From: Sandy Malloy (Sandy.Malloy@businesswire.com)
Date: Wed May 11 2005 - 10:27:46 PDT
Message-Id: <s281de4b.088@SFGWGWIA.businesswire.com> Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 10:27:46 -0700 From: "Sandy Malloy" <Sandy.Malloy@businesswire.com> Subject: Re: SLA-SF: entry level gap
That's the same year I got my MLS, Deb, and the situation was the same
for me--and I WAS in L.A. I applied for many positions in all kinds of
libraries and actually got a few interviews but that was all.
One of the most galling things, I have to say, was being expected to
have a second master's at an academic institution I will not name for a
position that paid less than a secretary would make...
In fact, I became a bilingual clerk typist at a law firm and within a
couple of months was indeed making more than the position I described
paid.
I stayed with clerical/secretarial work until I got my first
professional job--in Lubbock, Texas. My second job was in El Paso,
which had plenty of openings (for good reason, as I found out.) One of
my colleagues at El Paso PL was a Proposition 13 casualty, so that tells
you something.
My library school, USC, closed a number of years ago so we are cranking
out fewer graduates and yet they are still having trouble finding jobs.
My school was absolutely no help in finding a job, so I agree with this
author that schools needs to do much more. It was especially maddening
because the business school at USC has an excellent reputation for
supporting its grads. Of course, those grads go on to make megabucks
that come back to the school, at least in theory. 'Nuff said.
Sandy Malloy
Senior Information Specialist, Business Wire
800/227-0845 (415/986-4422) ext. 512
sandy.malloy@businesswire.com
>>> dhunt@exploratorium.edu 05/09/05 9:21 AM >>>
Thanks, Michele, for alerting us to this article and the issues it
covers.
I'd like to encourage our members to read this (it is worth the 10
minutes it takes) and start a dialogue about these issues.
I'll start the ball rolling...
The statistics about graduates v. entry level jobs remind me of what it
was like when I got my MLS from UCB back in 1976. There was a dearth of
jobs in the Bay Area for librarians. Many of my classmates were heading
to L.A. County, which was hiring or to the Midwest, where there seemed
to be plenty of jobs for entry level librarians. (Leaving the Bay Area
was not an option for me as my husband was in school at UCB.) I
remember one job listing in particular for a Librarian I in Marin
County. I applied and later found out that some 100 others had also
applied. In the end, they hired a librarian with 10 years experience.
It was difficult to compete with that! For me, consulting was the
answer, and I was able to go on and work that first year out of grad
school organizing engineering/business libraries in the corporate
setting. After that I did relocate to Nevada where there were entry
level jobs and was able to get valuable experience that led me to
higher level jobs before returning to the Bay Area. However, at that
time (late 70s, early 80s), the pressure was already on at the
University of Nevada, Reno, where I worked for 4 years, for the
librarians to have a second masters (which I worked on while there) or
a PhD in addition to the MLS/MLIS. This was due to the fact that the
librarians had faculty status.
I'd also like to comment on this:
(Under "The LIS Disconnect") "Discussions with recent graduates reveal
a great disconnect between the kind of education they expected to
receive and the kind of education ALA expects schools to provide.
Graduates wonder aloud why they didn't have practical training in the
routine aspects of librarianship while still in school. ALA does not
expect schools to provide this training. In order to be accredited, the
school should instead provide the theoretical underpinnings for an
advanced library science career."
As an instructor in the paraprofessional program at Diablo Valley
College, I see where all the practical training is going on. It's
there, with hands-on cataloging, intensive reference,
acquisitions/collection development, and technology-related courses.
I'm wondering if the ALA accreditation process needs to be updated.
Should there be an SLA accreditation process? Probably not, but not all
librarians/information professionals coming out of library schools and
such programs as SIMS, fit the public/academic librarian slot.
What can we do about this? Our chapter's participation, along with
other local/regional professional library associations, in an annual
career workshop at both SIMS and SJSU gives students a reality check,
but one with optimism. We encourage the very same things this article
concludes are necessary: networking, getting active in professional
associations, and doing an internship/practicum that will add
experience to the students' toolbox of skills.
Deb
On May 6, 2005, at 11:55 AM, Michele McGinnis wrote:
This article is generating a bit of discussion on some lists. I'd be
very interested to hear from recent grads on whether prospects are
better for special/non-traditional jobs? This article focuses on
academic and public libraries.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/index.asp?
layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA527965
m
-- Michele McGinnis, MSIS Research Librarian to Kevin Kelly149 Amapola Pacifica, CA 94044 650-355-7676 650-359-9701 fax
mm@kk.org www.kk.org
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________________________ Deborah Hunt Senior Information Specialist Exploratorium 3601 Lyon Street San Francisco, CA 94123 Voice: 415-353-0485 Fax: 415-561-0370 mailto:dhunt@exploratorium.edu
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