My friend just got her MLS, what's the job market like for that field?

[liberalhistorian]

My best friend of 24 years (a republican, believe it or not, lol!) just got her Master of Library Science. She also has an MBA. She's one of the most intelligent people I've ever known. She also hasn't worked full-time in several years because she's been dealing with lymphoma, the same disease that killed her father; the only treatment that saved her (when she was literally at death's door) was a stem-cell transplant a couple of years ago.

She's having trouble finding a job (a republican having trouble finding a job, imagine that, lol!) and I've told her she may have to look outside the area, maybe even outside the state. She's lived her her whole life, almost forty years, so she really doesn't want to do that. But there really aren't any library jobs around here (Northeast Ohio) as many libraries as there are.

She was lamenting the failure of several local library levies a couple of months ago, and I've been having to bite my tongue ever since. She's been a republican all her life (her father owned an insurance agency he inherited from his own father), and has always been anti-tax and semi-anti-government. She and her parents used to get into it with my parents about school levies (my parents were both teachers, and they reminded her parents that not everyone had the money to send their kids to private schools; they were also able to enlighten her parents that teachers didn't make nearly as much money as they thought they did). So to hear her and her mother lamenting the failure of library levies while still having to keep a straight face was almost too much! We've actually had some good laughs over that, as we've always been able to be good-natured about our political differences and enjoy teasing each other.

So, does anyone know what the job market is like for those with an MLS degree (remember, she also has an MBA she got while working for her father's company, which her mother sold after her father's death)? Should she be looking out of our area, as well? What can she expect?

[ikojo]

1. Like Nancy Reagan's conversion to supporting

stem cell transplants...the ONLY reason your Republican friend is upset over the failure to pass library levies is because it affects HER. If it did not affect HER then she would not care. Heck she would probably not support free libraries, after all if poor or middle class people want to read they can buy their own books.

For pugs it is ALL about whether it affects THEM or not.

She may have to work for a UNIVERSITY which would expose her to people who may not exactly see the world as she does. They also may have lived away from their family as adults.

[PinkTiger]

3. Her friend is typical of people.

I don't think her friend is all that different from everyone else on the planet. Most people look only beyond their own noses, including a lot of Democrats.
The important thing is, her mind has been opened.

[liberalhistorian]

6. Frankly, I think a lot of people are like that,

republican/democrat/independent, what have you. A lot of people really don't think about things, or support something, until or unless it affects them or someone they know. I don't think it's just a republican thing. She's been very privileged and sheltered all of her life, so I think this has been a good thing for her to experience and understand this.

I think it started for her when she was dealing with her cancer; she had no job and no money at the time and had it not been for her mother and her family money and resources, she probably wouldn't be alive today. Her mother spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on her treatment, (including taking her twice a year to a clinic on the Mexico-California border for treatments that helped her but weren't yet approved in the states). She met many fellow patients who had no such resources and who were losing their house or what little assets they had to pay for even basic treatment, so that really opened her eyes as well.

[PinkTiger]

2. She should check the ALA out.

http://www.ala.org/ala/education/empopps/employmentopportunities.htm

Several links there for librarians.

She might find something in the smaller communities. I'm a trustee on the board of a small local library, and our director doesn't even have an MLS.

She should be able to find a job.

[liberalhistorian]

4. Thanks, PT, I'll

certainly pass it on.

[Radical Activist]

5. Good if you're willing to move

I have two family members with MLS degrees. There are jobs, but having to move to get a good one is typical. That's what they did.

If you're friend wants to live in Ohio she may have to wait a long time for a good position, or work somewhere else for a few months/years and move back when a good position opens up back in Ohio. Most jobs in libraries don't pay a lot but it is a great field.

Librarians also tend to be a liberal group of people. The ALA opposed the patriot act early on. Maybe she'll eventually be influenced by her coworkers.

[liberalhistorian]

7. Well, she also opposes the

PATRIOT Act (and argues with her mother and brother over it all the time); I think her training had a lot to do with it.

[Radical Activist]

8. Another thing

Is she looking in other places besides libraries? A lot of businesses and other organizations have to maintain large collections, so she may be uniquely qualified for a position in a large company with her MBA. I have no idea if there are many jobs like that, but its a thought.

