Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with librarian

Best way for a lawyer to become a law librarian?

GPF — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:02:18 -0800

After practicing law for six years, I'm very interested in becoming a law librarian. I'm struggling with the jump; especially the decision to go back to school. All the good advice about library schools on the green encourages me.

I worked in the law library throughout law school as a research assistant and loved it. After the ups and downs of small-firm and solo practice, I think I'd like to get back into the library. Going back to school for a library degree seems like a good next step.

Is an MLS or other library degree, in fact, a good next step?

If so, how will my choice of school and program affect my prospects? I'm close enough to the University of North Texas that it is my first choice out of pure convenience. Should I consider other schools based on the specialty concentration of law librarianship?

I would also appreciate your thoughts on part-time vs. full-time and distance vs. classroom programs, especially as they relate to what I perceive (and correct me if I'm wrong) as a specialized interest in library school.

At the risk of being too open-ended, I would also love to hear success stories or cautionary tales from anyone who has made the transition from law practice to law librarianship.

What is a good career for an underemployed librarian with Aspergers?

gtaylor — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:35:35 -0800

What is a good career move for a 40ish guy with an MA in literature, an MSIS in general library work, and a work history that does not reflect his real skills because recently diagnosed Aspergers was holding him back a lot? My very intelligent husband has an MA in Literature and an MSIS in general library work. He is nearly 40, and was last month diagnosed with Aspergers. That, combined with that library hirings are shrinking in his area, has generally been a major obstacle in his finding work that was as good as he is (he's often ended up as a bookstore clerk). He is also in a very rural area where his opportunities to improve his technical skills are being interfered with by possibly senile parents (which is another problem entirely). He wants to do meaningful work in a team environment. He has broad knowledge of classical music, 20th century literature and narrative development in animation and comics, and pulp novels. (Yeah, none of those are big job grabbers, I know.)

He is very much the slightly bewildered Oxford don type from Wodehouse, except that when he is in his element he is _extremely_ capable. He has not built up a very good social network, done internships, etc, because of Aspergers noise, and even now that he knows more about his trouble, has not been very successful reaching out to past professors, mentors, etc (he has a lifetime of unseen obstacles to come to grips with). He is seeing a psychologist and going for State vocational training but is in general having something of a professional crisis. For various reasons it is very important that he find a fairly decent job soon, although I also lean to his getting his PhD and teaching hipster media courses. He also showed a latent, incredible ability to pick up 3D Studio computer animation (he learned more in two weeks than my brother's biz partner did in two years, no exag) but is lukewarm about a career in making cartoons (versus watching them, which he is very into).

Suggestions?

MLS overqualifies for Assistants or Technicians?

codswallop — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:09:05 -0800

I'm a Library Assistant who will not leave the Pacific Northwest - if the only jobs I can get are non-MLS, will having an MLS hurt my chances? I'm thinking about going on and getting my MLS even though I know how strong the competition is for jobs in this field. I'm not leaving the area. If I need to leave my current Assistant job and can't nail a proper Librarian position, would I be dismissed as over-qualified for other Assistant/Technician jobs?

I know librarians are *ahem* touchy about the value of an MLS and could see them not hiring one as a tech because it might seem to devalue the degree. Am I wrong?

First Shot at Full-Time Librarianship

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:08:51 -0800

Attention Librarians (preferably of the public variety): PLEASE help me not blow my best shot at my first full-time Adult Services gig! Long explanation inside, sorry... I love my current job as a reference librarian at a small public library (my first job out of library skool, been there two years now). Trouble is, it's only half time, and the job market in this town is super-tight. After searching for supplementary work elsewhere in vain, I reluctantly began to apply for full-time positions that would require me to relocate.

So I recently got a phone interview for a great opportunity in a much less-saturated job market few states over. The phone interview went swell, from my perspective, and I got a call back the next day for a second interview. They're paying my way to have me out, putting me up in a room, etc. The position sounds great-- it's right up my alley, I'm experienced in the right ways, pay is good and benefits are great, and the system, its director, and my prospective boss seem awesome. It's also much closer to my family. In short, I'd love to take the job.

