A Career in Reference Services . . . Is for Everyone!

Why It's for YOU

Who YOU can be:

• Patent Searcher
  
• Information Consultant
  
• Art & Architecture Librarian
  
• Science & Engineering Librarian
  
• Government Documents Librarian
  
• Subject Bibliographer
  
• Computer Systems Librarian
  

Where YOU can be:

• Schools
  
• Public Libraries
  
• Universities and Colleges
  
• Law Firms/Hospitals/Corporations
  

What YOU can do:

• Provide Competitive Intelligence
  
• Spread Information Literacy
  
• Assess Information Resources
  
• Support and Enhance Research
  

Why the information service profession needs YOU:

• Increasing Diversity of Users
  
• Growing Population of Users
  
• The "Graying" of the Profession as more Librarians retire in the next decade.
  

Skills YOU need:

• An eye for detail.
  
• An ability to create order out of chaos.
  
• An ability to learn new technology and adapt to change.
  
• A strong desire to assist others and a commitment to service.
  

Myths and Facts

"Librarians just don't make enough money."

• Advancement in the field offers managerial, administrative, and director level positions in both the private and public sector.
  
• The Pay Equity Task Force (http://www.mjfreedman.org/tfhome.html) is an ALA President-sponsored initiative committed to higher pay for public service librarians.
  

"Librarians just shelve and check out books."

• The ALA successfully challenged the Children's Internet Protection Act in order to protect citizens' access to information.
  
• Reference librarians refine and anticipate the information needs of the general public, researchers, students, clients, and other professionals.
  
• Public librarians have been at the forefront of introducing technology to low-income and disadvantaged communities in order to ameliorate the digital divide.
  

"I can't afford to go to library school."

• The ALA (American Library Association), SLA (Special Library Association), and the AALL (American Association of Law Libraries) and additional organizations have various scholarships to assist library students.
  ALA - http://www.ala.org/hrdr/scholarship.html
  SLA - http://www.sla.org/content/memberservice/scholarship
  AALL - http://www.aallnet.org/services/scholarships.asp
  
• Some library science departments offer Graduate Student Assistantships and scholarships.
  
• The Spectrum Initiative and Spectrum Matching Funds have supported over 200 librarians of color in receiving their accredited degrees.

"Librarians don't need advanced degrees."

• The profession requires an ALA accredited masters in the library or information sciences (MSI, MLS) and a BA in any field.
  
• You can combine an MLS with an MBA / JD / MA / MS / PhD to serve as a reference librarian in any specialized field.
  

Resources

• Get the facts about a career in the information field at http://www.ala.org/library/factsheets.html.
  
• View our brochure.
  
• Learn about RUSA (Reference and User Services Association), the professional support group for reference librarians, at http://www.ala.org/rusa.
  
• Find out how the ALA is increasing the diversity of the library profession at http://www.ala.org/diversity.
  
• Check out the following institutions offering ALA accredited masters degrees at http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oa/lisdir.html.