Any librarians here? I am interested in majoring in library sciences and having a career as a librarian. I plan on doing more research on the field, but am wondering what advice you can give? My friend is a librarian, started off as a teacher for about 2-3 years, then got her masters online and was promoted to librarian at a local school. Is a master's degree required at most places, is it usually necessary to be a certified teacher first?
My good friend from college is a librarian. No need at all to be a certified teacher - especially if you want to work in a public library not a school. And yes, most places require a masters degree.
You definitely need a masters in library science; you do not need a teaching degree. At least, that is the case for a public library; I'm not sure what requirements schools have.
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My advice is to research only master's degree programs that are accredited in library science by the American Library Association. This gives flexibility if you ever want to move out the school system into public libraries or even academic libraries, where it is required. You typically don't have to teach first. You can move right into getting your master's after graduation. You will normally have to pass the professional knowledge of the national teacher's exam in order to be certified. Just look into the requirements in your state. Good luck! PS I LOVE being a librarian! :)
A friend of mine got his Masters in Library Science 14 years ago - he has worked at the Yale Medical Library and now works at the Library of Congress. He has never had any kind of teaching position or been a certified teacher but his career would not have been possible without the Masters degree.
I am a librarian at a public library and have been working in the field since 1993 when I graduated college! If you are interested in becoming a school librarian you need to look into what the requirements are in your state as it tends to vary from place to place. Where I live in PA you don't need an MLS to be a school librarian but do need a teaching certification with a concentration in school libraries. Here's a link to a list of each state's requirements: http://www.libraryjournal.com/slj/articles/certification/....
I would look into job opportunities and what is happening as far as education and funding for school libraries/librarians before taking the plunge. In many states school librarians are being eliminated with budget cuts.
I love being a public librarian and except for a short detour in the corporate world I have worked in public libraries. There are more opportunities in public libraries but as another poster said there is a lot of competition now days for positions. I love Youth Services in the public library because I get to work with kids of all ages from the babies up to the teens so there is a lot of variety in the work.
A lot of library/information schools have online programs and you are lucky in Texas as UT-Austin has one of the best programs in the country! If you are considering going into librarianship it is very important to get some experience under your belt. Feel free to message me if you have any questions!
