r/librarians

Hello all, and thanks for your time.

Some background info: I have an international relations/poli-sci bachelors, and a JD. I passed the bar but let it lapse because I spent 6 years working as a software developer. Now, I am wanting to switch careers again because being forced to use AI constantly crushed my soul.

My law school curved our grades down to a C- and I don't know if other graduate programs do this also. My law school gpa is a 2.86.

I have recently decided to get my MLIS and have started looking into programs. The first school I talked to told me that they require a 3.0 gpa in any prior grad school attendance and there doesn't seem to be any way that I can explain the curve from my school.

Does anyone have any experience with a similar situation? Do other grad programs curve like this? Are all grad programs going to be expecting a 3.0?

I am going to continue my research, but I am also posting here hoping to hear of some good experiences.

Thank you all.

Hello! I’m an MLS student and one of my assignments this semester requires me to read a book on management/library management. I was wondering if anyone here had any good recommendations because I generally hold the opinion that most of these books tend to be cash-grabby garbage. I have hope there are good ones though!

Thanks in advance

I am a librarian at a very busy library. Very Busy. Even our “quieter” programs net 20-30 people. Our most popular programs easily get up to almost a hundred on the regular (50 is the average amount for our story times, literal hundreds will come if it’s a special event story time like a character meet and greet).

It’s exhausting and admin is very resistant to putting crowd limits beyond fire safety. I’ve been wondering if we should start requiring multiple librarians to work together during a program, basically one facilitating it and another to run interference.

I am on my hands and knees begging for help and advice, something to make it more manageable with the very little wiggle room I’ve been given by the higher ups. Please.

Can anyone share how apply to these positions? I am looking for a part time or contract position for extra income.

Does anyone have any advice or information about this?

Our library runs a few books groups. The people who are tasked with running these book groups are part time and retired senior library techs. They read the books in their own time (which I think is unfair and they should get paid for that, since they are technically working). One of the people who run it isn’t going to be able to anymore. As the head of the circulation department, it will be my job to take over her book group. I work full time, take care of my 8 year old, have a house to look after, and am currently taking courses for my MLIS. It takes me a few weeks to get through a book for my own pleasure. The idea of having to read books for a book club is very overwhelming for me because I just don’t have the time since I’m expected to do this out of work. How do you all handle preparing for book clubs? Do you read the books? Do you give your staff time during the work day to read? I’m just looking for advice. Thank you all.

Hi, folks! Academic librarian here - I have a prof who is looking for a specific type of monograph for his students to use to teach critical thinking and diversified viewpoints.

We've all seen these and have in them our collections: an edited volumed that is a collection of essays/writings by different authors all centered on one theme. I see these a lot in literature crit but I've also seen them in just about every subject area.

Here's my question - what are these called, exactly? I've seen everything from 'course readers' to 'scholarly anthologies', 'compendiums', etc. I ask because this prof is asking for a way to show students how to search for this particular type of monograph in our catalog (and e-book databases) and I'm hitting lots of roadblocks. Does anyone have suggestions?

What questions would you ask while interviewing a library assistant, or what questions were you asked during your interview process that I should prepare thorough answers for? Any general tips about what to expect during this process?

I really want to get this job and feel as though I’d excel in a library setting, so any and all advice is greatly appreciated! Also, I know that a librarian and a library assistant are completely different roles, but this seems like the best forum to post this question in!

hello! i’m pretty sure many of you have heard people talk about their interest in getting their mlis, but i wanted to ask what schools or programs do you think have a good “return-on-investment”

im trying to make a timeline as i want to get my masters in spring 2027 but im still trying to narrow down schools but i would Completely appreciate if someone could tell me what programs are the best regarding helping students find internships or pathways to full time work after college. thats my biggest concern especially in this climate.

thank you!

