Library Worklife

Volume 3, No. 10 • October 2006

Career Advancement

Library Journal Seeks Movers & Shakers Nominations

The editors of Library Journal need your help in identifying the emerging leaders in the library world. Their sixth annual Movers & Shakers supplement will profile 50-plus up-and-coming individuals from across the United States and Canada who are innovative, creative, and making a difference. From librarians to vendors to others who work in the library field, Movers & Shakers 2007 will celebrate the new professionals who are moving our libraries ahead.

Deadline for submissions is November 1, 2006. Movers & Shakers 2007 will be distributed with the March 15 issue of Library Journal. http://libraryjournal.com/article/CA6358087.html

Do Library Science Degrees Matter for Library Directors?

By Alexander Hawley and Jenifer Grady

We’ve heard whispers of dread concerning whether the MLS is becoming moot, particularly as a defining criteria for large academic and public library directors. A search of the LibraryLit database revealed only a handful of articles on changing degree requirements and those were primarily about functional specialists or directors of special and law libraries, which by nature benefit from specific types of subject expertse. The library job advertisements don't seem to support the fear of the MLS losing its significance.

By perusing the classifieds advertisments in Library Journal for the year of 2006, American Libraries for the year of 2006, and the College and Research Libraries News for the years of 2005 and 2006, there were 105 advanced librarian positions (read: Deans, Heads of Libraries, Directors of Libraries) listed. Of those 105 positions listed, seven (7 percent) required that qualified candidates should have more than an ALA-Accredited MLS Degree. Of those seven, two said that a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) or Master’s Degree in Public Administration (MPA) was preferred, but not required for the position. In the other five, the positions required a doctorate or a second master’s degree for the position because they were in academic facilities.

There was no clear evidence that the basic requirement of the MLS is declining in need or esteem for dean or director applicants. It’s still required and needed, based on the job ads. What we don’t know is whether the deans and directors who hold alternative or additional degrees are actually being given preference in hiring. We also don’t know whether MBA/MPA holders are making a difference in library administration—or do we?

If you have anecdotal or statistical information about library management effectiveness by MLS-holders, non-MLS holders or those who are dual-degreed, please contact the ALA-APA at 800-545-2433, x2424 or jgrady@ala.org.

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