Masters in library science, education, or something else?
July 8, 2020 1:49 PM Subscribe
Dissatisfied with what I’m currently doing, thinking about next steps. Should I go to grad school for library science, education, or something else?
I’m currently adjuncting at an art school mostly teaching art/tech classes, but I want to do more community-focused/community-based education work. I’ve taught in a few different scenarios (art camps, after school programs, etc.) and I find that work exciting and inspiring, and so/but I’m looking into grad programs that would help me transition into doing that kind of work full time. I’m not really interested in becoming a school teacher, at least not a traditional one. I think maker-spaces, informal educational practice, alternative education is interesting. I suppose my ultimate goal is to work in an informal educational environment providing services (like, right now at least I’m not trying to become an administrator/principal/whatever).
Would a masters in library science help me pursue a career in a library system that aligns with my interest in education? My hometown has a robust teen services center with a makerspace, but I’m not sure how common that kind of programming is.
Would I be better off pursuing a masters in education? Are there programs that focus on the kind of alternative/community-based education I’m interested in?
Are there other options I’m not thinking of?
Thanks everybody!
I’m currently adjuncting at an art school mostly teaching art/tech classes, but I want to do more community-focused/community-based education work. I’ve taught in a few different scenarios (art camps, after school programs, etc.) and I find that work exciting and inspiring, and so/but I’m looking into grad programs that would help me transition into doing that kind of work full time. I’m not really interested in becoming a school teacher, at least not a traditional one. I think maker-spaces, informal educational practice, alternative education is interesting. I suppose my ultimate goal is to work in an informal educational environment providing services (like, right now at least I’m not trying to become an administrator/principal/whatever).
Would a masters in library science help me pursue a career in a library system that aligns with my interest in education? My hometown has a robust teen services center with a makerspace, but I’m not sure how common that kind of programming is.
Would I be better off pursuing a masters in education? Are there programs that focus on the kind of alternative/community-based education I’m interested in?
Are there other options I’m not thinking of?
Thanks everybody!
A masters in adult education in the right program could work. I don't really know of any specific programs.
Instructional design? Art therapy? Non-profit program development?
I don't think the MLIS would be the best fit.
posted by mareli at 2:07 PM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Instructional design? Art therapy? Non-profit program development?
I don't think the MLIS would be the best fit.
posted by mareli at 2:07 PM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'd advise against an MLS right now. Libraries are going to be hit quite hard with local funding limitations in the next few years. Even in the longer term, I'm not sure the degree is the right fit for what you want anyway. What'd I'd suggest is seeing if you can find folks who have jobs that are of interest to you, and then figure out what their background is. The folks at libraries doing maker spaces might have a teen librarianship background or a tech background. Many people in libraries these days don't have MLS's, or they do but are working in lower paid positions (typically official librarian positions pay more than non-librarian staff positions in libraries, but librarians often end up accepting those lower paid positions).
So I think I'd approach this differently. Instead of trying to figure out what grad program will give you the training and credentials you want, figure out what job you want, and figure out what training and experience those folks have.
posted by bluedaisy at 3:13 PM on July 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
So I think I'd approach this differently. Instead of trying to figure out what grad program will give you the training and credentials you want, figure out what job you want, and figure out what training and experience those folks have.
posted by bluedaisy at 3:13 PM on July 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
Just wrapped up an MSIS (a large number of programs are now billing themselves as Information Science rather than Library Science), in archives rather than libraries. There are definitely a lot of people in library schools who are interested in and do the kind of things you're talking about, but in my experience they're often fighting against the curriculum in order to do them. The people I know who've had the most success with the degree are the ones who were really immersed in the kind of work they were interested in (already admins at a public library, already working on a volunteer basis for a community archive, already organizing a makerspace) and went in for the degree when they felt they couldn't go further with it. Feel free to dm me for more details if you'd like!
Unfortunately, like many other paths these days, now is NOT a good time to be starting a career in libraries. Funding for municipal programs is tenuous when they're not undergoing a massive crisis. My cohort is panicking - it's possible yours would be better off in a few years?
posted by theweasel at 3:16 PM on July 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
Unfortunately, like many other paths these days, now is NOT a good time to be starting a career in libraries. Funding for municipal programs is tenuous when they're not undergoing a massive crisis. My cohort is panicking - it's possible yours would be better off in a few years?
posted by theweasel at 3:16 PM on July 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Hi! I teach in an iSchool!
