http://search-engines-web.com/ sends this “Library Journal article:
To transform humanists with Ph.D.’s into academic librarians is the purpose of an initiative recently launched by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). The equivalent of an apprenticeship, the program involves postdoctoral work in an academic library in lieu of earning a master’s degree from a library and information studies (LIS) program accredited by the American Library Association (ALA). Unfortunately, these apprenticeships are likely to undermine further the academic librarian’s already unstable place within higher education. The program is viewed either as a short-term expedient to fill open, specialized positions in academic libraries, or as a welcome alternative to education in ALA-accredited programs perceived as abandoning librarianship to embrace information.
Oh how lovely…
I saw this story start to develop while still a graduate student. This started off as a snowball rolling downhill in the spring of this year. This initiative is sadly only picking up more and more steam.
It does lead me to an important question though…why on earth did I bother with all of this? There is no shortage of librarians right now and to have as many MLS holders out of work in Ohio and PA as there are, this is a nonsensical thing to do.
Oh. Wait. I forgot about academic pride and academic disdain of the MLS…
Re:Oh how lovely…
I am more optimistic regarding MLS jobs. There seems to be a good number of openings in the Midwest. The problem is that there are too many Ph.D.s in the humanities. They have been devalued. Librarians need to remain active in their professional association, ALA, and work hard in keeping the requirements for a professional librarian position the MLS.
Re:Oh how lovely…
But is a living wage paid? How do we define Midwest? I thought Ohio was considered to be part of the Midwest although I have lately seen it considered a mid-Atlantic state. Ohio has been in the dumps for positions due to retreating funding levels and the over-production of graduates by Kent State University’s School of Library and Information Science.
Having had experience with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, I know from getting bounced from a few searches that the minimum for a librarian to start out there now is to have an earned doctorate beyond the master’s in library science. When I talked to Dr. Howard McGinn (formerly the Dean of Libraries at Clarion University of Pennsylvania and now holding a similar position at Seton Hall) about such he indicated such was a move to try to ensure respect by other faculty of the library faculty. Such is a very high bar to jump, though.
For some odd reason I thought I had something cooking in Canada that I was keeping an eye on. Alas, I am not sure how that will turn out. I do know that the institution concerned in Saskatchewan would like me to have an earned doctorate in a teaching area so I could teach some classes, too.
Could much of this push be to an actual flooding of the market with holders of master’s degrees in library science in such amounts that exceed numbers of open positions. Michael McGrorty and Christine Borne have talked about this. Apprenticing humanities PhDs seems to be an attempt to stop MLS overproduction while also removing PhD overproduction in the humanities too.
I apologize if I sound like I am ranting. I have been up and running around very busy since 4:00 AM EST and am very much so in need of a nap eventually today.
No MLS…
No ALA MLS not a librarian.
Thank you, please tip your server. Try the fish.