I really want to shine in this face-to-face interview. I know the second interview tends to be more about demonstrating how you'd fit in with your prospective colleagues (right?), but as a half-timer I'm a little intimidated. While I'm confident in my abilities and my experience as far as they go right now, I want to show that I'm ready and able to hit the ground running full-time.

Also-- in addition to launching a full-time career, I'd also be moving into a differently-structured system. Current library system: about 25 small branches, with one big main library and a separate administrative entity. My branch is funded almost completely by our small town, is autonomously run by our branch's director, and our focus is on just the community our branch serves. Prospective library system: much smaller-- only three branches of roughly equal size, county funded, all three branch managers under the direct control of the system director, and the focus is on MLS librarians from each branch forming inter-library committees to get most of the system stuff done.

While I like the prospect of the different setup, I want to make sure I'm up to par on best practices, preparatory readings, etc. I do all the typical stuff now: read the literature, go to professional development workshops, go to conferences, etc.; I guess I just want to stand the best chance against the other two candidates, about whom I know nothing.

Finally, I'm not worried about the collegiality piece during the interview; I consistently get praise from employers that I'm engaging, respectful, and diplomatic in my relations at work. I'm really looking for the rest of the puzzle, some "read this!" or "here's what helped me!" tidbits.

So career public librarians: what can you tell me? I have about a week to put my best foot forward, so thanks for any advice in advance!

Help Me Identify a Story About A Pool Party Bomb

burnmp3s — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 04:08:18 -0800

TeenAngstFilter: Can you help me identify a short story about a student who blows up a pool? When I was in 6th or 7th grade (somewhere between 1995 and 1997), a mean librarian from New York came to work at my school in the Midwest. The first day, she read a fairly disturbing short story about a violent high school student, which she described as her "favorite story". I have never heard of the story before or since then, and I remember most of the plot but not the title or author. I think she read it out of a book of short stories, but I'm not sure.

Plot Description:
A nerdy high school student is picked on mercilessly by bullies. The story starts with the nerdy student getting a "swirlie". In order to get revenge, the nerdy student invites everyone from his class to go to a pool party in a high-rise building. He invites the girl he has a crush on, but does not tell her that it's a pool party. He secretly sets up a time bomb at the bottom of the pool. During the pool party, he and the girl he has a crush on do not wear swimsuits, so they are not in the pool at all. The nerdy student, the girl, or both are thrown into the pool as a joke, just as the bomb goes off. It blows a hole in the side of the building, and creates a giant whirlpool. The nerdy student manages to save the girl, but he himself is sucked out through the hole and out the side of the building. The story ends with him falling to his death.

Other details:
- I think the story takes place in New York City.
- The nerdy student makes the bomb using fireworks that he buys from some kid on the street. I think the kid is described as having a mustache.
- The girl he has a crush on wears a dress, and when she is in the pool it floats around her in a big circle.
- I think other people besides the nerdy student are sucked out of the pool, but I'm not sure.

Can anyone find any more details on this story, and possibly direct me to where I can find it?

JobFilter

bad grammar — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 16:25:06 -0800

Should I accept this job? I've been offered a part-time librarian position at a special education school for junior high and high school kids with behavior and emotional disorders. I've worked as a library assistant there for about seven months (not continuously), being hired to help overhaul and set up the school library. They sometimes have had a full-time teaching librarian, and otherwise have hired a traveling consultant who was my immediate supervisor.

Though I don't have an MLS, I've done everything that a full-time librarian would do to maintain the collection, including entering new items in the computer catalog, processing new books, shelving, inventory, weeding out unsuitable books, etc. But I don't have experience teaching the students, and it isn't clear that I'm being hired to teach them. I don't have a degree or any experience in special ed.

Should I accept this job? I would prefer library work elsewhere, as this school is a depressing place to work in, and the full-time librarians seem to last as long as teachers of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. Furthermore, they'll probably be looking for a full-timer, though they haven't said so.

The students are mostly minority, and I am white / Asian. I can see that this might be a problem. I don't think of myself as racist, but I would like to avoid possible conflict. Of course my parents are afraid that someone will go VT/Columbine one day (it is a place where the students are searched as they arrive for the day).

