(no subject)

[deza]

I was browsing job ads today, and I ran across this fun little phrase:

ALA-accredited MLS/MLIS. Second graduate degree required for tenure or for appointment/promotion above Instructor rank.

Umm, exsqueeze me? The FIRST damn Master's degree (which is considered a terminal degree, BTW) isn't good enough? Why the fuck not?

You might be able to tell this irks me.

OK, I spent 18 months getting my MLS degree, since I refused to take the summer off. Getting the MLS costs just as damn much as getting any other graduate degree. Classes covered everything from the history of cataloging methodology and the development of MARC records to information technology structure. The "S" in "MLS" stand for "Science" for a reason. Librarians regularly engage in in-depth use of the scientific method to do everything from tracking our user base to developing demographic studies to fine-tuning our future collection development strategies. This is not a degree obtained by sending in $2.50 and a couple of Cracker Jack boxtops to a P.O. box in Poughkeepsie. Librarians with "just" an MLS are regularly writing in-depth professional articles, developing new and innovative techniques and being the unsung heroes of the research world. How on earth is this not good enough to be a professor at a mid-rank small state university?

Librarians are regularly under-appreciated by the public. "You have to have a degree to do that?" is a common reference question. An academic environment treating a MLS as a sub-standard Master's degree is an insult to all of us who have worked our asses off to benefit our profession.

I refuse to apply for jobs that require a second degree for advancement. It's not because I don't meet the requirement--honestly, picking up another graduate degree would not be that hard--it's because of the double standard. How often are English or Anthropology professors required to have degrees outside their field? Sorry, if my MLS isn't good enough for you, then your institution isn't good enough for me.

Comments

[carisjax.livejournal.com]

Just something to consider here, correct me if I'm wrong, but a Master's in the field is usually the minimum requirement to teach a subject at a collegiate level, yes? Is it possible that the problem isn't that your degree is substandard, but that it is not as useful to the school in question? That they don't have a large enough program to make a professor that is specialized in library sciences alone worth the effort?

To answer your rhetorical question, the year I headed to UGA the school I attended before, St. Andrews, was considering advertising for professor qualified to teach both theatre and journalism, because the theatre department did not need two full time professors, and there were not enough journalism students to justify even one full time professor.

This kind of multitasking happens all the time (every job I've had since getting involved with DialAmerica has had me acting as junior IT support as well as my information processing/reporting/reconciling duties).

as someone who has been in academia who whole MLS careeer

[libwitch.livejournal.com]

most positions in academia (at least for most universities) in libraries require a subject level masters as well as the MLS - that is why I am working on my masters in public administration. Most of my coworkers have masters or PHDs in other subject areas. The expertise in the subject area does actually have a tangible benefit in that you become far more familiar in the subject area that you are specializing in (as a subject liaison) and its language then you would as a generalist. I struggle much more assisting my political science students and faculty with their research because my understanding of the theory and concepts is not as much in depth, since I have no done the coursework since (undergraduate) college. The level of research and assistance I provide my departments I am liaison to is much more in-depth then the work I did with even my most regular patrons at the public library.

However, the other "benefit," at least in the eyes of some non-library colleagues is that they are more likely to view you as a college at their level, since many of them don't think that a profession that has a final degree at the masters level is equal to faculty status. When you are in a setting that librarians are often granted faculty rank - or a equal status - and are expected to serve in equal roles, this extra requirement goes a long way in improving relations.

[libwitch.livejournal.com]

probably at the institution in question, the librarians are granted as status that equal to faculty, hence the "instructor" title. But it does not necessary mean they teach credit-bearing classes. Some colleges will grant librarians faculty level status as recognition of their role in academia (at my job, we are given ranks of assistant, sr assistant, associate and full librarian, which are equal to the professor rankings; and we are on faculty tenure track. But we are not called professors because we don't generally teach).

[puzzleoflight.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm confused. Is the position for the library or for a professorship. If its a library position, then I don't know enough about that system to comment, but if its for a professorship then it has nothing to do with anyone looking down on MLS degrees and everything to do with university politics. As someone above pointed out, you have to have at least a postdoctoral degree to be considered a full faculty member at every single university I've ever been involved with, those professors who teach with only MS or MAs are only considered 'adjunct' and are almost always part-time.

That's why they tell you to get your doctorate if you're planning a career in academics. No one will take you seriously otherwise.

[pope-guilty.livejournal.com]

In my experience, you need a Doctorate to teach undergrads and a Master's to teach postgrads.

[kradical.livejournal.com]

Brava! Here here!

[jsbowden.livejournal.com]

Full tenured professors require a PhD pretty much everywhere. Welcome to academia.

[tattermuffin.livejournal.com]

I think a lot of the confusion for people comes from the fact that local branch libraries in towns are often staffed by a high level of volunteers and therefore people think it just can't be that hard.

But yah, the way librarians are looked down upon and the saying "those who can, do. those who can't, teach" both really piss me off.

[thewenchywiccan.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

If I had to guess, it'd be because "librarian" is still thought of as a primarily female profession, and thus gets less respect?

[shes-precious.livejournal.com]

This.

[leliel.livejournal.com]

This.

I wouldn't expect a full-time English or Anthropology professor to have less than a PhD, though I realize grad students teach most of the intro classes.

I did have a full-time professor in engineering who only had his master's, but also had a professional engineering license (PE) and was heavily involved in professional activities. Several professors did have both the PE and a PhD. Were I planning to teach engineering, I would pursue a PhD.

That doesn't mean a MLS is given the respect it deserves, I realize, but I can understand the employer's position if it's a professorship.

[(Anonymous)]

Just wait until you see a university pull one of these:

Science Librarian: MLS & Two years of Undergraduate Science Course Work, B.S. in a science, usually ANY science, is preferred.

Humanities Librarian (at the same University): MLS + M.A., Ph.D. preferred, PLUS more fucking languages than would be required to earn a Ph.D. from that university. (i.e. Asia Studies Librarians, must be able to read Chinese, Japanese, and Korean; Middle East Studies librarians must be able to read Arabic, Farsi, and Turkish plus Hebrew if the university doesn't have a separate Jewish Studies librarian, when you could get an M.A. from the university with 4 to 6 semesters of ONE language and would only need to be able to read two languages to get the doctorate.

cleared?

[lildawn.livejournal.com]

You're right, librarians are SO misunderstood as to the work that goes into that profession!

Do you have a security clearance?

Re: as someone who has been in academia who whole MLS careeer

[sh1mm3r.livejournal.com]

This is true. I'd also add that at a lot of universities, librarians are professors. That is true where I work. So the second masters doesn't get you hired, nor does it make you a good or bad librarian, but it does have an impact on the promotion and tenure process, your corresponding rank, and pay scale. I would be your rank also determines how active you can be in the faculty governing body - in some, you can only be a voting member at a certain rank or above.

We recently went through a two-year process to change librarians ranks, making MLS the terminal degree rather than a PhD, and librarians have a separate promotion process. We don't qualify for tenure, which I would prefer was different, but at least I can move above assistant professor rank now.

I often wish I had another masters because I sometimes feel I have a lack of depth in subject matter knowledge after only studying it on the undergraduate level. Ultimately, however, it is my performance that the other professors respond to. It takes longer to gain credibility without extra letters after my name, but I'm up for the challenge. I'm an intelligent person, and capable of learning outside of the requirements for a degree. This is what makes me a good librarian and contributor both to the library and the music department. I'm even teaching an upper level music elective next spring, just with an MLS.