patron : U a librarian? jessamyn: yeah patron : I need your help then. jessamyn : I'm not working at a library right now jessamyn : but maybe I can help patron : I want to be a Librarian. But I don't know what I need to do it. 11:12 : What kind of degrees do I have to hold? jessamyn : do you want to work in a library? or actually be a librarian? jessamyn : if you want to be a librarian you need an MLS jessamyn : or an MLIS jessamyn : and go to graduate school for one or two years jessamyn : after college patron : Can I do anything with an AA degree? jessamyn : yeah you can work in a library doing other jobs that aren't reference, buying books etc jessamyn : you can work in circulation, which is still pretty demanding and interesting jessamyn : you could also volunteer, see what you think, if you like it etc patron : k, good idea. jessamyn : or ask at your local library jessamyn : in smaller libraries the degree is MUCH less important jessamyn : in big libraries it's basically critical jessamyn : academic librarians usually have two masters' degrees jessamyn : and are treated like faculty, it's sort of cool jessamyn : this web site has a lot more info on what library work and jobs and school are like jessamyn : http://www.becomealibrarian.org/ patron : Ah cool. Thanks! jessamyn : yeah it's focussed on New Jersey but the same stuff goes all over the USA patron : Cool. jessamyn : it's good work if you're fairly organized and like people as well as books jessamyn : in bigger libraries the jobs are often union, pay okay good benefits patron : hmmm. jessamyn : there ARE jobs if you don't like people too :) jessamyn : catalogging and other back room jobs jessamyn : which are very important patron : Cool, because I'm on the spectrum of autism and people skills kind of suck. jessamyn : that's fine, you might be good with cataloging, taking books in to the systems and getting them on computer etc jessamyn : most of those jobs require degrees but not all of them patron : Cool! patron : Thanks so much! jessamyn : anytime