Records Management speciality - good idea for an MLS student?

April 22, 2009 9:47 AM

How's the field of records management / archives looking, for a new MLS?

I'm a younger librarian with a job in public services, and someone working on her MLS recently asked me about records management as a specialty. I don't know much about it -- my library school didn't really focus on it, and it wasn't something I pursued. I think she's surveying her options and wondering if it would be an in-demand avenue for her new degree. I would guess so but don't really know. I confirmed that she's not interested in the special collections side of archives, and I know those jobs are hard to find and get. Thoughts?

posted by onell to work & money (4 comments total)

I just graduated with an archives MLIS in August, and managed to find a job in January. It's my understanding that this is an exception, however, especially since my job is a faculty/tenure track position. Many people I went to school with are either doing temporary jobs or are not working as archivists.

Also, archiving school has boomed in popularity for some reason lately. Several schools have larger than average classes, meaning more competition for jobs (which are fewer because of the economy). The demand may increase in the future though as people retire and the economy gets better.

If your friend is interested in archiving, I would suggest strongly doing volunteer work. This way, they will have more experience coming out of grad school than other students making finding a job easier.
posted by elder18 at 10:10 AM on April 22

Your friend should get in touch with her library school's Special Libraries Association chapter, if they have one. The people I've run into at conferences who do records management at corporations or large institutions such as Federal Reserve Banks considered their primary professional affiliations to be SLA and ARMA. The people I spoke to were paid a good deal more than typical librarians, but their jobs didn't have any public services components, and there was a great deal of IT and management involved. The impression I got was that one would have to be comfortable working in a corporate environment, so that may be something your friend should consider.
posted by needled at 10:20 AM on April 22

Records is a speciality all on its own. I have done one course in it and it is very different from library work, so she'd need to pursue it specifically during the MLS. Records are always strong, especially in government because of legislative requirements and corporations. It can however, be frustrating work because you are totally reliant on the employees of an organisation to follow guidelines (unless you have automated software).
posted by wingless_angel at 4:23 PM on April 22

Thanks -- I'll pass the info & suggestions along to her.
posted by onell at 8:06 AM on April 23