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I left a non-professional position in a public library after 6 months and 5 months after graduation. I'm applying for academic and public librarian positions, but also for non-professional positions. I am not having much success at either. Is this a mistake? I have such limited library experience that I am not willing to automatically skip non-professional opportunities. A follow-up question is what is the thought on public libraries hiring MLS for non-professional positions? Maybe that is a separate thread?
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Many organizations will have either a formal or informal policy to not consider MLS graduates for paraprofessional positions. It can create problems such as someone leaving very quickly after hiring. It also can cause internal problems among existing paraprofessional when a the newest paraprofessional has a MLS. It can be tough for some to handle. There are organizations that will allow. The only way to determine this is keep apply or find an insider that you are comfortable talking with.
Brian C. Gray Head of Reference & Engineering Librarian Kelvin Smith Library Case Western Reserve University http://blog.case.edu/bcg8bcg8@case.edu
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I am happy you asked this question. I am about to graduate from library school, but I have my eye on the perfect position that does not require a library degree. I'm torn on whether or not to apply because if I ever want to move on to a professional position, I'm not sure how it looks to potential employers for an MLIS to be working in a non-professional position. I have been on the interviewing committee for MLIS jobs at my current workplace and our director automatically discarded resumes b/c they were library school grads but they had never worked as librarians. That scared me! Maybe some directors are more understanding?
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spikel20 wrote:our director automatically discarded resumes b/c they were library school grads but they had never worked as librarians. That scared me! Maybe some directors are more understanding? But working as a paraprofessional is not what caused the rejection, it was the lack of experience. If you can get any job in a library, it helps you in the long run. Besides it pays the bills in the mean time.
Brian C. Gray Head of Reference & Engineering Librarian Kelvin Smith Library Case Western Reserve University http://blog.case.edu/bcg8bcg8@case.edu
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spikel20 wrote:I am happy you asked this question. I am about to graduate from library school, but I have my eye on the perfect position that does not require a library degree. I'm torn on whether or not to apply because if I ever want to move on to a professional position, I'm not sure how it looks to potential employers for an MLIS to be working in a non-professional position. I have been on the interviewing committee for MLIS jobs at my current workplace and our director automatically discarded resumes b/c they were library school grads but they had never worked as librarians. That scared me! Maybe some directors are more understanding? There are some jobs that you cannot tell from the job title whether a MLIS degree is required or not. For example, some jobs with the title "librarian" do not require an MLIS. Does the job title definitely imply that this is a non-professional position? But either way, I would say go for it - you can always explain in a future cover letter or interview why you are working in such a position. Also, one thing that jumped out at me in your post - you said "perfect position" - most certainly if this is the perfect position for you, then GO FOR IT! Whether it requires a degree or not is secondary... if it's your perfect position, no more needs to be said!!!
Check out the Talking Books Librarian blog at http://talkingbookslibrarian.blogspot.com
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At this library, the job was called an assistant librarian, which I took as a professional position. AFTER accepting, I was informed that this was NOT a professional position. Then rereading the job description (not in the announcement), I noticed in teeny tiny print the phrase "sub-professional Level". Boy was I sick to my stomach. This has been the only non-professional job I've seen called assistant librarian instead of library assistant or some such. I don't think MLIS was included in the ad, which I should have noticed.
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I am also a recent grad (January 08) searching for my first professional position in the D.C. area. With little response to my applications for professional positions I considered applying for support staff posts just to get some more experience. Ultimately however I think this a detriment to the profession. We need to insist that our degree is worth something and taking a paraprofessional position when we are qualified to do much more does not reflect well on the MLS. We all have to eat of course but in this case I think it important to consider the profession as a whole and the implications of our individual actions.
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grettir wrote:We need to insist that our degree is worth something and taking a paraprofessional position when we are qualified to do much more does not reflect well on the MLS. We all have to eat of course but in this case I think it important to consider the profession as a whole and the implications of our individual actions. It is does not downgrade the degree if an organization hires you as a paraprofessional. This is how some organization work new librarians in the fold. I know situations where this actually resulted in the library upgrading a position to professional status. A lot of people with a lot of different degrees in various fields sometimes take a job that you may consider below their degree. It does not downgrade what they can offer with their degree, but may allow them to upgrade some of their skills or buy time until a position opens. Downgrading occurs when people without a MLS are hired to be librarians.
Brian C. Gray Head of Reference & Engineering Librarian Kelvin Smith Library Case Western Reserve University http://blog.case.edu/bcg8bcg8@case.edu
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