What are the telecommuting options for an mlis?

April 9, 2010 11:31 AM

I'm about half way through an mlis degree. (Both the mlis and my bachelor's are from well-respected schools.) I'm wondering what options are available for telecommuting for those with a library and information science degree? (I'll be living in a fairly remote location which will necessitate alternative employment!) My writing skills are strong. Grant writing? Cataloging? Is "information broker" actually a viable option? Any advice is greatly appreciated!
posted by longhaultrucker to Work & Money (7 answers total)

Special Libraries Cataloging hires remote catalogers, or they did at one time. I'd guess that it's part-time work at best, but I don't know for sure, and you could contct them to find out.
posted by clavicle at 11:56 AM on April 9, 2010

This is sort of the opposite of what you're asking for, but depending on where you live, you may be able to do proxy research for others in a local archive or museum in your area. Chances are, if you're somewhere you can describe as remote, others would prefer to hire someone to do any research they need done in that location.

My wife did this while we were both in library school, and really enjoyed it. It wasn't lucrative, but it was fairly steady as a part time gig once she made a few contacts.
posted by activitystory at 2:00 PM on April 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

I have an MLIS degree and work from home for a company creating an authority databases of subscribers to academic journals. The work isn't that glamorous (mainly looking up address and employ numbers on the web), but it pays the bills.
posted by nangua at 1:09 AM on April 10, 2010

oh, and here's the company's website if you're interested
posted by nangua at 1:11 AM on April 10, 2010

actually, here it is. sorry bout that
posted by nangua at 1:12 AM on April 10, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks all!
posted by longhaultrucker at 8:32 PM on April 10, 2010

I know this is a few months too late, but I've got my MLIS (well, technically it's an MSI) and just landed a job with Springshare (everyone there telecommutes).
posted by rikhei at 8:32 PM on July 5, 2010