I am also looking at law library assistant positions, which are more what I would like to do, but I don't know if I'll get any offers. If I take the school job for now, I feel bad because either I am stuck with it or because nobody (neither the school nor myself) is committed to it.

Is it really that hard to get a job in Portland, OR?

lulu103 — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 16:35:18 -0800

Is it really that much harder to get a library job in Portland vs the Bay Area? How long do you think it would take for me to get a job after moving up there? I am a librarian (with MLS and experience), and although I love the Bay Area, I can't realistically imagine myself being able to buy a home and have a grown-up life here on my wages in a neighborhood I like.

I want to stay on this coast (my family is in the B.A.) and would like to move north to Portland, but I have been scared after seeing some of the Metafilter posts about jobs. I'm thinking of saving some money for the next 6 months while I work in San Francisco and applying for Portland library jobs. If no job materializes in 6 months, I'd like to just move up there and try it in person.

So my question is...is it really that much harder to get a library job in Portland verses the Bay Area? How long do you think it would take for me to get a job after moving up there? I'm trying to figure out how long I could live there without one during the job search.

I'm especially interested in the experiences of MLS librarians (as opposed to paraprofessionals) applying for jobs in the area, but I'm interested in everyone's un/employment experiences as well. Thanks!

What's that One Fabulous Accessory?

exceptinsects — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 11:17:09 -0800

Help me find one or two "signature" accessories to make my boring work clothes super fantastic. I have this bright red vinyl purse that I've had for years and LOVE. I've gotten more compliments on it than almost anything else I own, but it's getting a little tired and I'm looking for something to replace it.

Basically, I got it because I felt like my other clothes were kind of dull, and just having it makes the whole outfit way more stylish and interesting.

Any recommendations? It doesn't have to be a purse--it could be shoes or a jacket or anything. Just that one thing that you go "ooh."

My style is kinda-sorta "hip librarian", I guess. I wear a lot of little a-line or pencil skirts (kind of like this which I don't own) and mary-jane shoes (like these which I do own).

I am actually a librarian--I wouldn't say I'm actually hip.

How do you refer to a female librarian in Welsh?

rikhei — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:05:08 -0800

What is the proper way to refer to a female librarian in Welsh? Bonus if you can tell me (an English speaker from the Midwest) how to say it correctly. I did a little googling and discovered a Welsh-English dictionary that suggests both llyfrgellydd and llyfrwr as translations of the word librarian. However, this dictionary and another one both tell me these are masculine nouns.

(I have asked this question of the Ask Cymru service, but they've not responded to me yet.)

So...do I use one of the above words to refer to myself (a female librarian) or is there a more appropriate term to use?

(In case you're wondering why I'm asking, I plan to use the word as part of my new domain name.)

What's so bad about being a librarian?

Rock Steady — Mon, 07 May 2007 09:06:09 -0800

Librarians -- rain on my parade! What didn't they tell you in school? What are the worst parts of your job? What do you regret about your schooling/early career? So I have decided to go back to school to get an MLIS degree (at Simmons), and while I am completely excited about it and I am committed to going, I suspect that the large group of librarians here on AskMe can open my eyes to some of the pitfalls of the profession, with an eye towards avoiding them, if possible. I have seen the obvious questions here about careers in Library Science, but if you know of any that elude the site's search function, I'd be happy for pointers to them.

Exotic stereotype busting librarian jobs

andendau — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 11:54:25 -0800

What are some examples of exotic librarian jobs or jobs out of the norm for a person with an MLS? I'm looking for some non-traditional occupations for librarians or types of careers that people with an MLS have branched into. I'm hoping to get some examples so when I'm in the position of informing others of my future occupation I won't leave that stereotypical image in their heads.

How soon to apply for a new job as an archivist?

modavis — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 21:13:23 -0800

Attention archivists! Seeking realistic timeline for hiring-- the sweet, sweet grant money is running out... My job is ending December 2007, and there is little hope of permanent emplyment here. How soon should I start applying to academic libraries and historical societies? MLS, CA with multiple years supervisory experience with a (hopefully) very sucessful, large project under my belt. I don't wanna leave them in a lurch, but I still wanna look out for number one. How soon is too soon?

