What is library science

Library science is the field of study that teaches how to manage books and other information, particularly through collecting, preserving, and organizing books and other materials in libraries. If you want to work as a professional librarian in a public or academic library, you generally will need to get a Master of Library Science MLS degree.

You may be especially curious to know what kinds of courses you would take or topics you would cover if you studied library science. How hard can it be to take care of books? The answer is that it can be more challenging than you think. Libraries play a vital role in education both within schools and colleges and within local communities, and they manage an ever increasing amount of materials, including DVDs, CDs, magazines, books, and computer resources.

In addition to learning how to care for those resources, librarians also must be good at serving students or the public by helping them to access and use those resources in creative and effective ways.

Some of the topics you might encounter when studying library science include book preservation, digital preservation, managing a library or information center, children's literature, cataloging, research methodology, collection development, and archives management.

Professors also publish original research, mentor students, and collaborate with peers to develop new courses.

Tenured professors must hold a doctorate in their field. Graduates with a doctorate in library science possess the skills needed to succeed as a survey researcher. Survey researchers perform extensive research to create unbiased surveys. Major corporations often hire these professionals to gauge employee satisfaction or measure public opinion concerning a new product or service. Many master's and doctoral programs in library science develop advanced IT skills. Graduates can become computer and information research scientists, creating new software programs that librarians and patrons use to locate materials and research data.

These professionals play a vital role in ensuring the relevance of libraries. To advance within library science, professionals may benefit from earning certifications and taking online courses.

Professional certifications demonstrate experience in library science and enhance participants' existing skills. By earning a certification, library professionals also demonstrate their understanding of and adherence to the latest technologies, resources, and practices in library science. Some states also require licensure for public and school librarians. Continuing education coursework provides similar opportunities for professional growth, giving entry-level and experienced library science workers alike access to specialized and current library information.

Professionals can also pursue a graduate degree in library science, information management, or museum studies to advance their careers. Typically, certification is optional, while licensure is mandatory to pursue certain careers. Certifications are administered by professional associations and other organizations, while licenses are issued by government bodies.

The American Library Association ALA offers certifications in public library administration and library support staff work. The certified public library administrator program supplements a master's degree in library science, primarily serving librarians with three or more years of experience in a supervisory role. ALA's library support staff certificate does not require candidates to have a master's degree in the field.

This certification helps public library support professionals hone their overall understanding of library operations. The American Association of School Librarians, as a subset of ALA, supports professionals working within elementary, middle, and high school libraries. The association provides licensure and certification information by state. Library science professionals can take continuing education CE classes to update their skills and knowledge. Because librarians in individual states must meet requirements to maintain licensure, many regional, local, and state libraries offer continuing education opportunities.

ALA also offers information about state library agencies and the services they provide. Open courseware is another resource for library and information science professionals.

State licensing boards may or may not recognize these options. To hone your knowledge and skills in library science, you may pursue continuing education and network with your peers. Online forums and in-person conferences bring together like-minded professionals to collaborate and exchange ideas.

You can access forums and conferences through library science professional organizations. Independent research into trends and issues in library science can also facilitate professional development. By staying current on challenges, innovations, policy, and technologies, librarian and information science professionals make themselves invaluable to employers.

For most library positions, candidates need a master's degree in library science from an accredited institution. School librarians can enter the profession with a teaching degree, but they still benefit from specialized coursework in library-related topics. When transitioning to a career in library science, experience is a good first step. Aspiring professionals can gain insight into the inner workings of libraries, museums, and archives by working or volunteering as aides, docents, and assistants.

Academics with research backgrounds, information technology professionals, and social and community workers can also move into library-related positions by building on existing knowledge and skills. Open courseware and certificate programs can facilitate this switch. Library professionals provide valuable services by compiling, preserving, and disseminating information. Commonly found in schools and colleges, librarians also work in government and corporate settings.

The proliferation of electronic data continues to increase the demand for professionals with library science knowledge and computer skills. Librarians work in many industries, including elementary and secondary education, government, information services, and postsecondary education. To enter one of these industries, professionals may choose to complete a specialization or concentration during their master's program.

Some industries may require licensure or certification in addition to a master's degree. Elementary and secondary schools educate children and young adults in K classrooms. School librarians maintain school libraries, check out materials, and help students with research. Local governments often house extensive archives accessible to employees and the public.

