What computer science classes I should take before Graduate Schools?

May 13, 2008 3:18 PM

My question is that I want to know what computer science classes at a community college I should take before enrolling in a MLS graduate school?

Hello everyone. I am one year out of college and graduated with a major in anthropology and minor in music. I graduated from a liberal arts college in the northeastern part of the U.S. After graduation I was an intern at the National Museum of American History for six months where I did research and administrative duties.I just recently obtained a job as a program support assistant at the National Institute of Health which I basically assist the teachers at the NIH to organize their classes in their Training Center.

I want to get in Library & Information Science specifically in the academic spectrum and/or music special library. I want to get the technical tools before heading into a MLS graduate program because first I want to get work experience (I don't want to be a student in awhile), and I always wanted to learn these tools.

posted by LilSoulBrother85 to education (11 comments total)

Since the library science is about cataloging materials, a good intro to databases should be helpful.
posted by gjc at 4:12 PM on May 13, 2008

Yes, databases. XML skills are also a big plus, and if you develop a specialty there it will qualify you for some of the more interesting library science jobs when you graduate.
posted by gum at 4:23 PM on May 13, 2008

Well, you don't really specify at all what kind of technical skills you already have. Academic and music librarians can be involved in a really wide range of duties (not just cataloging), so any sort of basic computer competence is essential. If you don't have at least an intermediate level of familiarity with office-based applications, you'll want to brush up on that. Web browsing and internet searching are both key things. Once you're in an LIS program, you'll be able to get more of a feel for which specific aspects of the profession and which jobs might interest you, and a few internships could really help you to gain work experience and technical skills.

Might I also suggest a writing or communication class? Librarians generally need to be adept at communicating and distilling concepts and ideas to others, especially in an academic setting. The phrasing and writing in your question indicate you could probably use some work there.
posted by booknerd at 4:26 PM on May 13, 2008

If you want to get into systems librarianship, you might want to learn about server administration. Any web programming or scripting languages like perl, python, javascript, etc may also come in handy.
posted by gnat at 5:51 PM on May 13, 2008

Oh Sorry about that. I have proficiency in Microsot Word, Excel, and Outlook. I am more experienced in word and intermediate in Excel and Outlook. I had some database experience with File Maker Pro but that's about it.. I think XML, database, Photoshop, and/or system adinstration could be a good start. It is a little overwhelming because there are so many different aspects of the field that I find both the technical and archival aspects interesting. (Has to be a way of combining the two?)
posted by LilSoulBrother85 at 6:01 PM on May 13, 2008

Digital librarianship might be the way to go - you can put cool archival materials online.
posted by gnat at 6:13 PM on May 13, 2008

Music librarianship all but requires a masters in music, just fyi.

Since you are already working in teaching, you should investigate "blended librarianship," which combines librarianship with distance education technology. It is a nice field to go since you are computer savvy but no software developer. If you try to take like a semester of perl, you'll find yourself in interview pools where the other candidates have experience using perl, which you won't be able to compete with.

As others have noted, databases always help. If you are going to learn XML for digital library use, make sure you get a good grounding in XPath and XSLT, too, since just saying "I know XML" is a world away from saying "I can DO THINGS with XML using XSLT, and here is what I've done so far..."

Good luck.
posted by rachelpapers at 6:22 PM on May 13, 2008

You should learn the things you need to know to run or administer a database driven website.

- php
- perl
- javascriptish stuff and AJAXy whatnot
- python
- MySQL interactions
- HTML/CSS just to know it, understanding XML conceptually
- learn regular expressions and how to make great queries to do good reporting from big amorphous blobs of data. More and more libraryland is needing people who can take whatever tool they have that does whatever and use it to GENERATE REPORTS. This means database queries but also formatting input/output and often working with someone else's half-assed coded database
- work on an open source project of some kind and learn to work with a community like that, it will help you build little apps for your library job and/or give you a team of like-minded people to work with and talk to
- understand LAMP generally

At a lot of smaller libraries (not big academics, but smaller ones) having this sort of know-how will let you work with apps and improve them. You'll need to think abotu whether you want to work with the public, since often techie jobs are less public-facing jobs. Also, yes, academic librarian and music librarians often have second Maters degrees.
posted by jessamyn at 6:58 PM on May 13, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

As Jessamyn says - learn LAMP/general Unix stuff. I am a systems librarian, and I know from experience that it's truly hard to find MLS people who know anything in-depth about it - and Linux/Unix is the backbone of nearly any good-sized library.

I work academic, but have a nigh-useless BA (woo creative writing FTW) and only the MLS otherwise. I can get away with this because of my tech skills.
posted by the dief at 7:15 PM on May 13, 2008

When I was getting my MLIS, I felt completely crippled by not knowing HTML and CSS. XML would have been a big help, too. Glad you're thinking about comp. sci. classes before you get into library school. It's a necessity now and you'll have a difficult time finding a non-public library job without having some programming skills.
posted by HotPatatta at 7:46 PM on May 13, 2008

In addition to databases, how about information architecture? This may include -

taxonomy
classification
HTML/CSS
XML
digital/web project management

This would give you a big leg up over your colleagues. Good that you're doing this now as good comp classes in the MLS are hard to find.
posted by wingless_angel at 1:07 AM on May 14, 2008