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Re: Need some insight about becoming a librarian
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Need some insight about becoming a librarian
1:33 AM EDT 7/12/06
I am thinking about getting an M.S. in Library and Information Sciences. I live in Delaware and the closest school to obtain this degree is in Philadelphia. The school is Drexel University, which I have seen is ranked fairly high for this degree (11th I think). They also offer an online program which is what I'm thinking about taking.
I was wondering if I could get some feedback from any of you as this is a really huge decision for me. Have any of you received your degree from an online program, and if so, how was your experience? A concern that I also have is that I feel that I would really enjoy this field as a career, yet I am worried that there are not alot of openings for librarians out there (hopefully I'm wrong). I guess what I'm asking is: is it hard to land a job as a librarian? Which concentrations are more marketable? Are there other uses for the degree if I could not immediately find your standard librarian job? Also, what are the things that you like most and least about being a librarian? Thanks for any responses and insight that you can share. I really, really appreciate it.

Thanks Again,
Jonathan
Re: Need some insight about becoming a librarian
12:59 PM EDT 7/12/06 as a reply to Jonathan Ujvarosy.
Welcome Jonathan! I'm glad you asked these questions.

I'm sure you'll be interested in reading this thread on the [url /forums/click.jspa?searchID=8261&messageID=23920 ]Credibility of Online Degrees[/url]. Drexel is mentioned frequently and favorably. There's also some great discussion about [url /forums/thread.jspa?threadID=708&tstart=0 ]Who wants to be a librarian[/url]. And then there are several topics in the [url /forums/forum.jspa?forumID=27 ]job searching[/url] forum that echo your concerns about employment in the field.

I may move this topic over to the [url /forums/category.jspa?categoryID=18 ]Professional Development[/url] category in a couple of days, if that's alright with you.
Re: Need some insight about becoming a librarian
11:39 PM EDT 7/13/06 as a reply to Betha Gutsche.
Thanks for the links. They have been quite helpful. I'm planning on visiting some of our local libraries and asking some of the librarians some of these questions. I've also come across some part-time positions that I may apply for to see if I can get some hands-on experience. And sure you can move this topic. Thanks again.
Re: Need some insight about becoming a librarian
1:56 PM EDT 8/7/06 as a reply to Jonathan Ujvarosy.
Jonathan --
I received my MSLS from Clarion University in january. I combined on-site classes in Philadelphia at the Free Library with web-based classes. I loved the instructors and I feel that much of our coursework and projects had real-world relevancy. One of my friends started at Drexel a year or so after I started my program and she was pretty impressed with the things we were doing in class. I took one course a semester and finished in 3 years. I work at 2 different libraries and am still searching for the perfect job. One of my classmates just became head of Public Access at Widener University.

Good luck, and most of all have fun!
Deb
Re: Need some insight about becoming a librarian
2:55 PM EDT 9/15/06 as a reply to Jonathan Ujvarosy.
Jonathan
I know someone who is in the Drexel MLS Online program and I am going to ask her to respond to your question too.
What is your background? A Library and Information science degree is really very versatile... I have librarian friends who are working in Libraries as Children's or Adult services Librarians; in Training and Outreach (if your interest is in Training, marketing, Advocacy and PR stuff); or in Technical Services (if you like Cataloging and Resource sharing - Inter-library Loan stuff) or in IT in bigger libraries -this is a significant part of what Libraries do (their on-line circulation, database subscriptions etc) . Some of my librarian friends also work for other Institutions like OCLC and AMIGOS and WebJunction and Gates Foundation or at an academic/research Instititution like schools /colleges/universities/corporate libraries.
Glad that you thinking about this profession... It is very exciting times to be a Library professional.
Mala