My opinion is that if the school is able to hire a student without an MLS
degree yet (which most cannot because the testing and the degree issuance
must occur before the school can hire the person for the job...unless there
is a provisional certification program offered by the state), and the
student wants to take the position (as on the job training), he should.
Rural schools often find it hard to locate qualified people primarily
because they ARE rural. Many students want to hit the "big time" right out
of the box. Finding those jobs is competitive unless you locate areas of the
country that are begging for librarians and are paying the salaries to
"court them." I've found that the ladder to the bigger / better library
positions often leads to those job, if you wait and follow your heart. My
first job was a small school with less than 300 students and a room filled
with books called the library. I had my teaching certification only and
worked for 18 months on a provisional by the state while I took classes for
library certification. I spent four years there. The on-the-job-training
was invaluable.
I now have almost 20 years under my belt and I've moved into other areas
since then, including a university level as an assistant professor and
librarian at Oklahoma State University (one of the Big 12
universities--loved it!) I've worked in larger school libraries (thousands
of students), a special library (the Oklahoma School for the Blind--braille
books!) and I'm now preparing to enter into one of the only areas (other
than a public library) that I have not worked in...a private school.
If the student wants the job (or needs the job) and the school needs him and
has offered...why not? Experience by any other name still looks good on the
resume!
My opinion only...
Shonda Brisco
Trinity Valley High School Librarian (2002-2003)
Ft. Worth, Texas
sbrisco021@charter.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steven Patnode" <Sun85@AOL.COM>
To: <LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
Sent: Saturday, June 01, 2002 8:38 AM
Subject: Opinions sought on job scenario
> Because I have received so much helpful professional
> information from this listserv,
> I am seeking everyone's thoughts on the following scenario:
>
> An MLS student, currently taking his sixth course
> (acquisitions and development) in
> an academic track (having taken all the core coursework,
> including reference, cataloging, foundations, indexing/abstracting, but
not a
> lot of tech yet) has just learned that his current job
> (not library related) will end in one month.
>
> At the same time, a small rural school in this student's town
> is seeking a full-time librarian for grades 7-12. There are
> 300 students (total) in these grades, and a 10,000 volume
> media center with minimal technology.
>
> The librarian currently at that location has an MS in education
> and an MLS (not sure if it is a media specialist degree). It is
> not clear from the ad if this librarian is leaving the school,
> or if the school is adding a second librarian (the second
> option seems unlikely). However, it is obvious that she
> had the necessary background going into the job, so the
> school is used to a librarian with her level of knowledge.
>
> If the school had difficulty finding a media specialist in this
> rural area and was willing to consider hiring the MLS student
> because he was the only applicant with any library education
> at all, would the student be crazy to consider taking the job,
> not having the media specialist educational background?
>
> I know that some of your answers will be more questions,
> and those questions are more than welcome.
>
> Thank you.
> Steve Patnode
> MLS Student
> Southern Connecticut State University
> sun85@aol.com
>
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