CILIP (UK) Webinar that may be of use for people just starting out their careers in librarianship.
An overview of the skills and attitudes that employers are looking for from a modern information professional presented by CILIP CEO Nick Poole.
Link here.
So right now I have a Bachelor’s in English and I’m almost done with my Master’s in the same from a decent US university.
I’ve applied to a few MLIS programs as I’ve realized that becoming an English professor is really not my thing at all. I’d love to work with archives and special collections, but I also wouldn’t mind working in an academic library if it came down to it.
That being said, I kind of threw a Hail Mary at a dream program after being stuck in a school I really don’t love for 6 years, and I got accepted. It’s Edinburgh’s book history and material culture program — it’s CILIP accredited and places all of their students in amazing archive and rare book work settings, like the Centre for the History of the Book and the National Library of Scotland. Furthermore, it might end up being most affordable, as it’s finished in a year and I might be getting a scholarship.
I’d LOVE to do this program. I’m just terrified that even though ALA recognizes it as an equivalent degree that I’ll return to the U.S. and not get hired anywhere simply because ALA isn’t directly stamped on my credentials. That being said, I’m not heart-set on working in just a library — I’d really love museums, archives, rare books, etc. I just notice that many job descriptions still ask for those still ask for the MLIS degree.
Basically I’ve been stressed over this decision for like 3 months. Any advice, anecdotes, etc? Would that degree be ultimately shooting myself in the foot regardless of its formally recognized equivalency?
They want an "experienced information professional" at a starting rate of £24K (US$30K).
Seriously CILIP, you should be refusing to take ads like this with such crappy pay ranges. It's not good enough and adds to the continuing deprofessionalisation of the sector. Do you really think somebody would do a degree, then a Masters and all the associated debt that incurs, spend several years working to get experience then to end up in a very stressful (and potentially dangerous) environment with this?
This is a management job. It's really not good enough :o(
So my dilemma is this. I’ve gotten into 4 North American programs. One is completely unaffordable (we’re talking $50K in student loans here) but has a good archives program. The other 3 are doable financially but don’t have strong archive concentrations, which is definitely what I hope to pursue as a career — I’m finishing up a master’s in the US now and I’ve worked on several research projects that used material from archives and rare books collections, and the accessibility issues I’ve hit along the way have made me want to pursue this path to improve things for others.
So the last program I’ve been accepted to is Glasgow’s MSc in Information Managment & Preservation. I’ve looked at the curriculum and it seems like a great fit — courses on archival theory, digitization, records management, cataloguing, etc with elective options like early modern paleography and document encoding. It’s also one of the only programs that won’t lead me into student loans. I’ve also spoken to 2 people who did this program and found specialized work back in the US.
Clearly my hang-up is that it’s CILIP and not ALA accredited, though the ALA site formally recognizes CILIP accreditation as an equivalent. The other issue is that their work placement is only a 2-week intensive gig, whereas at US programs even if the classes wouldn’t allow me to specialize I could at least do summer internships (hopefully) in what I would prefer to specialize in.
I’m a bit afraid of focusing in one area as it could restrict my job options when I’m ultimately desperate for ANYone to hire me as a freshly minted grad, but I really am not keen on being an academic or public librarian in the first place.
I’m honestly at a loss here and I have to commit to something by Tuesday. Any advice from field professionals? Would the UK program be career suicide, or would the specialized courses actually help me out?
I've never been to any library conference before, and this year my library is sponsoring me to attend one of my choosing. The CILIP conference sounds really interesting, so I'm considering going there. How many people generally attend? I've also thought about the ALA's, and would like to know how they compare. I'm from Bermuda, so it's going to be a trip for me whichever I choose, but I'm not bothered by that.
And is it different than Master’s in Library and Information Science? I was trying to find more information about the MA Library and Information Management because it was listed as one of the courses offered scholarship in my country but it seems like not many uni offer this programme. Along the way I saw a lot of MLIS instead so I wonder how different it is actually to Library and Information Management. I’m also curious can anyone take a Master’s degree in this even if their Bachelor’s degree is unrelated to library?
I don't want to step on anybody's toes here, but the amount of non-dad jokes here in this subreddit really annoys me. First of all, dad jokes CAN be NSFW, it clearly says so in the sub rules. Secondly, it doesn't automatically make it a dad joke if it's from a conversation between you and your child. Most importantly, the jokes that your CHILDREN tell YOU are not dad jokes. The point of a dad joke is that it's so cheesy only a dad who's trying to be funny would make such a joke. That's it. They are stupid plays on words, lame puns and so on. There has to be a clever pun or wordplay for it to be considered a dad joke.
Again, to all the fellow dads, I apologise if I'm sounding too harsh. But I just needed to get it off my chest.
Do your worst!
I'm surprised it hasn't decade.
For context I'm a Refuse Driver (Garbage man) & today I was on food waste. After I'd tipped I was checking the wagon for any defects when I spotted a lone pea balanced on the lifts.
I said "hey look, an escaPEA"
No one near me but it didn't half make me laugh for a good hour or so!
Edit: I can't believe how much this has blown up. Thank you everyone I've had a blast reading through the replies 😂
It really does, I swear!
They’re on standbi
Pilot on me!!
Nothing, he was gladiator.
So right now I have a Bachelor’s in English and I’m almost done with my Master’s in the same from a decent US university.
I’ve applied to a few MLIS programs as I’ve realized that staying in academia and becoming a professor is really not my thing at all. I’d love to work with archives and special collections, but I also wouldn’t mind working in an academic library if it came down to it.
That being said, I kind of threw a Hail Mary at a dream program after being stuck in a school I really don’t love for 6 years, and I got accepted. It’s Edinburgh’s book history and material culture program — it’s CILIP accredited and places all of their students in amazing archive and rare book work settings, like the Centre for the History of the Book and the National Library of Scotland. Furthermore, it might end up being most affordable, as it’s finished in a year and I might be getting a scholarship.
I’d LOVE to do this program. I’m just terrified that even though ALA recognizes it as an equivalent degree that I’ll return to the U.S. and not get hired anywhere simply because ALA isn’t directly stamped on my credentials. That being said, I’m not heart-set on working in just a library — I’d really love museums, archives, rare books, etc.
Basically I’ve been stressed over this decision for like 3 months. Any advice, anecdotes, etc? Would that degree be ultimately shooting myself in the foot regardless of its formally recognized equivalency?
