Planning for Study in Library Science

Joyce Taylor, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer
IUPUI
Master of Library Science, Indiana University (1988)

If you have completed or are in the process of completing, your under¬graduate degree, this should not be the end of your academic endeavors. It is important that you continue to fine-tune your intellectual skills to prepare you for the various job possibilities.

If you like following clues and solving puzzles, and have a genuine desire to serve the public, then you should consider pursuing a Master of Library Science degree.

Suppose you are working at a library reference desk and you are asked the following three questions:

Who first said, "Rome was not built in a day?"
Who designed the first dental chair?
What was the primary function of the guild during the Middle Ages?

It is possible that you already know the answers to these three questions, but you do not know which sources to consult for the answers. Or, you do not know the answers but you have a general knowledge of where you might look for the answers. Still others may not have the proper tools to even begin the search. The profession of Library Science is the area of graduate study that prepares you to search and rescue those answers to questions asked by library users.

Essentially, this is the noblest of professions, one where the librarian helps the inquiring public by answering their questions. Consider what would happen in the other professions if there were no librarians to guide the inquirer toward the correct information and assist them in deciding its relevance. Librarians have become experts in helping the library user find a simple working of their question, then matching that request with the answering source.

What are the skills needed to pursue a graduate degree in Library Science? First and foremost is a desire to learn and to continue learning in formal classes, discussions with colleagues, and beyond. As you enter graduate studies it is hoped that you have embraced all areas of academic studies. A librarian should have a basic knowledge of most of the academic disciplines, yet continue to study recent developments in these different areas of information. Secondly, curiosity is another attribute that librarians possess. Some may call this being nosy, but still without this nosiness our information gears would grind to a halt.The School of Library and Information Science welcomes students from all undergraduate disciplines including history, education, business, music, journalism, informatics, computer science and literature.

Finally, having the ability to unite the user's question with the answering source gives Library Science a valued apex position. As you plan for the future, remember you could occupy, with others, a place in this prestigious profession, helping our society attain and retain the vast amount of information being collected each day.

Article reprinted with permission from the author and Indiana Insight, a publication of IUPUI.