graph” & What To Do About Rising LIS Graduation Rates « Elizabeth Lieutenant
  48. Pingback: OKC Nerdy Girls | Nerdy Careers: How to be a Librarian
  49. Pingback: Job For Librarian | New Job Today
  50. Pingback: “So You Want to be a Librarian?” | Spark Plug Librarian