Re: GEN: Uncertificated librarians

[Thomas & Karen Mitchell <kg7u@OLYMPUS.NET>]

Okay, I can't stay out of this discussion, either.  It's a
very interesting thread, but I believe that a couple of
points have been missed so far.

1)  Many of us work in private schools, and thus the
comments about what the "unions" should do are completely
irrelevant to us.  No unions at all here; none.

2)  For many schools, the choice is NOT between a MLS,
certified, librarian and one who does not have this
certification.  Rather, the choice is between a librarian
without this certification, and no librarian at all.  When I
started as librarian here 19 years ago, I took over a
library that was completely unstaffed.  The previous
librarian had died years before, and no one had replaced
her.  A few parent volunteers had done some work, but the
library was in a state you wouldn't believe.  (Just as one
example, the person doing the "cataloguing" was under the
impression that all non-fiction belonged in 92.  You should
have SEEN the Biography section!  But I digress. . . .)
Believe me, there are no certified librarians breaking down
our door wanting to be hired for my part-time, K-8 position
at what our school can pay.  And the school truly CANNOT pay
more.  We are a small, poor-but-proud Catholic school in an
economically disadvantaged area of northwest Washington
state.

3)  Not having an MLS does not mean "untrained".  I have a
bachelor's degree, but no formal education beyond that.  I
have, however, worked in various public, university, and
federal government libraries since the age of 14, and have
avidly studied and read and learned in the field.  I
consider myself to have learned library science by
apprenticeship (an ancient and honorable tradition), and  I
continue to attend seminars, classes, and meetings with my
fellow librarians whenever possible.  Frankly, belonging to
LM_NET is to me part of this ongoing learning process.

4)  Not having a library degree does not equate with lack of
interest in the field, or with an intellectual incapacity to
obtain such a degree.  Rather, the availability of such
education varies greatly from location to location.  I have
often thought of getting my MLS, but logistics simply rule
it out.  The only place in the state where such a degree can
be obtained is the University of Washington, in Seattle.
Travel there requires at least a 2 1/2 hour drive each
way -- longer if the Hood Canal bridge is open, or if you
miss a ferry across Puget Sound.  Not exactly "commuting"
distance.  And since my job does not require it, and I have
family and job obligations here in Port Angeles, it's just
not worth it.

5)  In the course of my travels to various school libraries,
I have come to find that the quality of the library program
is not necessarily related to the librarian's educational
qualifications.  There have been many times where one might
assume by watching the librarian in action that he or she
surely had all sorts of certifications and degrees.  Such
imagination and skill and ideas!  So good at working with
the children!  Such a well-organized and well-stocked
library!  Then there have been other times when one might
assume the opposite, while watching a rigid,
going-through-the-motions librarian who seems to view it as
just a job, not a vocation.  However, I've found that it is
impossible to tell by watching just who has what degree
and/or certification.  Good librarians (as well as bad ones)
come in all backgrounds, I believe.

Karen Mitchell, Librarian
Queen of Angels School
Port Angeles  WA  98362
kg7u@olympus.net

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