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What hte heck is a Masters of Library Science

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my mom got her MLS, was a librarian of a local college library until i was born, and now is into real estate 😛
 
Originally posted by: b0mbrman
Originally posted by: tangent1138
i have more respect for someone with a MLS than with an MBA.

A Library Science degree is honorable; it's the pursuit of providing free knowledge to the masses. An MBA is the pursuit of cash.
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Wait. Librarians don't get paid?
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No, a "librarian" doesn't get paid much. Once they have a decade or so and move into a senior position (director, or senior position at a large academic library), then they can make a few bucks. Remember though, you have to *start* with a Masters.
 
My wife who has an MLS asked me to post this after seeing this thread.

In general, in an MLS program, you'll have some information/knowledge organization theory courses, probably a cataloging course if you're going into a general track, a reference course (information sources, etc.), maybe some reader populations courses (children, YA, etc.) depending on your focus, probably a management course, maybe statistics/research methods, a couple of info tech courses, maybe a database course; if you're in an archives track, you'll have preservations and archiving courses; if you're in a school media track, add some school/youth/education courses; if it's more tech focuses, add more tech courses.

For the most part, the people in a public library with an MLS are the people behind the reference desk, the person in charge in tech services, probably the administration, and maybe the head of the circulation department. Depends how big the library is. In an academic library, more people will have MLS's, especially in tech services, because the cataloging is more involved. Look up an item in your library's OPAC and see if there's a 'MARC' or 'staff' view, then try to understand the record. That'll tell you part of what the cataloging librarians have to know. Reference is mostly knowing how and where to find information, and to work with the public. Circulation deals more with statistics and working with the public. Then there's the realm of children's librarians, who have to be able to deal with kids. There's also the realm of acquisitions; that deals a lot with budgeting, purchasing, and figuring out just what the library should acquire. In an academic library, there are bibliographers (who are usually the reference and other MLS staff), and they usually need a master's in their area of specialty, as well. They do collection development for certain subject areas.
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Tell your wife thanks!

Originally posted by: Freejack2
My wife who has an MLS asked me to post this after seeing this thread.

In general, in an MLS program, you'll have some information/knowledge organization theory courses, probably a cataloging course if you're going into a general track, a reference course (information sources, etc.), maybe some reader populations courses (children, YA, etc.) depending on your focus, probably a management course, maybe statistics/research methods, a couple of info tech courses, maybe a database course; if you're in an archives track, you'll have preservations and archiving courses; if you're in a school media track, add some school/youth/education courses; if it's more tech focuses, add more tech courses.

For the most part, the people in a public library with an MLS are the people behind the reference desk, the person in charge in tech services, probably the administration, and maybe the head of the circulation department. Depends how big the library is. In an academic library, more people will have MLS's, especially in tech services, because the cataloging is more involved. Look up an item in your library's OPAC and see if there's a 'MARC' or 'staff' view, then try to understand the record. That'll tell you part of what the cataloging librarians have to know. Reference is mostly knowing how and where to find information, and to work with the public. Circulation deals more with statistics and working with the public. Then there's the realm of children's librarians, who have to be able to deal with kids. There's also the realm of acquisitions; that deals a lot with budgeting, purchasing, and figuring out just what the library should acquire. In an academic library, there are bibliographers (who are usually the reference and other MLS staff), and they usually need a master's in their area of specialty, as well. They do collection development for certain subject areas.
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Originally posted by: tangent1138
i have more respect for someone with a MLS than with an MBA.

A Library Science degree is honorable; it's the pursuit of providing free knowledge to the masses. An MBA is the pursuit of cash.
Click to expand...

I say a similar hing about Science/Math and Engineering Ph.Ds.

Science/Math Ph.D is the pursuit knowlege and the advancement of Mankind, while Ph.D in Engineering is about the pursuit of cash.
 
I thought about getting one. The degree is also sometimes called Information Science. I was thinking about going into archiving, but am applying for a history of science phd program instead.
 
Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
Originally posted by: jumpr
Um, my mom has an MLS, and she worked hard for it! She's the head reference librarian at a local library.
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public?
private?
special?



Can I get a reference😀
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Public. I live in a family of public servants. Heh, I think your website is reference enough. 😉
 
Originally posted by: jumpr
Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
Originally posted by: jumpr
Um, my mom has an MLS, and she worked hard for it! She's the head reference librarian at a local library.
Click to expand...

public?
private?
special?



Can I get a reference😀
Click to expand...
Public. I live in a family of public servants. Heh, I think your website is reference enough. 😉
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It's great to hear that someone likes the hours I put into it every day.

Now, care to write some PHP for it😀 I always need voulenteers for that.
 
My mom has that degree LOL. Don't laugh at it. It's like getting paid upwards of $75K a year to search google all day.

Think there isn't such a high demand for that degree? Consider this: my mom was the head law librarian at a world-renown law firm for three years, then quit in April 2002 to move to a Greek island with her new husband. She remained on Naxos until September 2003 after the marriage didn't work out. Even after that absence, she got her old job back within two weeks, working at the same company in Washington DC.
 
Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
Originally posted by: jumpr
Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
Originally posted by: jumpr
Um, my mom has an MLS, and she worked hard for it! She's the head reference librarian at a local library.
Click to expand...

public?
private?
special?



Can I get a reference😀
Click to expand...
Public. I live in a family of public servants. Heh, I think your website is reference enough. 😉
Click to expand...

It's great to hear that someone likes the hours I put into it every day.

Now, care to write some PHP for it😀 I always need voulenteers for that.
Click to expand...
Meh, I'm a political science student, not CS. 🙂

Seriously though, I definitely have my heart set on law school, but I keep thinking how awesome it'd be to do a dual-degree program at the U-M School of Information and Law School so I'd graduate in four years with an MLS (it's actually an Masters in Information Science) and a JD. Awesome. But I'd be too tired to start working! 🙂
 
A Library/Information Science degree has a lot of uses, both public and private. Large corporations need sophisticated archival systems, which are designed and administered by people with these degrees. The U of Michigan sent me some info on their program, which is in the top three, and it looks interesting. If you go the corporate route there is a lot more demand, but more pressure, competition, etc. The Public route is harder because a lot more people with MLS's go into the public sphere, which depresses wages and makes it more difficult to get a job.


 
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