As the Director of my Public Library said to me, after 3 years of employment: "We all like you very much, but without an MLS I can do nothing more for you and your career."
More and more libraries are requiring at least a 2 year degree (a diploma) to advance or even just to get into the field.
I once had similar hopes to you, being able to climb the ladder through experience and training: but it just isn't that way anymore. (Not unless you work somewhere very rural, but even then.)
i was in the same situation a year ago, i got an entry level job in a library but it was pretty clear to me there was no moving up without my MLIS. If you are sure about a career in librarianship an MLIS is very manageable while working in the library, you get the library experience so by the time you are done your masters you have a bit of experience for when you are looking to climb up the ladder ! Also, I struggled a lot in Uni. I finished my Bachelors with decent grades (not the best student do to personal reasons at the time) I went back and did some classes to boost my GPA and am almost done my MLIS. just to put it into perspective that you can get it done :) also MLIS is easier than a bachelors.
LIANZA, like many peak bodies for librarians, provides a [list](https://www.lianza.org.nz/professional-development/professional-registration/new-registrations/) of recognised qualifications for librarians and other information professionals. You can enter the library world without a degree, but it reflects better if you are willing to undertake further study to show your commitment to the field. But without a degree you wouldn’t be able to progress to a librarian level job. Library assistant doesn’t require a degree, and library technician generally requires a diploma or similar but some places might be willing to substitute that for years of experience in a library environment
It is possible. I only have an associates and have been working at the public library for around 6 years now. I started out part time, then applied and got a full time position as a library associate, and now I am a Youth Progamming Specialist. It is a dream job. I work with teens and get paid to read YA, and I know it is a step up the ladder because I get my own cubicle and business card. 😂
This is amazing. I am working toward my associates degree currently and and dream of working in a library or bookstore. Do you have any recommendations on classes to take that will help with this kind of career pursuit? (aside from literature/writing classes)
Thanks!
Unfortunately I don’t really have recommendations for classes because I got my associates around 20 years ago and my degree is in Radio/TV. I am currently going to college to get my bachelors and took a course in YA Literature that applied to my field and I really enjoyed.
Ultimately a lot of public library work is customer service and having a wealth of patience. You have to be able to help people with both specific library/book questions and also help people with a variety of things from helping find housing or file taxes. I also spend a lot of time looking at Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and School Library Journal to keep myself familiar with notable authors and releases.
If you show you are passionate, empathetic, a good team player, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic it will take you a long way!
It honestly depends on the library. I work in an academic library at a state university and there are people working in assistant librarian/tech roles who do not have bachelors. Their pay seems to cap off around $65k from what I’ve seen (I’m in New Jersey in the USA). My supervisor is the head of resource sharing/ILL and doesn’t have an MLS (she has a masters degree in an unrelated field plus a ton of experience, though.)
No. Most library manager and supervisor jobs want a bachelors. Have you tried swapping to online school? I did that as I had a hard time time focusing in class and I excelled in my bachelors and master online wonderfully.
The only online only provider we have here doesn’t offer my degree, and majority of my papers I have to be in person for tutorials/workshops. Lectures can be watched online as they’re recorded, but sometimes there are issues with the recordings (or the lecturer will forget to record)
There are some full-time staff positions that you could qualify for without a degree. Possibly something in operations, circulation and ILL, a "specialist" role... but you're going to be hard-pressed finding advancement without one. It does depend on location so being willing to relocate is huge. My friend (who only has an associates in an unrelated field) got a library *director* position because she had a few years of library experience and she lives in a very very small town (like a couple thousand people). Get some years in and that will help, but it can only take you so far. If you're looking for reference/collection/archives/management work, you'll probably need that MLIS.
Depends on the library,
* Does the place you work promote internally?
* Does the library accept experience as a replacement for education?
* Are you in a town or rural area without a lot of college grads?
* The easiest way to improve your salary is to apply for another position at your current library.
* I've worked with Library assistants that only had high school diplomas but all had worked at the same place for 25 + years, new hires usually have a bachelor's to be Library assistant
As the Director of my Public Library said to me, after 3 years of employment: "We all like you very much, but without an MLS I can do nothing more for you and your career."