A few months ago, when this subreddit barely had any members, I made a post asking about the new generation of students in the bibliometric sciences. I wanted to revisit that debate in case there are any educators or librarians here who would like to share their experiences or any interesting questions raised by their students.

In my experience working with students, I've noticed that subjects related to this field tend to be among their least favorite, whereas I personally found them to be some of the most fascinating during my studies. Do you think it's difficult to convey knowledge related to this field or is it simply a subject that many students prefer to skip?

What kind of opinions or reactions have you encountered?

I have accepted an offer to study at The University of Manchester in their newly CILIP accredited (ALA UK equivalent) Library and Archive Studies program. I have been so so so excited since November when I received my offer. I’ve been interested in library and archives programs since college (2015) and have spent time volunteering at libraries, teaching, and working in information and data management at a law firm. I would like to either work at a university as a research librarian or law librarian (at a university or firm). I know this is what I want to do, or at least thought I knew.

The program starts in late September and I’m getting ready to move. I’ve submitted the deposit, completed all required paperwork, secured scholarships and funding, etc., but now I’m questioning if I’ve made the right choice. I’m very stressed currently about my housing situation (referencing is taking much longer than I expected) and I’ve had fairly poor experiences thus far with university administration, I.e. financial aid office. I think these interactions have left a negative impression which is why I’m questioning everything. The program also seems so young, both in its accreditation and student body — I’m 30 and many students seem to be in their early twenties.

I’m hoping to get some advice and perspective. I know the general atmosphere in this group skews negative, so please limit the “you should just quit/not even try/the world is terrible” responses.

Thanks

Good evening,

I'm hoping I can get some advice and signposting please.

I have a Permanent Visa for Australia and lived there for a few months last year, but can't permanently relocate my family from the UK until I have a job, however we are ready to go as soon as I have one.

My background is in accounting. I'm qualified with ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and have 12 years experience in practice and a couple of years in businesses until I had my children. I have spent the last 4 years self employed and volunteering in the community, mainly helping new parents and families. I have wanted to transition to a career in a library pretty much forever so for the last few months I have been volunteering in a local community-run library, which has been wonderful. My children are now nearly both in school so it's time to come back to more permanent (and paid) work. I believe that, between my accountancy career and my community work, I've got some pretty solid transferable skills that will be great for working in a library.

I have been applying and applying for jobs in libraries in and around Perth. I've had a couple of rejections and I'm still waiting to hear back from most of them but I've not exactly been snapped up. I believe the jobs I've been applying for have been the entry level jobs, usually called 'Library Officer'.

Is there anything I can be doing from the UK to make myself more attractive as an employee? ​​

I am currently getting my accountancy qualifications converted to see what Aussie equivalent level they are ready for when I can go back to studying but I do find it quite difficult to understand exactly what I should be studying and which level I'm likely to be starting at.

Is there a 'best' path for studying? For example, as an accountant in the UK, we could either go to uni and then do the last few units of ACCA or go to college part time alongside working to do some more basic accounts qualifications and then do more ACCA modules. The second option (which is what I did) meant you worked and gained experience while studying and so had worked your way up the ladder quite well by the time the people who had gone to uni arrived and then had to start at the bottom of the career ladder and then still do the hardest ACCA modules. I would have been soooo annoyed if I'd done the uni route without realising there was a (in my opinion) better option HOWEVER I just chose my option by complete chance and luck rather than it being an informed choice, so I would like to ​be making an informed choice now I'm older and wiser!

I know there's a lot of info here but I wanted to give all the context so that I can get the best advice possible and I appreciate all and any input.

Thank you if you got this far 💕

I was newly hired as a Library Media Technician (basically just a part time librarian) at an elementary school. Their last librarian left in what I think was the middle of the year and they have only had substitutes in since then. I have login information, but that’s about it and no other school in my district uses this database. I’m slowly learning how to use it, but I don’t understand how I’m supposed to change the grade levels for my student patrons. Does anybody have any advice?

