A Look into Librarianship

This article is from the fall 2023 issue of Hearsay, the semi-annual newsletter of the Wheat Law Library.

Did you know that to be a librarian requires a master’s degree? I didn’t, until I started working in a library as a student assistant back when I was in my undergraduate program. That student assistant position was the gateway to how I fell in love with library work. When I asked my supervisor at the time, a librarian, how one becomes a librarian and she replied, “you need a master’s degree,” I was floored! I had never heard of an Information Science degree before. As it turns out, at the time I had many incorrect notions of what professional librarianship entails.

There are many stereotypes about librarians: they love to shush people (not true), their wardrobe consists of mostly cardigans (somewhat true), they’re all cat ladies (okay that one is true in my case) and their jobs consist of sitting around reading all day (most definitely not true!). As much as I’d like to sit on a pile of books wrapped in a cardigan reading like some kind of bespectacled dragon hoarding my treasure, there is much more to working in a library than that! Librarians are information professionals.

Librarianship is a career that requires a post-graduate degree, which I am currently pursuing while working full time as the Circulation and Serials Manager here at the law library. The Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree requires extensive study into the way information is managed, stored and upkept, among other things. I am currently enrolled in the online program at Emporia State University, a 36-credit hour program that usually takes six semesters. Classes range from “Information Seeking Behavior and Reference Services” to “Collection Development” and “Advanced Metadata Applications.” There are so many disciplines and technical skills to learn when it comes to libraries and librarianship.

Balancing a full-time job and working towards a degree is challenging. Many of the law students are familiar with this as well, and I find that we can relate when it comes to school/work/life balance. When the workday is done, while one may want to retire to their couch to relax, or enjoy a hobby, I find myself working on reading, assignments and attending class online. Weekends are set aside for writing papers or recording presentations. Time management skills are not just helpful, they are critical. Working in the law library has given me a lot of insight into how libraries function behind the scenes and has been extremely helpful in my courses. Are there days when I question my own sanity? Yes, and it’s usually around finals time. As stressful as it may be, I know that the hard work of earning this degree and the skills that come with it will pay off in the long run and contribute positively to the work I do here in the law library.