Is a bachelor's degree in library science applicable? or is a masters degree and above required?

Question

I'm looking into my options and am very interested in Library science, any excess information you could give me would be great, general salary information, demand in the employment market, various ways in which the respective degrees can be applied, what areas of study this major focuses on? (outside of the obvious dewey decimal system) and any universities in california that have great programs, or that even offer the major? thanks a lot

LOL touché Steve, I realize that posting this question without doing the research myself implies a research related field would probably be unsuited to me, however there are a few of my contacts who I know are involved in this career field and I was hoping to get their first-hand experience.

forgive me......LOL

Answer 1

If you look at most job postings for librarians, you'll see that a Master's Degree in Library and Information Science is required for most of them. You'll probably also notice that an increasing number of public and academic libraries are advertising for part time librarians.

To get a broad overview of the job market and trends, check out the U.S Bureau of Labor and Statistics:

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos068.htm

To look at specific job listings, I would recommend the following sites:

http://libraryassociates.com/index.html

http://www.libraryjobpostings.org/

http://www.ifla.org/II/lists/libjobs.htm

One thing to consider if you want to be a media specialist (generally those librarians employed in K-12 public schoool systems), in many states you will also need to have a valid teaching certificate, so check the requirements in your state.

As far as reviewing salaries, I prefer www.salary.com, although both Hot Jobs and Monster have that capability as well.

A MLIS degree can be focused differently depending upon which type of library you want to go into. You can look at becoming a media specialist (see my above comment), a public librarian, an academic librarian (college & university), a special librarian (business, corporate, legal, etc.) You can also "specialize" as an archivist.

Most LIS programs have a basic "core" of classes that you'll be required to take, including collection development, cataloging, reference/research. Other classes needed will depend upon what focus you choose. Regardless of which area you're thinking about, though, you will need a good techology background. You will need to be familiar with how to search a variety of online databases, many of them specialty databases (like WestLaw). You will also need to be familiar with a variety of software applications, specifically Microsoft Office. You should have at least a basic knowledge of website building (Dreamweaver, Front Page, etc.)

I see that one of the other posters listed 2 universities for you to contact, so I won't duplicate that information, but you can also do a search to see if there are other universities in your area that offer the program.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Look online at your local library website for salary ranges. I have an uncle who was a librarian (now retired) and from what I have heard, a master's is a requirement to get started in the field.

For finding a good library science school, go to the Brown system of rating universities and you will find out what the top 25 rated universities in the US are. These ratings are done every 4 years, and although there are other systems, Brown is the best and most respected. It is the system universities strive to be rated by.

Answer 3

We employed some very skilled Library experts when I worked in research, they had to do complicated searches and literature research for us. I believe they insisted the people had advanced degrees for the position. Many of those searches were used in patent filings and FDA documentation, so they had to be done right.

I think if you wanted to get into senior Library Management an advanced degree might be applicable.

Answer 4

of coure..sure u get it