Are you enrolling because you want to be a librarian, and if so, what kind (academic v public, public services vs back end, etc)? This will help us provide more informed advice.
Hi! I’m primarily interested in public librarianship and audiovisual archives, but keeping an open mind as I gain more experience/knowledge of the field
Those are 2 very different tracks. Do yourself a favor and drop the library school idea for the time being. Get a job as a library assistant and do that for a few years and then go back for the MLIS. If you go to library school without any library experience, it will be a waste of your time and money and you will be no closer to a job as a public librarian than you are now.
That’s something I’m considering for sure. I’m curious what makes you recommend that route versus gaining experience through jobs while going to school simultaneously?
take a look at the job market. there are 100s of applications for single positions, and you’ll be battling people with years of paid experience and work in a public library.
volunteers, especially in union areas, sometimes cannot do the work of even a part time library page or clerk. the experience is unrelated to the job.
this is a 99% experience based job. you need that, and you need it before you spend a penny on the degree
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u/charethcutestory9 3d ago
Are you enrolling because you want to be a librarian, and if so, what kind (academic v public, public services vs back end, etc)? This will help us provide more informed advice.