Library and Information Sciences Question?

Question

I'm a little confused about the Library and Information Sciences here in Ontario. There are Masters Degrees available, but there are also diplomas from colleges that I can get too. Is there a major difference between the two, and if so what is it?

Oh..I guess I forgot to add that I'll be graduating this fall with a degree in history lol.

I guess I should also mention that in Canada, it's different. Colleges and Universities are not the same. We can gain a degree in university and a college diploma from the colleges. Many of the colleges have a Library and Information Sciences course with the diploma...I was just wondering what the differences are between that and the MA, when the courses are supposedly similar.

Answer 1

You cannot be a librarian without an MLS (Master's in Library Science). You'll want the graduate degree. But get your Bachelor's first. It isn't wise to jump into graduate work if you've never done any college coursework before.

The big difference between a Bachelor's degree (diploma) and a Master's degree is specialization. A Bachelor's is a standard general education degree with some emphasis in a certain area. A Master's degree, you will spend your two years studying JUST your major.

Answer 2

You can obtain a Master's Degree in two to three years after completing a Bachelor's Degree. Most Bachelor Degrees are awarded after four years of study and follow graduation from High School. A diploma is something generally referred to as an award for completing four years of High School. A dipolma is also referred to as an award for completing a specific program at a Techical College and generally takes one to two years. High School can be defined in grades 9-12 starting with a freshman year, a sophmor year, a junior year and a senior year. Undergraduate programs refer to grades 13-16 and are also defined as freshman, sophmore, junior and senior years. After completing your senior year in an undergraduate program you will recieve a Bachelor's Degree. Post Graduate usually refers to years 17, 18, 19, and 20. Years 17 and 18 correspond with work necessary to complete a Master's Degree. Years 19 and 20 are generally specific to work toward a PhD or a Doctorate. In most cases a Degree is considered more valuable than a Diploma.

Answer 3

If you wish to be a professional librarian (and remember not everyone who works in a library is a professional librarian) you need an MLS. Talk with one of the librarians at the university library (likely somebody on the reference desk is a professional librarian, not somebody checking out books) and s/he will explain all to you.

Good luck.