Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Dispatches From a Public Librarian

This new posting is directed to those still *in* library school--like me!

5 comments:

Jess said...

Reading that makes me feel like I don't need to start library school. He's got some good stuff there!

Kathy said...

Library school was mostly boring. Oddly my favorite class was cataloging although I'm not a cataloger, I'm a reference librarian. But those reference classes were really boring! And the year or so, I'd spent working in a public library did me a lot of good.

BabelBabe said...

The only problem with library school is you have to go to be a librarian.

I was really disappointed in my program; perhaps if I'd gone somewhere else, I would feel differently. They talked a good game about tehchnology and new librarians being technically savvy, but everything I learned in that field was mostly due to one really good teacher and my own natural aptitude in that direction.

I really enjoyed my cataloging class, weirdly, although I am a ref librarian too. It helped immensely in cataloging my personal library : )

Gina said...

I have such issues with library school. On the one hand, I'm lazy; I'm happy to be receiving a Master's degree without much fuss or work on my part. On the other hand, though, I haven't learned much of anything yet, and I'm nearly half-way through.

There's a woman in my program who is terribly bitter about the fact that librarians get so much less respect and money than lawyers...

I suppose the MLS/MLIS is mostly a formality, but should that really be the case? If we're to be taken seriously as professionals, shouldn't our training be more rigorous? Shouldn't we have to pass some sort of boards?

Sarah Louise said...

Hmmm...I have mixed feelings. As a librarian who started in kids and now is split between kids and cataloguing, I wish I'd paid more attention in my "Organizing Info" class. I learned a lot in library school and I worked hard. This "dispatch" makes it seem like we're going to beauty school or something...I was a little insulted. (And maybe because I am touchy about people who say library school is a joke--they must have been taking different classes.) I totally agree about taking a practicum.