I read about librarians at http://www.wikipedia.org, it has some interesting facts about being one but why that long, if most people will probably ask, where's this book, no offense neccessary to be said though?
2007-09-13 13:27:20 · 6 answers · asked by ASDGSFGAGAGAG 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
If this was meant as a serious question, then you are really ignorant and rude.
I work in a library as a technical services clerk and help at the circulation desk...we have to deal with stupid students who come in and cannot even articulate what they are researching for a school project...usually they get their mommies to ask for them. So, we have to use our education and intelligence to decipher what they need. Afterall, if it isn't on YouTube; they cannot find it. Now, that I have that off my chest...in addition to the very long answer above me, a librarian in a public library is also the director, has a budget to manage, write grants and so much more. They are executive level managers. And in some smaller libraries, they may even have to do the accounting, be the children's librarian, do a story-time and more. Tonight, I just had two teenagers age 13 AND 15 who broke the kids crayons, crushed them on our outdoor patio bricks and spread poop on the mens toilet seat and dropped poop on the rug...and God knows what else they did that is undiscovered. I am the wrong person to tangle with tonight. You are only showing your lack of knowledge and unappreciation of the Library profession.
2007-09-13 14:45:22 · answer #1 · answered by L. B. 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
There are several different areas of librarianship, and many librarians specialize in a particular area. For example, if you work at the academic level, often you must have your Master's in Library Science, then also a second Master's relevant to the collection you work with. (If you are searching a database of chemical compounds, it helps to have an understanding of this information).
As for education, Library Science has become increasingly technology driven. In addition to taking courses in reference services and cataloging, the average library student is also learning HTML and detailed database and indexing systems. There are also courses in creating a collection that fits the needs of your clientele. Resources are incredibly expensive, especially journals and databases, and wasting money on materials that are not used is unacceptable.
In any setting, think of libraries as information centers. The library serves as the information hub for the organization it supports, whether it be your local community or a Fortune 500 company. Although finding "that book" may be an important part of the job, that just scratches the surface. Someone had to determine that book would be useful, purchase it, catalog it, make it accessible, and then be there to help you find it. It is all about information and training to collect, store, interpret and disseminate information in a way that is useful to those you serve.
2007-09-13 21:07:39 · answer #2 · answered by tekari 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I was about to come to the rescue of librarians everywhere but I read the post above me and really, there's not much more I could add.
Librarians are valuable to our communities and they work hard. Just because you don't see all they do doesn't mean they're doing nothing. That's kind of like not respecting your parents because you don't see what they do for you every day. Just one question: Who folded your freshly laundered socks?
2007-09-13 23:06:38 · answer #3 · answered by AllGrownUp 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, I would have to say that they need a degree because they need to be introduced to a lot of different types of literature (british lit, medieval, old english etc.) You can't just become a library and not know how to direct people towards books that they need or even be able to help them understand what the book is about.
Mmhm.
2007-09-13 20:42:40 · answer #4 · answered by awesomeredhead 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Librarians get their jobs through political favors. After all, it's our tax money paying for their salaries. And since the internet has taken over research there is very little use for libraries today. Yet they still have their jobs because they belong to the civil service union and have the right to our tax money. Outside of knowing reference books, the job is a cake walk.
2007-09-13 20:46:56 · answer #5 · answered by mac 7 · 2⤊ 4⤋
A chimpanzee could be a librarian. All you'd have to do is train it to shush everybody. Oh, I forgot, it would have to learn the alphabet too. Librarians are one of the most overpaid jobs there are, next to doctors and lawyers..
2007-09-13 20:33:24 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 7⤋