Decorate my new office, library style

cosmicbandito — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 09:10:05 -0800

Help me decorate a hospital librarian's office. I have a new office. I need to find artwork to hang on my bare walls. I want the artwork to be attractive and library related. I want you to point me to library related artwork that I can purchase prints of and have them framed.
I have room for 3-5 fairly small pieces. (nothing larger than 24 inches on a side.) It's a medical library if that makes any difference. Hope me, mefi!

Librarian jobs in Canada? Does university name matter?

HotPatatta — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 12:53:41 -0800

Are there lots of librarian jobs in Canada? Does what university I graduate from really matter when I apply for jobs? I'm currently getting my master's degree in Library and Information Science in California but I want to immigrate to Canada when I graduate. Does anybody know if it's hard to get a job as a public or news librarian in Canada, especially for an immigrant? (I really want to go to Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Ottowa or other BIG city) Oh, and I do NOT know how to speak French.

My second question is: Does it really matter what university I graduate from? I currently go to UCLA, but I want to transfer to San Jose State Univeristy (in northern California). Maybe in Canada it won't make any difference because they may never have heard of either UCLA or San Jose State U. Some people are snobbish about hiring only people from prestigious universities, but maybe they are the exception to the rule. When I apply for a library job, does the employer just care that I have my master's degree and the rest is based on the interview and other skills?

you're not worth an additional 62%, san jose state

booknerd — Wed, 17 May 2006 10:17:45 -0800

LibrarianFilter: Is this even legal? My school has just announced they will be increasing student fees by over 60% for the next semester. I've sent an email to the director, but what can I, or other students, reasonably do to combat this? Do I have to drop out of school because I can't afford an additional $5,000? Full text of the announcement is below. From: Ken Haycock Mailed-By: listproc.sjsu.edu

To: slisadmin@listproc.sjsu.edu
Date: May 16, 2006 6:21 PM
Subject: [SLISADMIN:208] Course Fee Increase
Reply | Reply to all | Forward | Print | Add sender to Contacts list | Delete this message | Report phishing | Show original | Message text garbled?

Special Session Fee Increase

Due to increased demand on services and resources and the need for improved infrastructure and support, the San Jose Campus Fee Advisory Committee, with student, faculty and administrative representation, has recommended a fee increase for MLIS courses offered through special session. This recommendation has been approved by the President. I want to inform you as early as possible for your own planning.

The School had reached the unusual and untenable position of charging more for state-supported students (regular session) than for self-supporting students (special session). The fee increase redresses this imbalance and provides support for critical needs in the School. It also addresses a fiscal imbalance insofar as we were beginning to operate in a loss position due to new charges being assigned to the School for University services.

Through the use of additional funds, the School will be adding faculty such that student advising will be improved. We know this is an issue from the more than one hundred students who have already completed exit interviews with us. Each student will now be assigned to a faculty advisor who will stay with them through the program and support them specifically through the new culminating experience. In addition we will be adding assistant directors to focus on three critical areas: distance learning, marketing and development and research and professional practice. In support for distance learning there will be new mandatory training for all new faculty in distance learning technologies and an improved student technology orientation program; in marketing and development we will vigorously pursue new scholarships and awards for students; in professional practice, we will develop professional experience courses and structured internships with newly designated “teaching libraries”.

These improvements are long overdue and could not be put in place without these additional monies.

The fee increase will take effect for Fall 2006 courses. The cost per unit will move from $215 to $349, alternately, per three unit course from $645 to $1,047; alternately, for the full degree from $9,030 to $14,658. While these fees increases seem large, and they are, please bear in mind that our new fees are still the lowest in the country for out of state students and among the lowest for in-state students. We are proud to be, and continue to be, among the low-cost service providers on the continent but need to guarantee quality and improve our profile as well if we expect employers to seek our graduates.

The fee for the Executive MLIS program has been increased somewhat beyond this level. This information will be communicated to each current and entering student this week. The School pledges to provide smaller classes and additional support for these students as a result.

I know that this is not good news for you. I can anticipate and appreciate your concern and anxiety. I can only assure you that you are making a good investment in a wonderful career. From our end, we need to ensure that the quality of your education is high and that this is recognized by academics and professionals in the field alike.