Given your stated goals, I would strongly suggest that whatever the discipline you decide to study, it should have a strong entrepreneurial component.
I am quite sure this is not what you want to hear. Still... where I see the most (and most productive) ferment in arts education where I am is in local startups, for- and non-profit. Not a few of these have one person at their heart, which means this person is turning their hand to a lot of bureaucratese, fundraising, advocacy/marketing/outreach, and so on.
You are correct that some libraries, public and academic, have makerspaces or design spaces or the like. That commonly doesn't mean, however, that someone is The Makerspace Librarian -- and where it does mean that, you can pretty reliably expect tension with much or all of the rest of the library staff. (Suffice to say that librarians can be as petty and threatened by novelty as anyone.) The librarian responsible for the makerspace probably has other public-service duties, such as reference, early-childhood literacy events such as storytimes, event logistics, outreach (for things other than the makerspace), community engagement, and so on.
If the idea of such a hybrid job repels you, I cheerfully add my voice to those warning you away from pursuing librarianship. If the idea of being hated by your colleagues because your job isn't like their job so they don't think your job should exist, I cheerfully add my voice to those warning you away from pursuing librarianship -- not least because exactly that happened to me (different niche) and I can say from experience that it was remarkably unpleasant.
I would also suggest that you look really hard at what being the Last Bastion of (More or Less) Public Good is like for many librarians. It is not an easy road, not at all.
posted by humbug at 3:42 PM on July 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
Given your stated goals, I would strongly suggest that whatever the discipline you decide to study, it should have a strong entrepreneurial component.
I am quite sure this is not what you want to hear. Still... where I see the most (and most productive) ferment in arts education where I am is in local startups, for- and non-profit. Not a few of these have one person at their heart, which means this person is turning their hand to a lot of bureaucratese, fundraising, advocacy/marketing/outreach, and so on.
You are correct that some libraries, public and academic, have makerspaces or design spaces or the like. That commonly doesn't mean, however, that someone is The Makerspace Librarian -- and where it does mean that, you can pretty reliably expect tension with much or all of the rest of the library staff. (Suffice to say that librarians can be as petty and threatened by novelty as anyone.) The librarian responsible for the makerspace probably has other public-service duties, such as reference, early-childhood literacy events such as storytimes, event logistics, outreach (for things other than the makerspace), community engagement, and so on.
If the idea of such a hybrid job repels you, I cheerfully add my voice to those warning you away from pursuing librarianship. If the idea of being hated by your colleagues because your job isn't like their job so they don't think your job should exist, I cheerfully add my voice to those warning you away from pursuing librarianship -- not least because exactly that happened to me (different niche) and I can say from experience that it was remarkably unpleasant.
I would also suggest that you look really hard at what being the Last Bastion of (More or Less) Public Good is like for many librarians. It is not an easy road, not at all.
posted by humbug at 3:42 PM on July 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
I started out in environmental education and then spent several years running out of school time programming. I got to know informal educators from all kinds of organizations-- STEM orgs, arts orgs, makerspaces, zoos, bike collectives, etc. My experience is with youth programming-- K-12-- so I'm going to answer from that perspective.
First off-- I apologize if this is sidestepping your question, but I don't think you need a master's degree to break into this field, especially with a background in teaching art and tech. If money isn't an issue, then knock yourself out. But if it is-- I would think carefully about return on investment. Community-based informal education typically isn't a well paying field, unfortunately.
If you aren't set on grad school I think you just need to plug away at some of the part time work you've already been doing, network, and start applying. In my experience, there are a lot of part time opportunities in informal education and fewer full time opportunities. That's especially true if you aren't interested in doing admin/program management work-- I would really consider whether you're open to some level of program management if you want full time work. This might include managing staff, applying for grants, data management. For people who are purely educators, there are full time gigs but there are also lots of folks who piece together a few part time opportunities at after school programs, libraries, museums, etc.
If you're set on grad school, I think a Masters in Education could be valuable-- a lot of informal education programs want people who have a formal background in pedagogy and knowledge of learning standards to create curriculum. This would also give you the option to become a teacher in a nontraditional school which focuses on project based or experiential learning. There are also Masters in Education programs specifically geared toward informal education-- a lot of them have an environmental focus but I think this would be worth looking into. Another option could be Museum Studies-- I don't know too much about those programs but I do know folks who have gone that route.
posted by geegollygosh at 4:34 PM on July 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
First off-- I apologize if this is sidestepping your question, but I don't think you need a master's degree to break into this field, especially with a background in teaching art and tech. If money isn't an issue, then knock yourself out. But if it is-- I would think carefully about return on investment. Community-based informal education typically isn't a well paying field, unfortunately.