Hi! I am currently a YA librarian at a public library and I'm wondering if anyone has made a switch from Youth Services to another field of librarianship like academic, medical, or anything else and what was that process like?

While I love my job, this has been a particularly difficult summer for me (I had to fire 4 teen volunteers and another one passed away unexpectedly and I'm currently dealing with a few pushy parents who can't take no for an answer) and I'm just burned out and done and looking to transition to another role in the new year. I've been doing this for 5 years and have experience working in children's and adult services.

I'm also a manager and second in command to my branch manager, so I'm thinking about branch management or head of youth services, but I'm not sure if I'm really qualified for anything else. My manager started out in youth services and said it's very much like "beat cop" work where people start out and it's common to move on after a few years, but I feel like I've backed myself into a corner because all my classes focused on youth services because at the time my career plan was just get a job in youth services, go into youth services management and then eventually transition to school librarianship until I retire. Now, I don't want to do that anymore and I definitely feel like I need to take a break from working directly with youth for a few years, although I would love to support others in these roles and I enjoy the management side of things, which is why I'm looking into that, but I'm not sure what I'm qualified for.

Has anyone made a switch and how difficult was it? What kind of jobs should I be looking at if I want a more management type of role or one that is less public facing for a while (I also worked on hotels in various roles and in local city finance before this and I think I'm done with big customer service roles for a while)? There are a few historical society job postings I've seen, but I have no experience with this or anything else like academic or medical, or corporate. Any advice is appreciated! My nervous system needs a reset!

Hey folks. If you’ve got experience in legal research and have a MLIS or JD (or both), apply for this role! Small but mighty team and I’m happy to answers any questions.

See title. Spent five years in libraries as a library assistant, am now an admin assistant at a college. Thinking I want to go back to public libraries in an adult services / outreach position, but would (probably) need to get my MLS if I want something full time.

Just curious about MLS degrees especially given the state of the market and the world.

Hi everyone! Longtime lurker first time poster. I have my MLIS and I’m curious whether folks here announce that professionally in the same way you would with other certifications, terminal degrees, etc. like “John Doe, MLIS”.

Feels like you technically could, and I worked hard for those letters and I’m proud of them, but also maybe it’s unnecessary and maybe it’s a little much.

What do you do? What are your thoughts?

Hello, I have been managing a library collection for two years now. It's always been quite difficult deciding which new publications to purchase each month, and which to forgo, especially given how many excellent books are being published every month. I thought that this would become easier with time, but I'm finding that it has only become more difficult to choose. I always try to maintain a balance among new releases, award winners, diverse perspectives, patron requests, and core collection needs, etc.

What I'd love to get some advice on is what precisely you do when determining which new books to purchase, and which to forgo. I would like to have a more streamlined process so that I feel more satisfied about my decision, rather than something like FOMO about the books I didn't purchase (and likely won't be able to purchase next month, unless they are extra essential to the collection, as the next month will only have its own share of far too many compelling titles to choose from).

Thank you in advance for your expertise! 🙏

Hi! So I’ve worked in libraries for 20 years the past 4 to 6 have been in a school library. But I just got my MLS in May and I’m at a brand new school in a different district. The very first thing I noticed is there aren’t any catalog computers. I’m curious how common this is? When I’ve asked the students how they used to find books they said they just walked around and looked on the shelves. I’m completely dumbfounded. The media center itself is new and beautiful, but the lack of computers is breaking my brain.

I have been reaching out to MLIS programs that I am interested in applying to however due to health issues in undergrad I don't meet the 3.0 gpa requirement to apply (Currently about 2.5 without senior grades). One school suggested taking community college classes after I graduate to be able to apply to programs and I found Long Beach City College Library Technician program. Anyone gone through this program than applied to MLIS that could give advice. Or should I take my chances and continue to apply to MLIS programs, any programs with conditional admissions that you suggest? I am starting to get worried about my options of breaking into the field.