This anonymous interview is with a public librarian who has been a member of a hiring or search committee. This person hires the following types of LIS professionals:
I have sat on panels for library assistants and librarians. I have directly hired librarians.
This librarian works at a library with 50-100 staff members in a suburban area in the Western US.
Do library schools teach candidates the job skills you are looking for in potential hires?
√ Other: Some skills, particularly customer service, are absent from most candidates just out of programs.
Should library students focus on learning theory or gaining practical skills? (Where 1 means Theory, 5 means practice, and 3 means both equally)
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What coursework do you think all (or most) MLS/MLIS holders should take, regardless of focus?
√ Budgeting/Accounting
√ Project Management
√ Library Management
√ Collection Management
√ Programming (Events)
√ Research Methods
√ Reference
√ Readers’ Advisory
√ Outreach
√ Marketing
√ Soft Skills (e.g. Communication, Interpersonal Relations)
Do you find that there are skills that are commonly lacking in MLS/MLIS holders? If so, which ones?
Yes. In libraries today a more appropriate degree for a head of a branch, department or system would be a MPA. A masters level education is not necessary for a librarian. I would rather see a BS in library science. A BS would give the candidate two full years of upper division education (rather than one and that mostly on-line in some programs) and would be less expensive (which would help considering what librarians make). Currently the MLS requirement is there because of the professions insecurity (and the fact that we all have one).
When deciding who to hire out of a pool of candidates, do you value skills gained through coursework and skills gained through practice differently?
√ Other: It depends on how the candidate presents himself. If they can demonstrate to me (in the thirty minute interview, which is difficult) they have the skills, then I don’t care where they acquired it.
Which skills (or types of skills) do you expect a new hire to learn on the job (as opposed to at library school)?
Depends on position and institution, of course. I would expect my new public reference librarian to know the common databases, have an idea about the structure, mission and organization of a public library. Being able to answer questions beyond “googleing” (knowledge of the Black Net, advanced search techniques and print material would be good). Personnel interaction, customer service is a large part of a new librarians work (used to be called “working with the public”)
Anything of “local practice” would be taught on the job. Quirks of our system, strange policies and such we would teach. The idea is that a MLIS should be able to get up to speed and be productive very soon. Unfortunately, increasingly, this is not the case. An experienced Library Assistant non MLIS usually gets up to speed much faster than your right out of the program MLIS.
Which of the following experiences should library students have upon graduating?
√ Library work experience
√ Internship or practicum
√ Teaching assistant/Other instructional experience
Which library schools give candidates an edge (you prefer candidates from these schools)?
Well, I could be biased, but UCLA had a good program. I think what made it useful was it was a two year program and internships were stressed.
On-line schools offer almost no real experience. They also don’t offer customer training and interaction which I have mentioned before are very important.
It also should be noted, it is the individual candidates not the school which are important. I have seen very bad candidates from the “best” schools (UCLA, Urbana, Pratt, CUNY) and great candidates from lesser known schools.
Are there any library schools whose alumni you would be reluctant to hire?
No, as stated above, a good hire will get the best out of even a lesser program and a poor hire, even one who went to a prestigious school, will still be a chump.
What advice do you have for students who want to make the most of their time in library school?
Take internships! Establish those links in the profession. Learn through experience. It is much better to say in an interview that, “I was able to apply my LIS learning by doing “X” at the Mallville Public Library”.
Do you have any other comments, for library schools or students, or about the survey?
I think it is time we rethink library school education. Is the profession best served by requiring “master” level work? I know that my graduate program in history was much more intense than my MLIS work. I really think that the same, indeed better, training could be achieved as part of a bachelors education. Unfortunately, since for most hiring librarians that hold MLISs, going to a BS as the “union card” to enter the profession is unlikely to happen.
This survey was coauthored by Brianna Marshall from Hack Library School. Interested in progressive blogging, by, for, and about library students? Check it out!
Special Note: From December 6, 2013 to October 24, 2014, the ALA will accept comments on the Draft revised Standards for Accreditation of Master’s Programs in Library and Information Studies. More information about the process of changing these standards is here. If you have opinions about what people should be learning in library school, here’s a way that you can influence change.
Do you hire librarians? Tell us, “What Should Potential Hires Learn in Library School?”: http://tinyurl.com/hiringlibschoolsurvey
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