Need Help From the Librarians Out There

Loveabull · Post by **Loveabull** » 16 Sep 2013, 17:11

I finally decided what I want to be when I grow up...at 52 time's a wastin'...I have a BA in English and originally was headed for the teaching track. Then our state put a freeze on hiring, not a good time to get into education...unless you plan to teach math or the sciences. I realize I eat, sleep, and breathe books and always have. Fairly good with computers and some programming experience, years of customer service, excellent with young kids and senior citizens alike.

The question is how do I find employment in a library? Do you need a special degree? Where do you look for openings? How do you get your nose in the door? I'm going to try to get advice from one of our bigger local libraries too, but any suggestions on where to start would be greatly appreciated!

lady_charlie · Post by **lady_charlie** » 16 Sep 2013, 20:54

I will be keeping an eye on this topic to see what sort of answers you get.

Curious about this myself.

don't worry, I am not sure what I want to be when I grow up either

I am fairly sure I will have time for a second career if I live long enough, because I most certainly cannot afford to just retire!!!!

as far as libraries go I think a great deal depends on the library and what you hope to do there - there are jobs for people who don't have degrees but I am guessing they pay less as well

Loveabull · Post by **Loveabull** » 17 Sep 2013, 10:12

Yeah I know there are a bunch of volunteers but there has to be paying positions open sometimes. I don't want to spend the next twenty or thirty years at the job I'm at...telling people how to plan a deck or which weed wacker works the best...I'll start looking like Homer

lady_charlie · Post by **lady_charlie** » 18 Sep 2013, 21:20

I think some school systems have something like this, where they pay one librarian who has a degree and then the other librarians in the system are paid positions but not licensed, the pay is ok but not fabulous

Cali · Post by **Cali** » 07 Oct 2013, 17:28

it will depend on what kind of job you want to be doing within the library ... if you want paid work you could look at doing post graduate courses in library and information management as one option to add to your BA qualification
not sure on the US system, but in Australia there are a variety of degree courses for librarians ranging from library tech quals to undertaking Masters and Doctoral studies (although the last isn't a requirement thankfully

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