So, You Want To Be A Librarian/Archivist?

[updated January 2016]

I started my MLIS in the fall of 2008 and graduated, with a concentration in digital libraries and archives, in spring of 2010. Before I started library school, I spent a lot of time researching on anything having to do with the library career field, looking for blogs/journals/etc about the process of  schools, what kind of classes would benefit me coupled with my own background (10 years in technology, plus a BA and a MA), and anything really from those who were in the current throes of school and what they did next so that I could get some idea of what was out there. There was, at least then, very little on any kind of topic on this discussion. While I did find a load of stuff about librarianship from those working in the field, I found that many of the blogs/journals/books for those interested in getting into the field were outdated or getting close to being outdated. For example, if you published a book about digital libraries in 2003, much of the discussion was horribly out of date by 2008.

In addition, many of the most online communities/networking sites that styled themselves for wannabe librarians tended to be filled with the same type of questions: What schools are the best? Should I take the GRE? I have a background in X, would this be applicable to becoming a librarian? Add, rinse, repeat.  To me at the time, that wasn’t quite what I was looking for.

I decided to put together series of blog posts on what I thought would be helpful to others considering going to lib school ranging from determining what type of school one should choose, lecture delivery, job placement, programs available, how to determine your career path, what other professions/career paths a MLIS can be used for and on to job hunting and more.