Starting a career as a Librarian?

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Starting a career as a Librarian?

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1AbbieC123
ag. 10, 2018, 12:34 pm

Hi Librarians! I'm a 36 yr old office manager seriously considering returning to school for my MLS or MLIS. From what I've read & what I know, I'm a great fit for the field, but I don't know enough about the job market to know if it's feasible. Can anyone enlighten me? What's it like for a newbie to search for full time work as a librarian? Would you recommend this field to a former English teacher who loves reading/organizing/information-hunting/etc & doesn't mind relocating but also wants to work full time & make enough $ to survive? Any info or feedback is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

2casvelyn
Editat: ag. 12, 2018, 3:04 pm

I was hoping that someone with more recent job-searching experience would respond, but I guess not. I was last on the library job market just under five years ago, so I expect some things have changed, although I do keep up with hiring trends in my state.

It really depends on where you want to work--both geographically and in terms of library type. I wanted to be in special collections and I did not want to leave my home city (which fortunately is home to a library school), so I worked as a waitress and volunteered at the library where I *really* wanted to work and applied for every position that came open until they hired me. It took about 18 months. I did apply to other libraries as well, but never even got interviews. However, this was in late 2012/early 2013 when libraries were just bouncing back from the recession and hiring laid off former librarians with experience at entry level salaries, so they weren't as interested in people with little experience. I think the job market has gotten better for new librarians since then.

You mention being a former teacher. I had a lot of former teachers in my library classes who wanted to become school librarians. I don't really recommend this, as school districts across the country are cutting school library positions right and left. It's probably the least stable from of librarianship, at least at the moment. Then again, over the course of a 30+ year career, who knows what the trends will be?

Librarianship is not the highest-paying job you could ever choose, but you probably know that already. :) Whether you will make enough to survive really depends on the size of the library system you get hired at and the cost of living wherever you end up. At smaller public libraries in my state, adult reference-type positions are part-time, hourly, and don't legally require an MLS. At the largest public libraries, you're looking at a starting salary in the mid- to upper-$30k range. The academics generally pay more, but often are tenure-track positions with the sorts of additional requirements that accompany the tenure process. Catalogers and other tech service folks generally make a bit more, because there are fewer of them.

The ALA jobs list is a good place to see what kind of jobs are out there and what the going salaries are: https://joblist.ala.org/jobs/

Do make sure your library school is ALA-accredited, as a lot of libraries won't hire people with a degree from an unaccredited program. While I think there are benefits to an in-person MLS program, if you can do one of the online programs, you can keep working at your current job while in school and until you get a library job. I did a partly online, partly in person program, and I preferred the online portions because I could do the work on my schedule.

ETA: While most librarians I know love reading (myself included), we usually don't do a lot of reading at work. :) Just wanted to throw that out there, since it's a common misconception. Liking to organize things and information-hunt is a plus though. You also need good customer service skills; working a public desk is like working retail except you're giving away your product. :)

3WeeTurtle
ag. 12, 2018, 7:02 pm

Hi there! I'm 35 and I'm just entering the field. I have a previous degree in English Literature and it was my intention to pursue archival studies but time and snags later, I've decided to go for a diploma as a Library Technician, rather than the degree.

I can't say for pay, but the jobs that I see around (we get emails every week with job openings from a mailing list) tend to be about 2/3rds actual libraries (school, public, academic), and the rest for things like document and information management, archives, etc., with employers ranging from libraries to private corporations, health authorities, even an a local symphony orchestra looking for someone to manage their sheet music loan program. It does seem to be a broad field.

4RowanTribe
ag. 16, 2018, 6:08 pm

Don't do it unless you've married someone who can support you. It's ESPECIALLY not worth it if you'd have to take out any student loans to get the degree.

There's a lot of entry level or part time positions, but places stagnate the further up the ranks you get, and it becomes a waiting game for someone to die/retire or get pregnant and realize their salary isn't as much as their daycare bills will be.

If you have a trust fund or a wealthy spouse, or don't mind being very poor and taking a LOONG time to work up the ladder, it's a lovely and fun and rewarding job, but you can't count on it for financial security or a stable job market.

5echoechokg
set. 29, 2018, 11:56 am

I graduated from my MSLIS this past June and I've been working in a public library as a full-time Children's Librarian since April. I think it really depends on where you are looking. The fact that you are willing to relocate is crucial because while one city may not have a lot of full-time options, others will. Sure the student loans are pretty outrageous, but I would rather be happy in my career and have student loan debt to pay back than to be miserable but have money. While it isn't the most lucrative career choice, it's not unlivable. I switched from a career in publishing and I make about the same as I did before the switch.

What I will say is that the job hunt takes a VERY long time. I started applying in the August before my graduation (so about two terms away from graduating) and was first interviewed for the position I have now in January and even after the interview I didn't start until April. Patience is key.

6melannen
set. 29, 2018, 2:11 pm

If you're thinking about public library positions, I would suggest that rather than getting an MLS, you just tune your resume for library-related experience and start applying now for anything you're qualified for. Most libraries have entry-level jobs that only require a bachelor's. If you want to improve your odds, volunteer part-time at a library (or even work part-time - some libraries have weekend-only positions, for example) as well - that's often where they look first for hiring, and it'll give you more experience.

There will be a point at which you can't be promoted without an MLS, but most library systems will help you get one if you reach that point (even if they have minimal tuition reimbursement, they will usually at least work with you around scheduling, etc.)

Full-time public library positions usually pay enough to live on, if not much more (as long as you don't have a bunch of student loans or a large family or something), but more and more public libraries are moving to mostly part-time positions which don't, so keep an eye on that.

HOWEVER, note that a front-line public library job these days is usually about 70% customer service and about 20% marketing; if that doesn't sound like you, the more "reading/organizing/information-hunting" end of the profession is going to be academic or corporate libraries or archives, or behind-the-scenes stuff like cataloging, purchasing, and digital archiving, which is an entirely different job market I know nothing about except that it's pretty tough! I think most of those jobs do expect an MLS though (and preferably a specialized MLS).