School Librarian

How hard is it to find a job as a school librarian. I don't want to work weekends or nights, thats why i want to do school librarian..

It may be getting easier as many school librarians are approaching retirement age. School librarians don't typically work nights or weekends. Most states require school or teacher-librarians to hold a valid teaching certificate + meet certification criteria as a teacher-librarian. This requires at minimum a BA. The library certification usually comes after completion of courses at the graduate level in library & information science. Many earn a MA. It is also helpful if you gain classroom experience.
Salaries are the same as for teachers in most places and may be based on a salary schedule that the school district has developed. These salary schedules are usually based on amount of education and years of experience the employee has.
Some of your other answers seem to assume that you are seeking a job as a library clerk of some kind. This is totally different from the teacher-librarian position that I have described to you. The pay is lower, usually hourly, sometimes part-time, and you would work under the supervision of a librarian.

2008-02-24 11:03:30 by dilila_may

Across the nation, schools are in crisis. Unfortunately, this means that school libraries are caught in the tug-of-war between budget and quality ...

I am looking into pursuing a career as a school librarian, preferably a middle school/jr high school librarian. What majors should I look into, and what requirements are there to become a librarian? In short, what should I look for when applying to colleges?

In order to be a professional librarian, you will have to earn an MLS or MLIS (master's in library science or master's in library and information science.) You might want to pursue education as a major/double major becuase some states require that a school librarian also have a teaching certificate or the equivalent. I don't think there are necessarily any requirements for what your undergraduate degree has to be in so pick a subject you are passionate about.

You might want to check out the information on the websites of the American Library Association or the National Association of School Librarians for more information.

www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/index.cfm

www.ala.org

Good luck!

2009-03-01 13:38:46 by themigratingcoconut

Price: $35.00

How much work do you take home with you? Do you think one could work on a masters while working as a librarian? How difficult is your job?

The difficulty of the job varies with the school and the students as well as the work load shared with otter librarians in the same school.

Very often the librarian is considered to be the media specialist and resource person in the school

2007-11-28 13:57:59 by dilila_may

Price: $29.95

what is your job like? how many hours do you work? What is your schedule like? could you work on a second masters while working as a librarian?

My mother is a school librarian. She has two masters degrees - in English and Library Science. I think she only needed the LS one to get the job. She oversees 7 schools in our district, and is in charge of the budget and hiring school librarians. The librarians who work at the individual schools rarely have more than a 4-year college degree and don't get paid more than 25k a year. My mother makes about 45k with the LS degree, and she could work at a university library or national library as well, and has in the past.

Librarians are usually among the people most content with their jobs, and most happy in their jobs. Many of my friends and family are librarians. Depending on how many hours you work, you can certainly work on another degree at the same time - librarians don't really need to bring their work home.

2007-12-03 08:19:34 by dilila_may

I am a current college student working on a major of English Language and Literature Bachelor of Arts degree, and I'm wondering what the next steps I'll need to take to become a librarian. I would be happy just being a librarian, but my real hope is to work in a school.
I am also planning to follow with a master's in Library Science. Am I going on the right path, or do you think there will be other education I'll need, like a teaching degree?

In the United States, the master's in Library Science is the entry degree for librarians. I have worked in both public and academic libraries and for professional positions your application is not even considered if you don't have an MLS/MLIS/MIS.

Having said that, most libraries have "non-professional" or "paraprofessional" positions that do not require a master's. And the requirements for school librarians or "media specialists" vary widely from state to state. In some states only a certification program is required for school librarians -- in those cases no MLS is required, though I can't imagine it could hurt your chances. Never having worked as a school librarian I know very little about these programs.

Talk to someone at a library school about your plans, and they will help you make the decisions most appropriate for your career. And good luck!

2008-08-17 20:39:46 by BrittneyVonnie