Future of the MLS?

[Bonnie Cohen Lafazan]

Read John Berry's latest post to his blog: The Embattled MLS

http://blatant.libraryjournal.com/blog

How concerned are you? What as librarians can we do to preserve our credentials and preservation of our professional degree?

[Becky]

What, exactly, are "credentialed librarians"? OK, so they hold an MLS degree. But what is in the MLS education? Can't a college kid work the reference desk?

I have been working as an archivist for four years, trained on the job, and I knew everything I needed to know about the job before I started library school a few months ago. That said, my LIS education is far from a waste (excepting that 651 intro class last semester). If I want a life-long career in archives & preservation I need to know more than what I've learned for this particular project, more than I can learn on-the-job from job to job. You could get by that way, but if you really want options, if you want doors to open for you, then you should educate yourself as much as possible in your field.

That said, I think the future of the MLS depends upon each institution's ability to adapt. Columbia closed its library school --well, some say because librarian alumni made no money, so there was no endowment-- because they were not able to reinvent themselves. They couldn’t make a case for themselves to whoever was making the decisions over there.

The MLS has changed dramatically in the days since Columbia closed. Now there is no Dewey Decimal System on the syllabi, cataloging is undergoing a revolution, and the program has become a cross-disciplined mashup of design, IT, museums, archives, and public service. To me this level of change is proof of life, not death, for the MLS.

And as for the concern with non-MLS librarians, as one of them myself I can say that it's an entry point into the profession for many future librarians who will want to get a degree eventually.

As for the outsourcing of materials selection... I think that it is conceivable that a good percentage of every library could be stocked by a machine. A smart machine... And guess who’s going to be designing it?

If your initial response is “probably not librarians,” then it’s time to rethink the curriculum again.

[Bonnie Cohen Lafazan]

I like the point you mean about entry level non-MLS librarians will want to get the degree eventually. Yes, but will the MLS even be a requirement in order to continue to thrive in their careers and upper management positions? Since we are the future it is up to our generation to preserve the worthiness and value of the degree. I am afraid corporations and librarians will value work experience on on-the-job training more valuable then the degree itself.

[Becky]

I think the MLS will always have cache, like any degree it will put you a step ahead of the competition when you are searching for a job.

How does someone go about preserving the worthiness and value of a degree? That's not a rhetorical question. I just wonder what steps must be taken?