Academic Librarian or Digital Librarian?
March 22, 2011 11:41 PM Subscribe
Are job prospects for digital librarians any better than those for librarians in general?
I am a midlife career switcher who began an MSIS degree program with the idea of working in an academic library. (I have a previous masters degree and extensive experience in technical publications, training and management.) Within the last several months, my academic library mentors, who had previously encouraged me to enter the field, have begun to say that employment for new grads is very difficult and it may be a very long time before hiring improves. (And, of course, the newspapers and professional associations say the same thing.) So I now wonder if switching my concentration to digital libraries, an option at my school, would help me get a job when I graduate. Thoughts? This is a big decision and I welcome feedback. Thanks.
I am a midlife career switcher who began an MSIS degree program with the idea of working in an academic library. (I have a previous masters degree and extensive experience in technical publications, training and management.) Within the last several months, my academic library mentors, who had previously encouraged me to enter the field, have begun to say that employment for new grads is very difficult and it may be a very long time before hiring improves. (And, of course, the newspapers and professional associations say the same thing.) So I now wonder if switching my concentration to digital libraries, an option at my school, would help me get a job when I graduate. Thoughts? This is a big decision and I welcome feedback. Thanks.
My experience has been that most librarians that get jobs right out of school are already employed by a library during their studies so they can easily move up into professional positions. Can you get a a job at a local academic library as a page or paraprofessional?
posted by saucysault at 6:46 AM on March 23, 2011
posted by saucysault at 6:46 AM on March 23, 2011
Agreeing with everything mfoight said, and echoing the qualified yes. I think digital library work is a sector of academic librarianship that continues to have some growth (meaning new positions created / old ones reassigned), though that growth is perhaps a bit less vigorous than it was several years ago. FWIW, other growth specializations I've seen within academic librarianship include scholarly publishing, assessment, and digital preservation / data curation.
posted by alb at 8:49 AM on March 23, 2011
posted by alb at 8:49 AM on March 23, 2011
Best answer: What's your other master's degree in? Having subject matter expertise can improve the odds of being hired at an academic library.
I don't know that much about digital libraries specifically, but you might want to consider looking outside the academic field. Private institutions (like museums) and some companies are creating internal and external digital collections. When you do your job search, don't limit yourself to just "librarian" jobs, but include anything involving information management.
And I agree about getting some kind of library job to get experience and connections. That's what worked for me, though I'm in a different specialty. Feel free to MeMail me with questions.
posted by orrnyereg at 8:55 AM on March 23, 2011
I don't know that much about digital libraries specifically, but you might want to consider looking outside the academic field. Private institutions (like museums) and some companies are creating internal and external digital collections. When you do your job search, don't limit yourself to just "librarian" jobs, but include anything involving information management.
And I agree about getting some kind of library job to get experience and connections. That's what worked for me, though I'm in a different specialty. Feel free to MeMail me with questions.
posted by orrnyereg at 8:55 AM on March 23, 2011
Just remembered: archives are another place to look.
posted by orrnyereg at 8:56 AM on March 23, 2011
posted by orrnyereg at 8:56 AM on March 23, 2011
Best answer: I'm a digital librarian, and I'd also offer a tentative yes. Yes, it seems like this is one area of academic librarianship where hiring is still... not strong, exactly, but less dire than other areas. That said, there are a ton of us who have real passion for this work, and extensive experience with it. So if you're going to make the switch, do it because you love it, and start getting some hands-on experience. There's no way you'll be able to compete otherwise.
If you have a passion for some other area of librarianship, focus on that, but while trying to become as knowledgeable as possible about digital work. And take practica, internships, student jobs, whatever you can to get real experience.
posted by MsMolly at 9:02 AM on March 23, 2011
If you have a passion for some other area of librarianship, focus on that, but while trying to become as knowledgeable as possible about digital work. And take practica, internships, student jobs, whatever you can to get real experience.
posted by MsMolly at 9:02 AM on March 23, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks, everyone, for your valuable advice.
posted by joeahearn at 6:10 AM on March 24, 2011
posted by joeahearn at 6:10 AM on March 24, 2011
One further thought: whatever you decide you want to do, try to get experience doing EXACTLY THAT. If you want to work in scholarly communications, do a practicum with your library's repository manager. If you want to work on digitization initiatives, look for an assistantship where you are the one scanning things in. In my experience, libraries are MUCH less willing than corporate employers to trust that skills in a similar area will translate well to a related position. They want to see that you've already done the job they're hiring you for. Once you get hired there will be many occasions to stretch and learn on the job, but in the initial hiring process they almost always want to go for the sure thing, which can be a shock if you came from a field where managers were more willing to take a chance on hiring smart employees and letting them learn on the job.
posted by MsMolly at 11:24 AM on March 28, 2011
posted by MsMolly at 11:24 AM on March 28, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
In the last several years, 3 professionals and 4 paraprofessional positions were created and filled in a Northeastern academic institution so there are positions available even in desirable geographic areas.
As a digital library manager the answer to your specific question is a qualified yes. But you need to follow your passion and if that is not in dealing with digital assets you may want a concentration elsewhere.
posted by mfoight at 2:33 AM on March 23, 2011 [1 favorite]