Librarians everywhere hate me

[Prudence]

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

l(but I really do miss academic reference work; too bad the pay is crap).

And that's why I'm not employed as a librarian! Nothing like a field that *requires* an MLIS, and then expects entry level folks to start part time at the public library at wages comparable to (or below) entry level BA/BS jobs. Seriously, I would have had to dial my salary back to the pre-degree level. That's not a "professional" salary. That's a salary for wifey-poo who has a cute little job during the day while little Johnny and Susie are in school. Like teaching, that's the perception of the profession.

And it's not just the general public that thinks so. When I was in school, the Dean cancelled future offerings of the humanities reference class (leaving social science and health science reference) because "it's all on the internet." I took the last class and it was, without a doubt, the most valuable class I took. It's hard to advocate for the rigor of the profession when the academic representatives of the profession think it's unnecessary.

I still love information. I still love the chase. It's not uncommon for me to have someone trapped in my office while I try just one more set of search terms because I *know* the answer to their question is out there. I'm hoping my training will help me be a better attorney - and a more valuable hiring prospect.

In the meantime, boy do I have respect for those who are truly committed to the profession and keep at it despite the low pay and minimal respect. Especially public librarians. Man, you guys should get hazard pay!

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Prudence

the Dean cancelled future offerings of the humanities reference class (leaving social science and health science reference) because "it's all on the internet."

Which program did you go through?

What's weird about that is that of the three major reference specialties, the humanities is the worst represented on the internet. Monographs are the primary method of scholarship in the humanities and while the digitization of those resources is finally beginning, the more journal-based scholarship of the hard and soft sciences has been electronic since well before the World Wide Web (god to I miss my DIALOG account).

The pay isn't necessarily terrible, at least in my chosen track (academic reference librarianship, though getting in the door is hard) but it simply paled in comparison to what I was able to make doing web application development.

[Matterhorn Fan]

Well, the other option is not to get your MLIS, but to get your MA and teach freshman composition. You get to be both full-time professor and part-time reference librarian (gotta love those research papers!) all for the low, low pay of . . . well, let's just say I don't make that much more than some people I know who don't have college degrees at all. The pay isn't terrible, but it's not very good, either.

[Prudence]

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

Which program did you go through?

What's weird about that is that of the three major reference specialties, the humanities is the worst represented on the internet. Monographs are the primary method of scholarship in the humanities and while the digitization of those resources is finally beginning, the more journal-based scholarship of the hard and soft sciences has been electronic since well before the World Wide Web (god to I miss my DIALOG account).

University of Washington. They got a shiny new Dean a few years ago who was all into dropping the library science and being about "information science." If that would have meant a focus on user behavior studies and information seeking behaviors and so forth, I could have bought it. Instead, the focus is now on training database administrators.

And I'm with you on the weirdness. That was basically the focus of our class - that unlike the other specialties, most of our work would NOT be on the internet. Thus, we needed to learn about print reference sources. Heck, I work in the health sciences and have degrees in the humanities so I know first hand about the journal/monograph dichotomy. That was why it was so absolutely INSANE to have the DEAN of a library science program utter such inanity.

I wanted to be an academic librarian, but the field currently requires two years experince as a full-time librarian just to qualify. And the local public libraries require 2-5 years part-time experience to qualify for full-time employment. In fact, one of the major public library systems, King County, now has a application process where you have to WORK FOR FREE in three different branches in three different functions while they observe -- and that's just to get into the applicant pool! This information I have from someone who actually went through that humiliation. One of my classmates finally took a job she hates -- at a prison! including "close" custody and "special offender" units! the other library staff members are inmates! -- just so she could get full-time work and get the two years' experience she needs to qualify for academic library positions.

In my case, I'm the primary wage earner so I can't afford to take low-paying part-time work to "pay my dues." I've worked as a paraprofessional in a public library and I don't think that I should have to work as a librarian in a public library for x number of years if that's not what I want to do. That's just perpetuating the perception that public librarians aren't professionals committed to their jobs. The library where I volunteer has librarians just marking time until they can qualify for a job in another type of library. There's this alleged "librarian shortage," but entry-level positions get applicants with 5+ years of experience who've been laid off from elsewhere. It's nearly impossible to break into the field now.

[Not Afraid]

Interesting discussion. I have been thinking about an MLS for the bast couple of weeks. It goes well with Art History but not as well with Business.

[Alex]

Actually, an MLS can go very well with business, particularly if you persue a Special Libraries track. Corporate libraries tend to be very different than public and academic libraries but many of them would find a business background very useful.

Prudence, I did my undergraduate at UW and spent four years working the third floor serials desk on the closing shift (without librarian supervision so I got a lot of good ref desk experience as an undergrad. Ah, the memories of rousting sleepers out of the reading room at 12:30 in the morning. I would have gone to the school at UW, but my ex-wife was going to go there so I decided on the University of Hawaii program instead. She would have been there 96-98 so it sounds like it is unlikely you knew her.

[Prudence]

I was there 99-02, so I didn't know her. Actually, I didn't know much of anyone. I really don't have good memories of that program. Well, there were a couple highlights -- one good friend and a handful of quality classes.

[Alex]

But you did get to go into Suzzallo Library every day. I love that building.

[Alex]

Here is the main reading room in the building where Prudence went to school and I worked for years (while going to school)



And from the outside (the above room is the entire upper floor you see here):



(Don't know how tight you are around here on copyright, so these are my own photos.)

[wendybeth]

What a gorgeous building. Must have been a bit spooky late at night......