[liberalhistorian]

11. That's an interesting idea,

her MBA may indeed open up jobs that she might not be considered for with just a MLS.

[XanaDUer]

13. She should definitely think about a special library

job. Lots more $$$, better hours, and more respect than public libraries.

Now that states are running out of money, thanks to the Bonehead in the WH, public libraries all over the country have hiring freezes, and a lot of them are looking for, what they call, "smart college graduates" without the MLS, so they can pay even less.

She should definately check out the Special Libraries Association.

[XanaDUer]

9. Have her check these out...

the first link is the truth-be-told kind of inside stuff on really working as a librarian.

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/contrarianlibrarian/


Ans, if she is now a conservative librarian, she'll love:

http://shush.ws/


Repub libs always amazed me, since they are usually against all the stuff that helps libraries serve the public.

Go figure.

[liberalhistorian]

12. Thanks, LC, I'll pass on the info!

And you're right, it's always amazed me that there's such a thing as conservative librarians.

[XanaDUer]

15. Can I tell you some stories...

ugh.

:eyes:

I knew one born-again , go-go-Bush, MLS-holding librarian who just got screwed over (even more than public librarians get screwed) because our lovely state of FL, run by JEB!, is so far in the hole, there is NO money for public libraries.

Isn't it bizarre there are pro-Bush librarians?

Thankfully, most librarians are smart enough to be liberals. :)

[NightTrain]

10. Hey, sweetie!

I've been trying to call you tonight, but as usual I'm only getting a busy signal. :cry:

[Lisa0825]

14. Occupational Outlook Handbook Online...

http://bls.gov/oco/home.htm
http://bls.gov/search/ooh.asp?qu=library&ct=OOH

Professional and related occupations. Professional and related occupations will grow the fastest and add more new jobs than any other major occupational group. Over the 2002-12 period, a 23.3-percent increase in the number of professional and related jobs is projected, a gain of 6.5 million. ... About three-quarters of the job growth will come from three groups of professional occupations—computer and mathematical occupations, healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, and education, training, and library occupations—which will add 4.9 million jobs combined.

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

Job Outlook

Employment of librarians is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations over the 2002–12 period. However, job opportunities are expected to be very good because a large number of librarians are expected to retire in the coming decade, creating many job openings. Also, the number of people going into this profession has fallen in recent years, resulting in more jobs than applicants in some cases. Colleges and universities report the greatest difficulty in hiring librarians, because the pay is often less than the prospective employees can get elsewhere.

Offsetting the need for librarians are government budget cuts and the increasing use of computerized information storage and retrieval systems. Both will result in the hiring of fewer librarians and the replacement of librarians with less costly library technicians. Computerized systems make cataloguing easier, allowing library technicians to perform the work. In addition, many libraries are equipped for users to access library computers directly from their homes or offices. That way, users can bypass librarians altogether and conduct research on their own. However, librarians will still be needed to manage staff, help users develop database-searching techniques, address complicated reference requests, and define users’ needs.

Jobs for librarians outside traditional settings will grow the fastest over the decade. Nontraditional librarian jobs include working as information brokers and working for private corporations, nonprofit organizations, and consulting firms. Many companies are turning to librarians because of their research and organizational skills and their knowledge of computer databases and library automation systems. Librarians can review vast amounts of information and analyze, evaluate, and organize it according to a company’s specific needs. Librarians also are hired by organizations to set up information on the Internet. Librarians working in these settings may be classified as systems analysts, database specialists and trainers, webmasters or web developers, or local area network (LAN) coordinators.



Personally, as an employment counselor in the Houston area, I saw several job orders requiring an MLS in the past few months, mostly at the community college or university level. It may not be in the highest demand, but it also isn't a very common major, so those kind of offset each other.

[XanaDUer]

16. Community College librarian jobs are considered primo

in the librarian world, the joke is you gotta wait for someone to die before you get one!

[liberalhistorian]

17. Wow, thanks for all the info!

Maybe I should also get an MLS, lol! I have a B.A. in history with a minor in sociology, and a paralegal certificate; neither degree has really gotten me anywhere. As a single parent, though, I really should wait until my son is out of school, six years from now; it wouldn't be fair to take that much time and money away from him right now.