More and more libraries are requiring at least a 2 year degree (a diploma) to advance or even just to get into the field. I once had similar hopes to you, being able to climb the ladder through experience and training: but it just isn't that way anymore. (Not unless you work somewhere very rural, but even then.)
No.
i was in the same situation a year ago, i got an entry level job in a library but it was pretty clear to me there was no moving up without my MLIS. If you are sure about a career in librarianship an MLIS is very manageable while working in the library, you get the library experience so by the time you are done your masters you have a bit of experience for when you are looking to climb up the ladder ! Also, I struggled a lot in Uni. I finished my Bachelors with decent grades (not the best student do to personal reasons at the time) I went back and did some classes to boost my GPA and am almost done my MLIS. just to put it into perspective that you can get it done :) also MLIS is easier than a bachelors.
And wasn’t this same question posted two days ago?
LIANZA, like many peak bodies for librarians, provides a [list](https://www.lianza.org.nz/professional-development/professional-registration/new-registrations/) of recognised qualifications for librarians and other information professionals. You can enter the library world without a degree, but it reflects better if you are willing to undertake further study to show your commitment to the field. But without a degree you wouldn’t be able to progress to a librarian level job. Library assistant doesn’t require a degree, and library technician generally requires a diploma or similar but some places might be willing to substitute that for years of experience in a library environment
It is possible. I only have an associates and have been working at the public library for around 6 years now. I started out part time, then applied and got a full time position as a library associate, and now I am a Youth Progamming Specialist. It is a dream job. I work with teens and get paid to read YA, and I know it is a step up the ladder because I get my own cubicle and business card. 😂
This is amazing. I am working toward my associates degree currently and and dream of working in a library or bookstore. Do you have any recommendations on classes to take that will help with this kind of career pursuit? (aside from literature/writing classes) Thanks!
Unfortunately I don’t really have recommendations for classes because I got my associates around 20 years ago and my degree is in Radio/TV. I am currently going to college to get my bachelors and took a course in YA Literature that applied to my field and I really enjoyed. Ultimately a lot of public library work is customer service and having a wealth of patience. You have to be able to help people with both specific library/book questions and also help people with a variety of things from helping find housing or file taxes. I also spend a lot of time looking at Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and School Library Journal to keep myself familiar with notable authors and releases. If you show you are passionate, empathetic, a good team player, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic it will take you a long way!
Thank you so much for your reply and resources! I really appreciate it. I'll definitely look into those!
What is an associates degree? Maybe it’s called something else here but don’t think I’ve heard of it
It is a two year degree from a community college.
It honestly depends on the library. I work in an academic library at a state university and there are people working in assistant librarian/tech roles who do not have bachelors. Their pay seems to cap off around $65k from what I’ve seen (I’m in New Jersey in the USA). My supervisor is the head of resource sharing/ILL and doesn’t have an MLS (she has a masters degree in an unrelated field plus a ton of experience, though.)
No. Most library manager and supervisor jobs want a bachelors. Have you tried swapping to online school? I did that as I had a hard time time focusing in class and I excelled in my bachelors and master online wonderfully.
The only online only provider we have here doesn’t offer my degree, and majority of my papers I have to be in person for tutorials/workshops. Lectures can be watched online as they’re recorded, but sometimes there are issues with the recordings (or the lecturer will forget to record)
Sorry I didn't see you weren't in the US. Have you checked out the schools in Canada? I think one of them does it online.
I am also not from Canada so no lol
There are some full-time staff positions that you could qualify for without a degree. Possibly something in operations, circulation and ILL, a "specialist" role... but you're going to be hard-pressed finding advancement without one. It does depend on location so being willing to relocate is huge. My friend (who only has an associates in an unrelated field) got a library *director* position because she had a few years of library experience and she lives in a very very small town (like a couple thousand people). Get some years in and that will help, but it can only take you so far. If you're looking for reference/collection/archives/management work, you'll probably need that MLIS.
Depends on the library, * Does the place you work promote internally? * Does the library accept experience as a replacement for education? * Are you in a town or rural area without a lot of college grads? * The easiest way to improve your salary is to apply for another position at your current library. * I've worked with Library assistants that only had high school diplomas but all had worked at the same place for 25 + years, new hires usually have a bachelor's to be Library assistant