July 1999

Staff -- School Library Journal, 7/1/1999

More readers react to the idea of librarians without degrees

Do Librarians Need an MLS?
I don't understand Donna Beales's complaint in her article "To Be (or Not to Be) a Librarian" (April 1999, p. 53). Nurses don't become doctors because they are really good at their job and understand medicine; instead they must complete appropriate education. Instructional assistants are not promoted to teachers just because they work well with students, but instead are required to get necessary certification. Unfortunately, sometimes to save money, or due to lack of qualified applicants or inadequate understanding of the role and function of professional librarians, some librarian jobs have been filled with people who have not obtained an MLS. Teachers, accountants, and nurses would likely say that the cost of their college education certainly does not pay off early in their career, too. Librarians need to be more assertive about improving salaries, as do teachers, nurses, etc. Certainly, lowering standards will not lead to higher salaries.

Access to, and cost of, MLS programs can be a problem. This is likely one of the most valid points Beales brings up. We need greater access to library/information science programs in some geographical areas, and/or more programs like the one Emporia (KS) State University delivers, where they have taken their MLS program on the road, in combination with Internet courses, to Colorado, Oregon, Nebraska, New Mexico, and other states. Skyrocketing college tuition is a problem everywhere, but campus-based programs generally have part-time student assistant positions in college libraries that not only give students useful experience, but help them pay their bills.
Christopher J. Tracy
Librarian
Kenmore Junior High School
Kenmore, VA

SLJ just landed on my desk, and while perusing I landed upon Ms. Beales's article.

Believe me, I feel her pain!

My undergraduate background is in theater/liberal arts. My specialty had been children's theater. I had burned out on performing, had no money, and needed what we used to call "a real job." After working retail for 12 hours a day just to make ends meet, I finally stumbled upon a classified ad for my area library for what is called a Junior Provisional Librarian. This means I would be considered a paraprofessional with mostly professional duties, but they wanted someone with children's programming skills. It was right up my alley and I feel very fortunate that a large library was willing to give me a chance. Our state had a grant program to get more folks in the library business with some kind of certification, and it was through this program that I became what is known as a Provisional Librarian, though still considered a para-professional. It got me a slight promotion and was through a grant, so I couldn't complain. The classes were not through an ALA-accredited program.

Had I chosen to pursue my MLS, I would have had to take the same types of classes all over again. My boss felt for me, but her hands were tied when it came time to promote me again and she couldn't. I had topped out.

I have since decided that what I do want to pursue at this point is a school library certification. It was an agonizing decision. While there was a shortage of school librarians in the area, I can not be hired because I lack the piece of paper.

Most of my colleagues did not come into children's public library services as a first choice, but mostly later in life. It seems the profession is punishing those of us who really want to stay here.
Denise M. Pulgino Stout
Youth Services Outreach Librarian
Chester County Library
Exton, PA

Headline Too Sensational
When my aide handed me the latest SLJ, she said, "Even here!" -- referring to the caption on the cover "Great Sex (Education) on the Web."

I haven't even looked at the article, but am very disappointed that you feel it necessary to be exploitive like 99.9 percent of the rest of the world.

Was it necessary? Was it so potentially beneficial to refer to sex in this way that it overrides disappointing those of us who are trying hard to be meaningful and responsible in reading matter for ourselves and our students?
Dorothy Stebleton
Library/Media Specialist
Mason Middle School
Mason, MI

Please, are we not even a little above the kind of sensationalism or shock value that the April 1999 cover attempted with the headline, "Great Sex (Education) on the Web"? This issue will not be sitting on top of my desk at our elementary school and neither will those copies belonging to my fellow workers. We were disappointed in you.
J. Newell
Library Clerk
Ridgeview Elementary School
Granite Bay, CA

Teacher or Librarian? Who Cares!
After reading the letters regarding librarian vs. teacher status, I asked many teachers in my building if I was a teacher or a librarian in their minds.

Without fail, they looked at me with curiosity and said something like, "Isn't that a redundant question?" or "Aren't those synonyms?" Enough said. I'm an educator on the team as the library media specialist here.

A rose is a rose is a rose!
Erlene Bishop Killeen
District Media Coordinator
Stoughton Area Schools
Stoughton, WI

Correction
Sari Feldman, co-author of "Take Two Board Books, and Call Me in the Morning" (June, pp. 30-33), was inaccurately identified. Feldman is head of community services at the Cleveland (OH) Public Library.