If you aren't set on grad school I think you just need to plug away at some of the part time work you've already been doing, network, and start applying. In my experience, there are a lot of part time opportunities in informal education and fewer full time opportunities. That's especially true if you aren't interested in doing admin/program management work-- I would really consider whether you're open to some level of program management if you want full time work. This might include managing staff, applying for grants, data management. For people who are purely educators, there are full time gigs but there are also lots of folks who piece together a few part time opportunities at after school programs, libraries, museums, etc.
If you're set on grad school, I think a Masters in Education could be valuable-- a lot of informal education programs want people who have a formal background in pedagogy and knowledge of learning standards to create curriculum. This would also give you the option to become a teacher in a nontraditional school which focuses on project based or experiential learning. There are also Masters in Education programs specifically geared toward informal education-- a lot of them have an environmental focus but I think this would be worth looking into. Another option could be Museum Studies-- I don't know too much about those programs but I do know folks who have gone that route.
posted by geegollygosh at 4:34 PM on July 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I have a masters in library science and have worked in libraries for 7 years. I would like to echo the sentiments of some of the above posters that I'm not sure an MLS is a great fit for you. Here are some reasons why:
-Getting a masters is expensive and librarianship doesn't have an amazing pay rate or a large amount of openings. You'll be taking on a lot of debt or expense for an uncertain hiring outcome or one that will mean you'll have a long time before paying off your loans.
-When you do get into the field, you'll be most likely to find opportunity in public libraries as schools often require specific certifications. In a public library setting, you would likely not be doing a ton of education focused work, but would be assigned to the system as a generalist or youth services librarian, relegating education programming to a sliver of the overall work you do.
-Public libraries in particular tend to be underfunded, understaffed, and depend on librarians feeling enough passion for their work that they'll take on job creep. Pink collar work tends to be undervalued and you may find that even with a master's degree and previous work experience, once you're in a system, administration just views you as a cog in the machine.
As an alternative, I would encourage you to consider educational paths that might give you a direct line into a middle management, or administrative position in education or libraries. It seems like you have a really good view of equity in education and what it takes to modernize education. Those are values that are really important for decision makers in the field since you would have the opportunity to shape the field for the better. A masters in education might help with that, but you might also find value in a Masters in Business Administration, Project Management certifications, or Educational Administration programs.
posted by donut_princess at 9:41 AM on July 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
-Getting a masters is expensive and librarianship doesn't have an amazing pay rate or a large amount of openings. You'll be taking on a lot of debt or expense for an uncertain hiring outcome or one that will mean you'll have a long time before paying off your loans.
-When you do get into the field, you'll be most likely to find opportunity in public libraries as schools often require specific certifications. In a public library setting, you would likely not be doing a ton of education focused work, but would be assigned to the system as a generalist or youth services librarian, relegating education programming to a sliver of the overall work you do.
-Public libraries in particular tend to be underfunded, understaffed, and depend on librarians feeling enough passion for their work that they'll take on job creep. Pink collar work tends to be undervalued and you may find that even with a master's degree and previous work experience, once you're in a system, administration just views you as a cog in the machine.
As an alternative, I would encourage you to consider educational paths that might give you a direct line into a middle management, or administrative position in education or libraries. It seems like you have a really good view of equity in education and what it takes to modernize education. Those are values that are really important for decision makers in the field since you would have the opportunity to shape the field for the better. A masters in education might help with that, but you might also find value in a Masters in Business Administration, Project Management certifications, or Educational Administration programs.
posted by donut_princess at 9:41 AM on July 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks everybody, you are all awesome, as usual. I’m marking a couple best answers but they were all helpful!
posted by hapticactionnetwork at 7:52 AM on July 13, 2020
posted by hapticactionnetwork at 7:52 AM on July 13, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
As someone who works in libraries, I would definitely NOT get an MLIS to do what you want to do. Librarians plan programming and teach when they're qualified to, but it's a small part of the job. I have personally never met a librarian who had a mostly-community education job, though they may exist in bigger cities. Mostly libraries do not have that kind of position.
posted by gideonfrog at 2:05 PM on July 8, 2020 [5 favorites]