I'd say the "conventional wisdom" is that it helps to have worked in a library before starting library school. It's not by any means a requirement, but most managers hiring new MLS grads will be looking for some real world work experience (as much as possible). I worked as a part time reference aide for just six months a year before I started library school (I left because I needed a full time job). Then when I was in school I started working several part time jobs in one library system, while also completing an internship in another library one quarter. In my experience, it was no problem to start library school without much experience in the field, but I made sure that I go plenty of practical work experience while I was there. It can be sort of a chicken and egg problem, how do you get experience when no one will hire you because you don't have any experience? What I found was that "if your desire is strong enough" you'll figure out ways to eventually build the career that you want. I guess the bottom line is, if you see any library jobs that look interesting and like a reasonable starting point, go ahead and apply. Also look into which schools you might want to attend and their admissions requirements. Trying to do both (library work and library school) at the same time will help you build momentum and a lot of what you will be learning will make a lot more sense if you are able to apply the theoretical to the practical on a daily basis.

Indeed, get as much real-world experience as you can working in a library before your feet hit the ground, and you're off and running in the job hunt. Also, cross-train within the profession. You should cross-train with the academic library world, public library world, and even librarians in non-traditional library roles. People do leave one sector of librarianship for another in their careers.

Thank you so much to the 4 of you who replied today! I am reading and rereading what your thoughts are and am finding them very helpful. The school I am taking my first course at (due to my location) is SUNY Albany. Currently, I work full-time in an unrelated position and am seeking part-time library employment of any kind (it's been a challenge though). So I'm on the right track and have even attended my state's lib association conference recently. Hopefully I will gain experience before I decide to matriculate, but then the big decisions will have to come like how to handle p/t school with f/t job (to pay the bills) or to go f/t school and only work p/t. Since i've been out of college for 9 years, thinking about these things seem extremely challenging. It has been helpful though to read what people have to say about the profession on this blog site....drives me even more to make these tough decisions once and for all. Thanks again! I'm sure I'll be back with more questions pretty soon!