Hiring Preferences in Libraries

Disturbing View of Online Education
Lest sounding a little confrontational (and lengthy here), I would challenge those with low opinions of online courses to take one for themselves. It’s not easy, by far the expectations are much greater. I already completed an MSc. in the biological sciences, with a thesis, and it was challenging, and online is not a breeze. Sitting in the back of a classroom and avoiding participation is easy, not in an online environment. My wife and I each started our MLS degree in the classroom, then switched online when we needed to move away from our university. It’s harder, more involved, and often tests your ability to be a self-motivated individual. The listed CONS to online more often than not list ‘interaction’ as a component that is missed. Sure, pulic librarians need face-to-face more often than corporate librarians, but online is not a vacuum, and life continues outside school.

Some of the comments against, with my responses:
> An essential part of the degree is socialization and interaction with other students and faculty.
How many part-time (evening) graduate students socialize after a class at 9pm on a weekday? Zero.
Socializing online is a skillful art, one that should be learned in the present email/IM/virtual meeting environment in corporate America, even with the growth of virtual reference desks.

> There are faculty members who resist and resent educating students in this manner.
Because they cannot recycle an ancient syllabus quite so easily, and are expected to participate in the education of their students throughout the week rather than during a 3-hour class. Trust me, I’ve seen it too often already.

> I think there is a huge benefit from a collegial experience, which online degrees cannot offer.
This is a master’s degree; the students have already experienced the ‘collegial’ experience for a BS or BA.

> Also lack of access to on-line cost databases such as Dialog or Lexis-Nexis.
??Last time I looked, these were online database to the world, not just the university library. We have academic Dialog and Lexis-Nexis accounts every quarter. I have access to more resources through my online degree than any employer has offered.

Lastly:
> Some of the skills needed to be a librarian cannot be acquired online. Interaction with others is important, even classmates.
Online students are not hiding in a closet for 2-3 years. They hold other jobs, often in libraries. Frankly, I prefer interacting with members of my local SLA chapter rather than my fellow students, because they convey practical experience in the field.

Long rank…but it’s personal to me. And the profession better hug it, since online is here to stay.

Re:My concerns
Conversly, I would expect a portion of in-class students to behave in the same manner as the online students you mentioned (and they do). As you pointed out, it was the student’s behavior, not the educational system, that was to blame for their lack of effort. In fact, that’s the test of skill in the online environment, self-motivation and learning. Have you ever met a traditional degree student that was unmotivated or incompetent? As the old saying goes, 50% of the people graduated in the bottom half of their class.