Hot Off The Press

Fellow LJ Mover & Shaker Sandra Sajonas and I share our tips and experiences at LIScareer.com - "In Library School or Job Hunting? Tips to Build Up Your Professional Career".

Is the MLS/MLIS Necessary?

Having just received my MLIS two weeks ago, I still wonder if the degree is necessary. While I did learn some very interesting and useful things in library school, I'm not sure how much I really use or refer to that knowledge in my everyday work. A recent Library Journal article talked about the decreasing number of MLS degreed librarians in public libraries. The article discussed many aspects, including the changing of core functions, decline of reference, centralized collection development, and the changes in desk staffing. What does this mean for the future of the profession and libraries?

Keep Your Library Open

"If education and information are going to provide the means as America digs itself out the great big hole we are in, the public library is handing out the shovels. Cut or kill the libraries and you yank away a shovel" (Libraries Are America's Lifelines. Leave Them Alone).

New York City libraries are facing a 22% budget cut (Library Journal). This would mean:

• Over 900 library employees would be laid off
• Many neighborhood libraries would be closed on the weekends
• Less programs such as storytime, computer workshops, workshops on resume, interviewing, and job searching, book discussions, health workshops, etc.
  
• Less books, DVDs, CDs, magazines, e-books, audiobooks, databases, etc.
  

What you can do:

• Write to your City Council Member.
• Find out more ways to take action to save NYC libraries.

Libraries = Collections?

Over the past few years, based on conversations with people, libraries are associated with books, audiobooks, DVDs, CDs, e-books, databases, etc. - basically resources or collections of resources, regardless of the media type. Yesterday, I was doing shelf-reading of a print reference collection. Today, I had a conversation with a few colleagues about collections and circulation statistics. Overall, libraries are deeply connected and defined by its collections. My colleague, Nate Hill recently blogged a post about the changing role of public libraries which covers a bit of what I discussed in my last post and will discuss in this post.

For a long time, libraries have been and are still defined by their resources and collections of resources. Increasingly, people are finding information online on their own, which has brought up questions like why do we need libraries and how can libraries stay relevant. It's not only the resources that defines what libraries are, the library staff plays a crucial role. Why not encourage and support an environment for library staff to use their ideas, skills, creativity, and knowledge to collaborate with the community to develop, organize, create, and coordinate events, programs, wikis, blogs, etc. while using the collections? I think there's potential in libraries playing this kind of role and it's great to see that it's happening.