Librarian Careers Information
Librarians have a reputation for being staid, their life being made up of stacking shelves, finding obscure texts, and shushing those who dare speak too loudly in the library. While librarians certainly are respectable, they are much more than this stereotype implies. In fact, they have reestablished themselves in recent years as essential personnel in the world of digital information.
Librarian Careers & Degrees
- Argosy University: Atlanta - Undergrad
Though today it is easier than ever for the average person to find certain types of information by means of internet search engines, other kinds of necessary information remain obscured by the mass of useless data. Librarians today use traditional research and organizational skills in conjunction with technological training to help people find the exact information they need.
Librarians may specialize in particular fields of knowledge, such as literature, science, reference, or music, and use this specialization to run particular library sections in larger libraries. In smaller libraries, however, a librarian will typically have to work in many or all sections.
Librarians most often work for school libraries, from elementary to college, or general public libraries. Librarians, however, may also be employed by businesses to keep track of their records and/or to help their employees conduct research: a common example would be employment in a large law firm.
Librarians who work for businesses tend to have additional education and/or experience in the law and business.
But no matter the position, librarians perform many of the same functions. They are charged with acquiring and organizing materials of informational, literary, or artistic value. Such items may include books, CDs, DVDs, film, brochures, pamphlets, and periodicals.
Increasingly, librarians must also organize and even sometimes build computerized databases of information. Some librarians specialize in archives and primary source collections. Because much of this information is unorganized and unavailable to the general public, librarians who manage these collections serve as very important gatekeepers of the knowledge they contain.
Finally, some librarians work in preservation, using their skills to maintain and repair first editions and priceless manuscripts as well as convert information found on older technologies to newer formats (i.e. from reel to reel tapes to digital files). With their work, information does not die when its medium fails or becomes obsolete; rather, it is made available for generations to come.
Librarian Careers Path
Librarians most often need a Master’s degree in library science (MLS). Usually, any Bachelor’s degree is fine for entering an MLS program, though many librarians who specialize in a given field will have their Bachelor’s degree in that field (i.e. a science reference librarian with a chemistry degree or a fine art librarian with a degree in art history).
Most MLS degrees take 1 to 2 years and require classes in library organization, research techniques, and censorship. Those who specialize may take further classes in children’s literature, preservation, or archival organization depending on their specialty.
A PhD should be earned by those who wish to teach or work at the highest levels in large libraries. For those who wish to become school librarians, some states require teacher certification.
Librarian Careers: Compatible Personality Traits
Excellent oral and written communicator, highly organized, eye for detail, patient, critical thinker, technologically savvy, works well with others, patient, inquisitive.
Librarian Interview
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Librarian Careers: Salary Expectations
The average salary for librarians is $52,530 a year, with the middle fifty percent earning between $42,240 and $65,300. Those employed by the federal government average $84,796 a year.
Most librarians are employed by schools, from the elementary to the university level; of these, the average salary is in the mid-$50,000 range. With a Ph.D. and/or more experience, a librarian may be able to move into a supervisory position with more responsibility and a higher salary.
Librarian Careers: Job Outlook
The job outlook for librarians in the coming years is generally good. Though people are more likely to try to conduct their own research through electronic means, new librarians are well versed in electronic information systems and remain essential to higher levels of research.
Furthermore, many current librarians will be retiring soon, and though some positions may go away when they do, many new librarians will still be needed. Librarians who have training in the latest digital information technologies should have the best chance of finding a good position.
Slightly off the Footpath
- Teacher
- Archivist
- Research Analyst
- Teaching Assistant
- Early Childhood Educator
Source: bls.gov/oco/ocos068.htm