--Ken

****************************************

Dr. Ken Haycock, Professor and Director

School of Library and Information Science

San Jose State University

408.924.2490; fax: 408.924.2476

http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/

What is the largest rare book dealer in Mississippi?

Jaybo — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 23:58:45 -0800

Rare Book Dealers in Mississippi? (Help a student librarian!) I'm in my first semester of library school and for one of our assignments, we have to answer a hypothetical reference question. I've chosen "What antiquarian bookseller in Mississippi has the largest stock?"

I'm finding information about rare booksellers in both print (ie. Sheppard’s Book Dealers in North America - 15th Edition) and online sources (ie. relevant section of Mississippi Yellow Pages online) but can't find that definitive answer that says "This is the one with the largest stock."

I'm not asking anyone to answer the question for me but would love any guidance as to what I may be missing (or even if there is a source that will give a definitive answer. I doubt it's a trick question but it could be.)

I don't think that using AskMF is against the assignment guidelines anyhow. They say we can use online sources and even though they probably think most of the class will use Google and maybe a subscription database or two, I doubt they expect us to use more community-based tools like AskMF (even though, I suspect reference librarians use tools like this with increasing frequency just as they're as likely to ask colleagues and other non-print sources some of the time.)

Thanks in advance!

Cataloging by font in AAT

stet — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 14:36:21 -0800

Non-book CatalogingFilter: Is there a resource that maps typefaces by name to terms from the Art and Architecture Thesaurus? The deal is this: I'm cataloging artists' books for work and I'm trying to describe the construction and appearance of the book using terms from the AAT. I do not have the actual books in front of me, I'm working from photographs of the books and the Note field in the library catalog. Sometimes, I've get the name of the font in which the work was set. This is valuable information for the end user of the database.

However, the original catalogers record only the name of the typeface. Here's the current record I'm working from. As you can see, it tells me that the text is set in Meridien. The font does not appear by name in the AAT. Only the term under typefaces are available to me and scope notes with phrases like "characterized by such features as vertical emphasis, strong contrast between thin and thick strokes, and unbracketed serifs" aren't particularly helpful to non-design-inclined me. Similarly, the online font identification resources don't help because I already know the name of the font, I'm just not sure of an authoritative way to describe the font in the controlled vocabulary.

The perfect resource for me would be an alphabetical list of fonts by name with their AAT classifiaction written under the names. I kind of doubt such a thing exists. At least, I haven't been able to find it. Suggestions?

Program for Scheduling Library Resources?

dgeiser13 — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 09:49:54 -0800

Does anyone have a suggestion for a good freeware (or cheapware) program which teachers can use to schedule computer time in a high school library? My wife was an English teacher for 10 years and went back to school and became a library media specialist. Her library has an adjacent computer lab and she is responsible for making sure the available resources are scheduled appropriately. During the last school year she had a sign-up sheet but the teachers (not the students!) would get into all sorts of scrapping about who has what time and they would erase each others names and basically get up to no end of hijinks related to this simple procedure.

My wife would like to get a computer program that she can use to schedule time in the pc lab. This program would allow the teachers to grab available blocks of time but they would have NO ability do delete each others blocks. Only my wife could do this if the situation called for it. I guess she would need to have admin level rights and the guest users (the teachers) could have read and limited write ability.

Are there any library personnel who have found a good solution to this problem? Even if you aren't a library person do you know of any program which might the bill?

Since the budgets are tight she will probably have to finance this herself so we are mostly interested in freeware/cheapware solutions but if you had a really good solution that cost a little money she could try and get it funded. So please recommend any good program regardless of the price!!!

Returning to librarianship

mojohand — Thu, 14 Jul 2005 12:00:53 -0800

What would an aging defrocked librarian have to do to return to the fold? I have a Masters of Library Science, but haven't worked as a librarian (cataloging) since 1982. I am in my fifties, and considering a complete career change and returning to the profession, specificly as a media specialist in a public school system. Essentially, I have an obsolete credential and no relevant work experience.