Librarians catalog new files, help patrons, and preserve historical documents. Librarians in this industry must abide by state and federal laws regarding certain documents. Colleges, universities, and professional schools host large libraries that help students and faculty perform research. Librarians in this industry typically specialize in one or more academic fields so that they can best help patrons find appropriate materials. The information services field employs librarians to organize and catalog information.

Information services librarians must accurately and quickly process employee requests for documents. Junior colleges prepare graduates for entry-level careers and bachelor's programs. Junior college librarians teach students valuable research skills applicable to careers and advanced studies.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. New York, California, and Texas employ the most library and media collections specialists in the United States. With over 10, positions in New York and California, respectively, library and media collections workers have opportunities to work on either coast. Texas, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, round out the top five states with the most library and media collections specialists.

Library technicians find the most jobs in California and New York, as do clerical library assistants. She earned her master's degree in library science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in and held a position as a library fellow at North Carolina State University for two years before moving to her current position. I decided to build a career in library science because it gave me an opportunity to work with and help people, while also working with technology and learning about new subjects every day.

I work at an academic library, so in my case, most of the people I work with are college students and faculty. But many librarians work in public libraries with children, older adults and retirees, young parents — basically anyone who lives in their city or county and goes to the library.

Other librarians work at special libraries, such as at corporate headquarters doing research to support their companies, or in law or medical offices managing information resources to support lawyers and medical professionals. I'd been going to libraries since I was a small child, but it took me until I tried a few different things first to realize that making my career in a library would be a good fit, and that is not unusual.

Lots of librarians are making a transition from a different career or majored in a different area entirely when they were in college. To be a professional librarian, you need a master's degree in library science.

There are a few undergraduate programs in related fields, like information science, but the important credential is the master's degree. The coursework covers traditional library subjects like referencing helping people at an information or research desk and cataloging, but you can also take additional courses like archival studies and rare books, children's librarianship, database design, web design, user experience, and scholarly communication. Most programs also have a strong internship, work-study, or practicum element.

The best way to learn how to be a librarian is to work in a library, so library schools try to make sure that their graduates have some practical work experience before they graduate. My first position after I completed my degree was a two-year fellowship program at a nearby university where I got to work with several different departments on a variety of different projects. I was fortunate in that I had that position lined up before I graduated, so I knew that as long as I finished the program successfully, I was set up for a good position immediately.

Knowing that I had to finish the program in order to secure the position also motivated me to do as well as I could in my final semester. It also helped that I had done an internship at that large university as part of my graduate coursework, so the people who were hiring for the fellowship program knew me already and knew that I could be successful in the fellowship program.

Having that practical, on-the-job experience before I graduated really helped with the job search. I decided to work at a university because I really enjoyed working with college students but did not want the pressure to publish and do research that goes along with being a faculty member. I love getting to work on different subjects every day and helping students learn to do research and find and work with information. Lots of librarians go into academic libraries at colleges and universities, but many more work in public libraries of all sizes, from tiny one-room libraries in small towns to huge metropolitan research libraries in our largest cities.

The work of these libraries and librarians is vital in their communities and can be some of the most rewarding library work anywhere. The best part of my job is when I'm working with a student and I'm able to show them something that saves them a lot of time in doing research, or I'm able to introduce them to an information source that they didn't know about.

It's also really rewarding when I can help a professor design an assignment that helps students learn something about how information works and how they can not just use information but also create new information themselves. The most challenging aspect of my job is never having enough money in our budget to purchase all the books, journals, and electronic resources that our users need.

This is true of any library, really. Nobody has infinite money in their budget to buy every possible resource that's out there. But especially in academic libraries, the prices of scholarly journals are rising much faster than inflation, and our budgets are often flat, so in practical terms that means that we often have to cut resources.

At this juncture of the 21st century, a person interested in library science also needs to be tech-savvy. A great deal of the work of librarians today depends significantly on the use of an array of different technologies.

The final indicator that a person is well-suited for a degree in this area and a subsequent career is a commitment to community and academic development. In both a community and an academic setting, a library plays an important role. A professional in this field needs to be sincerely interested in programming designed to enhance a public or academic community or a specific element of one or another of those communities.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. There are about , positions in the United States for a person with a degree in this area. Most people have the job title of librarian.