(a bit of an epic post- recommended for anyone who ever chooses “Rebecca Jones” for their Mastermind specialist round but probably no-one else!)
When I was growing up I always wanted to be a historical researcher (for some reason nurse/ firefighter/ astronaut/ pop singer never appealed to me.) I did my first degree in politics and history with the aim of then doing a Historical Research MA. Towards the end of our third year, all students had to go and see a careers advisor. Mine pointed out that it would be better to do a more vocational Masters in librarianship and that this would still give me skills needed to do research afterwards. This seemed a very sensible idea to me and so I changed my lifelong plans instantly (I’m very good at making snap decisions!) and started on a life of librarianship.
It should be mentioned at this point that I later discovered that this careers advisor had said the same thing to everyone who had studied history!
Despite a lifelong love of books, I had very little experience of libraries growing up. My parents were always scared of library fines and so never took us to them (with the result that I was reading their highly inappropriate books from an early age!) They did remind me the other day how I took it upon myself to rearrange the books in my junior classroom into genre so obviously librarianship was in my blood!
I applied for a number of SCONUL trainee posts but also applied to the three universities who were offering the MA without the need for experience. I was accepted on all the courses but didn’t hear back from any of the placements (universities were obviously starting to feel the pinch even then!)
I hated most of my MA (which is why I’m not repeating where it was!) because most of the training was far too simplistic. One lecture included a twenty minute explanation about the differences between written and oral communication (the answer is that one form is written down and the other is spoken!) On another occasion we were reminded to put full stops at the end of sentences. [It should be mentioned here that I have heard similar stories from most of the UK’s library schools!]
It is therefore difficult to advise people when they ask about doing a librarianship MA/MSc. It is usually needed in order to get to a management position (there are people who have worked their way up the payscale but I don’t think many staff will be staying with one organisation their whole work life in the future.) It is also the only place that I was able to gain experience of AACR2 cataloguing (I volunteered to catalogue some of Wandsworth’s early children’s books in order to get some more MARC experience.) My course did give me some extra skills such as using Dreamweaver as well as (finally!) some library experience when I did my fortnight’s placement.
Ned Potter describes a postgraduate qualification as a ‘qualification of convenience’ (thanks to Siobhan B for the reference.) At the moment I would probably say that that is the case. Library managers are (by their nature?) traditional and continue to ask for the qualification in their job postings. However, I think even they are going to have to change as the older librarians retire* and the ‘new breed’ of excellent information professionals haven’t been able to afford tuition fees and/ or have approached the career in a different way.
* this survey from 2005 talks about the problems of 36% public library staff retiring in the next ten years. At the time I thought this meant that I would have a better chance of a steep career climb, I didn’t think that ‘they’ would just close the libraries!
The flipside to this of course is the increasing ‘threat’ of volunteers in libraries. Not the concept of having volunteers of course (having volunteered at the Women’s Library for over a year I could never say that!) but the idea that volunteers can replace trained professionals. Having letters after my name is a valuable defence against people who think all I do is stamp books every day. The fact that the postgraduate degrees can date quickly is a tribute to the progressive nature of the profession. CILIP’s Chartership and Certification routes show that career development is a vital part of librarianship.
I would say at this point that I think that potential librarians should do a postgraduate qualification rather than initial degree in the topic. I have heard that employers prefer candidates with a different degree subject. Also, my friend who is chartered but with a BA in librarianship, has found that her qualification is not recognised in Canada (or the United States) where she is emigrating to.
I chartered in 2008. After paying £3000 for my MA I wanted to ensure that I was as qualified as I could be. I had first enrolled while working at Leeds and had written half of my work but didn’t touch it for a year when I moved down to London. As a result. I had to completely rewrite everything and was one of the last people to qualify under the old regulations.
Everything is changing at a very fast pace (crikey, I am getting old!) When I first started I was told that I should stay in each job for at least two years so that I could prove that I was a loyal employee. Nowadays it is looked at in a negative way that I have only had three jobs in ten years as a librarian as I have not worked in enough different library environments. It is for this reason that I took a step downwards and sideways last year to work in a position where the highest qualification required is A Levels. Most of the people here in a similar role are also qualified librarians, and the job description ensures I am cultivating new library skills, but it is difficult not to be a little disappointed each month as some of my wages go towards paying off my tuition fees!
The photo for today’s posting was taken in Meknes, Morocco.
