describe and compare organizational settings in which information professionals practice.
The American Library Association recognizes four distinct types of libraries in which librarians operate—academic libraries, public libraries, school libraries, and special libraries. Each of the divisions of librarianship presented has differing organizational structures and funding models. Special libraries encompass many different specialties, such as law, medicine, or corporate fields. But like all the other library types, they share the similarity of existing to provide information resources for the people they serve. In addition to positions in librarianship, information professionals are also employed in commercial and government settings because of their experience with organizing information and the increasing business importance of this skill.
Academic libraries are tasked with supporting the academic mission of the institution of which they are a part. If the school is a research university, the library will be responsive with a collection supporting the researchers’ needs. Generally, these libraries—especially within state-funded schools—will be open to the public and may even allow people outside of the school to check books out for a fee. Even with this added library responsibility, the librarians’ main focus is on supporting the educational mission of the institution. Academic libraries are typically led by a library director who is responsible to the school administration. In the past, academic libraries tended to be more hierarchical, with division usually falling between user services and collection service. They have been moving toward a flatter organizational structure in recent times, however, which empowers librarians and allows the library to be more responsive to user needs.
Public libraries are institutions founded and administered by a local or county government which serve the population at large. Residents of the area can access and check out books without cost, with the library being funded at least in part by local taxation. Programming designed to educate or enlighten their user base is another large part of what public libraries typically offer. This includes programs like reading groups or bookmobiles for areas far from a library building. In many cases, public libraries will have a few branch offices to provide better coverage to the area they serve. Branch offices will typically have their own directors, with a library director coordinating efforts in the main branch. Depending on the size of the service area and the population served, branch managers can have some autonomy with programming but generally are subject to central policy standards.
School libraries are a feature of many public schools, with collections that are for students’ education and entertainment. Generally funded as part of the school’s budget, school libraries are available for teachers wanting to supplement students’ curriculum with book reports or computer access time. The book collections are on the whole only open to students of the school rather than the general public. The organizational structure of a school library typically includes one librarian who reports to school administration. Some schools have eliminated librarians entirely as a cost-cutting measure, however, opting instead for staffing the library with paraprofessionals. Especially in a high school setting, students should have the benefit of a professional librarian for help preparing for college-level research and writing. Paraprofessional employment would tend to be merely a caretaker of books role, and we know that librarians can be much more than that for the students they support.
Special libraries “specialize” by focusing on collections particular to the group being served. These include medical libraries in teaching hospitals, law libraries, and corporate libraries with trade information and internal document keeping. These libraries are also typically open only to members or employees of the organization which the library is supporting. Because of their specialized focus, special libraries tend to have exhaustive collections in their field and little beyond that.
With the increasing emphasis on information and technology in business, librarians are finding their skill sets desirable in diverse fields. San José State University’s iSchool maintains a “Career Spotlight” list of alumni, and in addition to jobs in the library fields mentioned above, graduates include a content manager for Mozilla, a search editor for Getty Images, and a Vice President of Operations for Doctor Evidence, a company working with medical data (SJSU iSchool, 2015). In addition, the Career Spotlight shows that local, state, and federal governments have positions suited for MLIS graduates. It lists a senior information systems specialist for the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, a records management specialist in the Consumer Protection Division of the Washington State Attorney General’s office, and a metadata specialist for the Library of Congress (SJSU iSchool, 2015). If organizing, locating, and making sense of information is part of the job, librarians are a good bet to fill it.
Evidence
LIBR 200: Information and Society—Job Hunt
This assignment, from my first semester in the MLIS program, was a refreshing exercise to show that, yes, there are obtainable library jobs out there. With this assignment I explored the types of qualifications libraries were looking for, and what job experiences I had to that point that might help toward those qualifications. Also helpful when working through this assignment was seeing the many different positions that libraries create, with different divisions of responsibility.
LIBR 200: Information and Society—Job Hunt
LIBR 266: Collection Management—Collection Development Policy
This assignment was a thorough exploration of a fictional public library, and the development of an appropriate collection development policy. While much of the paper regarded materials acquisition, I believe this assignment addresses the competency in reviewing the organizational structure and the designation of responsibilities in the fictional library.
LIBR 266: Collection Management—Collection Development Policy
LIBR 284: Archives and Records Management Seminar—Final Paper
This class was a welcome exposure for me of what information professionals could do outside of library science and the various opportunities available in records management. This particular paper was an exploration of implementations of Electronic Documents/Records Management Systems. The content of the paper goes into the responsibilities of the records management professional in implementation and the ways their success impacted the company’s success in adopting such systems.
LIBR 284: Archives and Records Management Seminar—Final Paper
Conclusion
Early on in my MLIS experience I was relatively sure I wanted to pursue academic librarianship. However, it is reassuring to know that librarianship is a profession which is relevant and valued in many different areas. While different forms of librarianship lead to different experiences in practice, librarians are united by the professional goals of providing information to their constituents. Sometimes separation and hard division within professions can lead to fracturing perspectives, but I believe in large part the diversity of experience makes librarianship stronger. Part of my motivation to become a librarian is being able to work with new information technologies and find ways to improve them, and I believe insights from different domains of librarianship are key to a deeper understanding. I’m looking forward to engaging with librarians from all types of environments to improve my own grasp on what librarianship means.
References
SJSU iSchool. (2015). Alumni career spotlights. Retrieved from http://ischool.sjsu.edu/people/alumni/career-spotlights
Life is information, information is life. 