Careers in Library and Information Science
You have to love books. Of course this is the first and the foremost criteria to be a librarian to choose Library as your career options. But things have changed drastically over the years. The concept of a library has undergone a sea change with the advent of electronic management system of a library. So, now a days a library is not only a collection of books and an erudite bibliophile looking over them. A career in library and information science is not always lost in books. There are a number of aspects to culture in such a career.
Is this for you?
Before choosing a career option, whatever it may be, you have to be sure, that this is the right career proposition for you. And to ensure this, you have to ask the question to yourself, whether you are easy and comfortable with the profile of the job or the nature of the work. Though at the very beginning, the pay package and other things matter much, when everything falls into place, what will matter is how much do you enjoy your work. So, it is very necessary to confirm whether you really want to be a librarian or an information officer.
If you just love to be deep in the sea of books, that is not enough. Over the period of time, the concept of real book has been merged with that of the electronic book. So, the palpable sensation may delude you. At the same time, if your love for books is only confined to fiction stories, then also, you must give it a second thought. If librarian is what you aspire to be, you have to have primary knowledge of all books on your fingertips. You must have the love to know about the books, the writer and the context on which it was written. Yes, it must tax your memory a lot. But once you start loving it, you will enjoy nothing like it.
Job profile
There are primarily three types of works in a library. User services, technical services and administration services. Librarians who are involved with user services have to deal with the users. Their responsibility is to properly guide the users with their requirements. So, they will show the users the proper sections in which the desired books will be available. The user service providers are there to guide a user during his search for the desired books.
Those who are in the technical services are entrusted to develop the technicalities of the entire set up. Most of the modern libraries now offer online book search system. This system undergoes a series of technical steps. Catalog making, writing abstracts and summaries for different books that all fall in this category. These officials do not have to interact with the users directly. They are entrusted with the development of the technical support. The administration service is reliable with the entire management of a library. Apart from books there are a number of things that a library needs. The management part takes care of that. This includes different schemes of library services, employee management, public relations and similar other issues.
The job profile of a librarian depends largely on the type of the library that he or she is working in. There are a number libraries. Apart from public libraries which are the commonest of the lot, almost all organizations do maintain a library. This has a special purpose. Law firms, advertising agencies, newspaper houses, media centres, medical institutions and the governmental have libraries which maintain documents related with those professions in specific. So, people having specified knowledge in such fields can also opt for a career as a librarian or an information officer in these places.
What you must know
If you approach broadly to the career of a librarian or an information officer, you must have the thirst for knowledge and must love books. But you have already understood that it is not the be-all and the end-all for a librarian. Since now almost all libraries involve hi-tech online facilities, the librarian must have a deft knowledge in computer handling.
When you finish your degree you will of course have some specialization. To be a good librarian one must combine general and specific knowledge. In the subject of your own specialization, you must be equipped enough to suggest suitable references to the users of the library. Then again, in your career you never know where you will get the job. So, overall knowledge about the common books is a must.
These are criteria that you will be needing if you want to be in the users service. But, if you find yourself comfortable with the technical development part, you can always seek a job for yourself in that sector too, as online development is a basic requirement now for any library. For that you must have a sound technical background and love for it.
There are jobs in the management part too. But the question arises that why you will need a librarian's degree to join a management job. The experts say that the management of a library is very different from the basic concept of management that is practiced in any other organizations. It involves the very schemes which will be offered to the members. It also takes in account the service conditions of the employees and the public relation of the library. So, all the aspects evolve round library. So, if you do not have love for the way library works you wont be able to fit yourself into the job.
Education and training
There are bachelor and master degrees in library science and information. Some universities offer post graduate diplomas too. Certificate courses are also there. These programs mainly include history of books and printing, intellectual freedom, role of libraries in society. To come to the core there are selection and processing of materials, research methods, strategies, user services etc. Interdisciplinary courses offer the technical knowledge too. But, you must remember that this is considered as a science. So having science stream in plus two level is a must if you want to pursue with library science and information in the graduation level. But, anyone can apply for the certificate courses.
Pocket pinch
The graduate and masters courses are not very costly. Almost all universities offer courses on this subject. Though the course fee depends on the universities and the institutes, it is at per with other graduate courses.
Job prospect
After completing a course on library science and information, you must get yourself an internship in any library. During internship you will be taught about the day to day proceedings of a library. There you will find that the work environment and the technique that you read in the books are sometimes far from the reality. While the books on library science tells about the best of the facilities and infrastructures, in reality, most of the libraries are in poor condition. But when you start to work, you must understand that the challenge lies in working in that poor condition without getting disillusioned. There are small libraries which may have a number of members but the library authority may not have the money to upgrade the entire system into online. So, if you start your career early through internship, you will get to know about the manual processes of catalog making, sorting and similar other processes like that.
Always remember that when you are a pass out, it does not mean that you will lose all touch with your books and will plunge into administration. You have to have the touch with books and you must update yourself with the latest releases. If you choose to be in the users service, you must equip yourself properly.
After internship look for a permanent job of an assistant librarian or as a library staff. Since, most of the libraries have only one head librarian, you can not expect to get a job of a librarian at the very beginning of your career. Rather, becoming a librarian is a mid-career proposition. So, look for a job as an assistant librarian where you will be responsible to assist the head librarian. Here you will be able to learn a lot of things. When you start your career as an intern in a library, you are advised to get first hand experience in almost all departments of a library. That will facilitate you with a number of career options in front of you. So, interning with a good and prospective library is advisable so that you come to know about all aspects of the working of a library.
Different types of librarians
Since we are moving to an age of specialization, no wonder that librarians too have some specializations. Days are over when a single person used to handle an entire library. Now, the resources have been multiplied in number without skillful persons which can not be managed at all. Moreover, most of the libraries have moved to online system. So maintaining an expert technical department is something that the libraries of modern age can not do away with.
Medical librarian: Medical colleges and institutes maintain a large encyclopaedia of important and relevant information. Any one having a degree in library science will not be able to handle this. So, for this special purpose, there are medical librarians.
Law firm librarians: Law firms do preserve documents which are referred from time to time. Now, a person having no interest in law suits and the workings of the lawyer will find no interest in performing this job. So there are law firm librarians to look into this matter.
Museum libraries: Museums do have libraries regarding the history of their collection. So, librarians of museum libraries must have a fondness for history and anthropology.
The list goes on as there are a number of organizations which need to document certain things. This process can not do away with the librarians.
But if documenting is the entire thing, then why need a degree? Experts explain, documenting is the primary task of a librarian. This is the bread and the butter of the profession. But a good librarian tries to document facts in his or her mind. This can happen only when you are in love with the subject. Being a librarian you must be able to refer to a number of issues instantly to a researcher and guide him well regarding further studies.
Pay package
At the very beginning, you may start getting 10,000 rupees per month. As you are promoted to the higher scales, the remuneration will of course go up.
In India, a career in library and information science holds much prospect. Apart from dedicated public reading room libraries, there are libraries in every organization. Online library in a very in concept, for which technical knowledge will be needed in a greater quantity. So, the future of this career looks quite bright as well as prospective.
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