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Greetings,
This is my first post on this site.
I am not an academic librarian. I do not have work experience in a library, nor do I have a MLS degree.
My formal education is a Ph.D. in IT (Information Technology). My work experiences in industry and then in academia are also in IT (Information Technology). I began my career as an academic; I was an assistant professor in IT, and through the usual process attained promotion and tenure. I then moved into more administrative roles managing groups of IT professionals that primarily supported the academic technology side.
After completing my MBA recently, I've begun to pursue CIO type positions at smaller institutions. I was particularly intrigued with institutions looking for a CIO or IT/Library Leadership position that had merged IT/Library organizations. I became quite familiar with the research and benefits of such merged models. I applied to a number of postings, and was pleasantly surprised to become a finalist at several institutions, but never was the last one standing. During the interview process, the IT folks in the IT/Library organization clearly saw me as one of them, while the library folks, understandably and correctly, saw me as a suit without much knowledge of their world.
While the economy recovers and while I continue to work as an administrator, I am considering pursuing an ALA-accredited MLS degree to better understand the library world.
Now my question. With the academic knowledge that comes with a MLS degree, but no real work experience in the library "trenches", would it add value to my overall package for the type of positions I am pursuing? I am too old (or perhaps too lazy) to get some trench experience in a library at this stage in my career. But how else do I establish credibility with the library folks in IT/Library organizations?
Thanks in advance to any responders.
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oftenconfused wrote:Now my question. With the academic knowledge that comes with a MLS degree, but no real work experience in the library "trenches", would it add value to my overall package for the type of positions I am pursuing? I am too old (or perhaps too lazy) to get some trench experience in a library at this stage in my career. But how else do I establish credibility with the library folks in IT/Library organizations? It would add value because it would provide your the terminology and discussion points in an interview. But none of us could say for sure. Only you can make that decision based on the job ads of the actual positions you are pursuing, and the candidates that are getting the jobs. I suspect they had more experience than you, and the degrees probably did not matter. "Experience" is a big factor in library-related hiring decisions.
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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bcgray wrote:oftenconfused wrote:Now my question. With the academic knowledge that comes with a MLS degree, but no real work experience in the library "trenches", would it add value to my overall package for the type of positions I am pursuing? I am too old (or perhaps too lazy) to get some trench experience in a library at this stage in my career. But how else do I establish credibility with the library folks in IT/Library organizations? It would add value because it would provide your the terminology and discussion points in an interview. But none of us could say for sure. Only you can make that decision based on the job ads of the actual positions you are pursuing, and the candidates that are getting the jobs. I suspect they had more experience than you, and the degrees probably did not matter. "Experience" is a big factor in library-related hiring decisions. Thanks for your response. I could see where that could value, but I would also argue that one can acquire the needed terminology without going through the formal degree process. The leadership positions I am pursuing, CIO of a IT/Library merged org., generally value and many require a Ph.D. And I have found in such positions, it is not so much about who has more experience, but about the quality of experience and the organizational "fit" of that experience. It's interesting that these types of positions, CIO of a IT/Library merged org., they don't often require a MLS degree, although it is often preferred. I presume that is because they recognize that there are different paths to acquire the skills and knowledge for strategic leadership of such a merged group. I would be interested in hearing from others who have direct experience in a IT/Library merged model setting.
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I have not worked in an academic library, but I've worked in the IT field before working in public libraries, and now I work as a systems librarian. You seem to be coming at this from a different angle than we librarians usually hear -- instead of a librarian asking is a second masters in another discipline will help land an academic librarian job, you are coming from another field asking how to "establish credibility with the library folks." The short answer is that, yes indeed, pursuing an MLS degree would certainly do a lot to establish credibility. But I think the bigger question you should ask yourself is, do you really want to become a librarian? What I mean by that is that, try to look at it from a larger perspective than just whether it will help land your next job. Librarianship has its own history as a modern profession that obviously goes back several decades more the IT, and therefore there is that much more history & theory to learn. Undoubtedly, there are some things that it would be useful for CIO of a IT/Library merged org to know which are really only taught at ALA-accredited library schools. Like the theory & practice of cataloging in general, and the structure of MARC records in particular. There is a whole world of online document management that I'll never deal with in a public library, but if you are interested in digital asset management, databases of any and all kinds, information architecture, etc. then you are likely to find a lot of interest. I'd recommend looking at http://www.ischools.org/site/about/ to learn about libraries schools that have more of a focus on IT. One thing that is very easy to do that would help library staff view you as less of an outsider would be to become a patron. Use your local public or academic library on a regular basis, both in person and online. Get to know what services & resources they have available, so that you can have some common ground to speak about with the librarians when you interview. One thing you'd learn from "library experience" is that every different library does some things different, and library staff are often interested to hear about how policies compare between different libraries. So get to know your own local libraries better. Go during a slow time and ask a reference librarian what was the last interesting question they got. Join a library friends group. It's true that "library people" are often skeptical of "non-library people," but the good news is that the library is always open to everybody and you too can become a "library person" -- just go hang out at the the library.
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You may also want to learn about the dynamics in play between libraries and IT that you are interviewing. In some environments the two areas are so closely intertwined that little skepticism would exist of a non-library trained person. In other situations, there were libraries that were ignored when it came to money and space in the 'net boom of the past so that IT projects could blossom. The past may greatly bias those libraries view of people and roles. guylibrarian highlighted some great approaches to pick of some of the library knowledge. I would suggest that if you are getting interviews the key would be to stress how you manage, how you collaborate and gain advice from those that are more knowledgeable in some area, how you communicate, etc. It might not be the library knowledge that prevented you candidacy, but the trust or evidence that you could lead two areas that at times can have conflicting views or goals. If you can install confidence in your leadership and management skills, the lack of knowledge in certain areas can be overlooked because you have demonstrated that you can rely on and trust those with that knowledge (i.e. team). Good luck!
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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Though I'm not sure exactly where you are in your career....you say an administrative role managing groups of IT professionals that primarily support the academic technology side. I would think there is a role you could play in your current organization that might be an "advocate for libraries" or maybe a project like a digital library initiative. Things you can do that will put you at the head of the pack: show a willingness to listen and learn. attempt to know the customer (both the library and its clientele), show a willingness to do new things, not just use your technology experience to bend the library into the software that you know, basically learn how to translate library needs into technological action. Not sure you need to take all the basic courses, but I suppose a course or two would be useful in learning the lingo.
LJ
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Most useful knowledge and insight from responders. Thank you!
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The other good thing is more and more libraries are breaking away from the idea that everyone must have come from the same educational background. The libraries excelling have pulled their employees from a variety of educational backgrounds because the library science degree (like every other degree) does not prepare everyone for everything.
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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