I'm sure librarianship has changed enormously in 23 years. Fortunately, I live five miles from a university with a graduate program in education and a quality library school. I'm very comfortable with the internet, on-line search tools, and small computers in general. Further, the appalling level of compensation for librarians (some thngs never change) isn't an issue.

So, how would you reenter the profession?

Call me Sourdust

ursus_comiter — Fri, 06 May 2005 07:28:18 -0800

Another librarian wannabe rears their head. I've recently read Four Against the Arctic: Shipwrecked for Six Years at the Top of the World by David Roberts, which covered not just the story of four sailors surviving in the Arctic on their own for six years in the 18th century, but also described in great detail the process the author went through to uncover more details of the sailors' story. I found the process fascinating. It involved hunting down what few primary sources could be found as well as getting opinions from experts with relevant experience, such as those familiar with Arctic over-wintering in the region and a historical reenactor who built and navigated the kinds of boats that would have been used by 18th century Russian sailors. Ultimately the author mounted his own expedition to an island that was his best guess to be where the sailors spent their six years in the Arctic.

I've always had an interest in both archaology and history. My bachelors is in history and I very nearly double majored in that and anthropology. Reading about a research project that straddled the two disciplines piqued my interest and got me considering the possibility of becoming a research librarian. I think I'd thoroughly enjoy helping researchers find relevant material from a collection of old primary texts. From what I've read on the subject, I'd be able to do not only that, but also pursue research of my own simultaneously.

The tricky part is figuring out what sort of training I'd need to qualify for such a position. It seems that this kind of career is a great opportunity for recent PhDs, who can then either find a program designed bring them up to speed on librarianship (without requiring them to complete a full MLS or MLIS degree) or they can learn on the job.

As alluring as all this sounds to me, committing to the six or seven years for a history or archaeology PhD as well as possibly a different masters program on top of that seems awfully daunting. Does anyone have any direct experience with this subset of library work? And if so, are there other ways to approach this besides the PhD route?

Currently, I'm a systems administrator. I know that I'd need to commit to furthering my education and training significantly. I'm just hoping that I could find a way to make the transition without having to go through a PhD and a separate masters program before I could start work.

I have read up on the current AskMe offerings on this topic as well as delved into web offerings from same as well as other avenues.

MLIS vs MIS

TheIrreverend — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 11:13:12 -0800

I am on my way to getting a MLIS degree, but since I am more interested in the tech side of things, I was thinking of switching to my school's MIS graduate program. Advantages, disadvantages? Are MIS degrees worth anything anymore, or is the tech job market still so bad that I would be better off sticking to a MLIS?

yet another wannabe-librarian query

scratch — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 08:36:32 -0800

I know there're a lot of MeFi librarians, since I've searched on this topic, but my specific questions don't seem to have been addressed yet. First, do you think there are a decent amount of entry-level public library jobs out there? The gubmint says so, various librarian blogs say no. Also--this would be a career change for me, so by the time I get the MLS I'd be around 40. Is it laughable to think anyone would hire a 40-year-old entry-level librarian? I've been in publishing for a while and am burned out but good. As a callow youth I worked quite happily in bookstores, and now as a grown-up I think a library job would provide similar psychic gratification but with better benefits and pay. Someone set me straight. TIA.

Question number 14611

birchfield — Mon, 31 Jan 2005 13:25:48 -0800

Wanna-be librarian/archivist filter -- I'm looking for advice or personal experiences on how long library experience "lasts", if a MSI can "expire" due to immediate use, etc. (more inside)

Question number 13684

dicaxpuella — Wed, 05 Jan 2005 19:19:48 -0800

Calling the MeFi Librarian Posse... I want to join! Questions about getting an MLS and job inside.

Question number 10923

adamkempa — Wed, 13 Oct 2004 16:07:01 -0800

Librarianfilter: My girlfriend is "wondering if anyone could recommend good websites containing lists/reviews for educational books/videos/software for children (ages 5 up through high school)? I recently acquired the responsibility of selecting materials (I'm a librarian) for our University's Educational Resource Center and don't have an education background so I'm new to this. I know about the Parent's Choice Foundation. I was wondering if there is something similar for librarians/educators? I get tons of catalogs but want lists/reviews, preferably online. Thanks!"