BFunky29

To be honest I have seen little evidence of the "name brand" of school really making a difference in an application unless its a very unique program that not many have heard of or if you get a degree from an institution that is not accredited. I think U of I and IU probably have comprable recognition when your resume is being looked at so I think either would be ok for rare books. Also, the same professor used to teach courses on Rare Books at BOTH U of I and IU and still might (unless he has moved or retired), so experiences there would be comprabale. More importantly, my advice is keep getting experience with rare books through volunteer work, full/part-time work, and writing articles. You can get your foot in the door with enough experience but if you want to keep moving up you may need to contribute to the academic side of the field a lot more through getting published in journals, etc. Also, from what I have seen the people who work in conservation typically have chemistry backgrounds so if you really want to get involved as a conservationist consider taking some chemistry courses as well. Maybe even a lot of chemistry courses...if you are interested in certain types of jobs like conservationist, archivist, rare book librarian, etc. I suggest you go out and Google people who are in those positions NOW and see what roles they had beforehand and what their educational background is and kind of use that as a guide. Also, one final note - rare books and archives can be difficult to get into as careers. Many institutions with rare books have positions that people stay in for very long periods of time so new positions rarely open up which makes both getting started and then advancing difficult even with an MLIS, a specialization within the MLIS, and a couple years of experience. I have been thorugh this. I encourage you to continue getting as much experience as you can and BUILD RELATIONSHIPS with any institution you may already be affiliated with because that can make future applications stand out if people already know who you are and know you do good work. There are many, many people out there applying for library jobs so if you can get to know your desired department personally and build a good rapport that will be a huge help. If you give it your best shot and things still aren't working out just remember there is no shame in switching careers or doing work that isn't related to your degree(s) - you can still be involved with libraries by serving on a library's board, collecting and donating rare books, writing articles, etc. even if your career path ends up taking a different turn. Hope this helped. Good luck!

Saw this thread and wanted to comment for anyone that may read or is debating pursuing an MLIS. Here's a bit of how my thought process went when I applied and then what the reality was (sorry, Shep, hope you don't mind that I'm adding on like this! Would love to see if your experience was similar to mine): -First of all, I was extremely fortunate not to have any student debt thanks to a combination of circumstances, working throughout undergrad and grad (full-time in grad), scholarships, etc. Had I been looking at a lot of debt upon finishing undergraduate I do not think I would have pursued a graduate degree, or at least maybe not right away. College debt can be difficult to pay off no matter what your profession is but especially so if your profession already does not pay much. -People would have warnings like "you will need to be good with tech" (hm, well, I'm ok...I hope that's good enough!) "there aren't many jobs" (I'm a good planner and if I anticipate this I will be able to stay a step ahead by doing things that keep me relavent), "it will be hard to get by with this degree" etc. etc. I read these warnings and admittedly took them with a grain of salt because I had always had a plan, been a good student, and a clear vision of what I wanted for my future and so far things had worked out pretty well for me. I guess I thought that by reading these warnings and constantly staying aware of them that I would be able to plan around them. First thing I did when I got to my grad program was make sure I got a job on one of the campus libraries so I wouldn't be applying to jobs after graduating with 0 experience. When I was about to start the program it looked like the #1 reason most people weren't finding jobs after graduating was they had no relevant library experience and had just gotten the degree. So I made that a priority and it's a good thing I did because having prior library experience is arguably more important than the degree itself in some ways... -The program was not particularly challenging. Some courses I enjoyed more/learned more in than others and I got to make new friends in a different way than I did in undergrad so that was cool. By a "different way" I mean through actual group work and bonding over mutual interests rather than in a "hey-we-live-on-the-same-floor-let's-hang-out" kinda way. Never really developed relationships with my professors and I honestly don't even remember if I ever had an advisor. Maybe I did? I dunno. Anyway, It was a new, exciting experience for the first semester and I did learn some cool stuff but by the time I finished I was SO ready to be finished both with the program and school in general. -I was lucky and had a "full time" library job right out of school, but when I say lucky...I really, really was, and it didn't take long for me to appreciate that when I looked around at the rest of my graduating classmates. It wasn't my planning, foresight, connections, good grades, etc. that got me where I was it was really more of a "right place right time" kind of situation where I applied and prepped and then interviewed really well for a position that is seldom open. Though the job was full time it didn't really pay that well, but had pretty decent benefits. Enjoyed the collections and working with the students and professors...although to be honest, not many came in and it seemed like there were fewer that did every year. When you take into account that I had a Master's degree then the pay looks even worse in hindsight. My duties also did not really require the skill/knowledge of a Master's. However, even though I listed some of the negative things the reason I say I was lucky is because many classmates either took A.) part-time positions B.) volunteer positions just to get experience or C.) non-library jobs right out of school...so to get a full-time library gig was actually relatively unique for those I knew personally in my program. -After a few more library positions for ~5ish years I pretty much felt like I had achieved all my goals and hit the level of fulfilment I was seeking. I half-heartedly applied to some other library jobs here and there but kept striking out. This wasn't that long ago so I got a good sense of the terrain...it's tough, even with the degree and experience. When I was applying to school I would see awesome positions at good schools in disciplines right up my alley like History, Religion, Philosophy, etc. and be like "oh wow I'd love to be the Librarian of the Byzantine Collection at ____ University" and think those were the jobs I'd be getting when I graduated. They weren't....and actually, they weren't even jobs I was getting INTERVIEWS for even with the degree and years of experience at this point. What you have to do to even get an interview for one of those jobs I have absolutely no idea. My guess is publish several articles and probably have another Master's in a relevant discipline, so keep that in mind too. -So basically I looked at my situation and thought to myself "I've had a good run" and was lucky that I got to be involved with the areas of the Humanities that I enjoyed...but I realized I really didn't have anywhere to go from there that would be a significant improvement. Realizing this, I changed tracks completely and started applying to some local businesses. Then I started getting interviews, started getting offers, took a job with one of those companies and have never looked back. Before starting my Library Science grad program I never would have guessed that I enjoy working outside of academia as much as I do and I do not regret the switch at all. Thankfully I was ready for it so maybe if my circumstances were way different it may have been harder for me to make that decision or adjust to the new lifestyle, but I really do genuinely like it AND prefer it over where I was with librarianship. It was nice for awhile but unsustainable in the long-run. In conclusion, I don't want to tell anybody what to do - you know what's best for you and your life and where you are currently. But from my experiences and reflecting on them here, I know my story is NOT typical and I am extremely fortunate that it worked out the way it did so please keep that in mind. I would definitely not recommend getting this degree just so you can say you have a Master's on your resume and hope that pays off because I have never seen it having that kind of power as a resume-builder. If you do get the degree and struggle with finding library jobs - don't be afraid to adapt! Don't feel like leaving libraries/academia means you are giving up or that you wasted time getting a degree you won't "use". Changing careers now is actually pretty normal and there's no shame in wanting to improve your circumstances. You can also still take classes on the side or study the things you love as a hobby. You can even still write articles and publish them if that's what interests you...you don't NEED to be a librarian to stay relevant in academia! There are many ways to do what you love without trying to make those things your lifelong career. I hope this helps give some of you clarity if you are considering this type of program. Cheers!

First...congratulations to all! We made it through the application process! I will be starting at UIllinois in August (on campus). Can't wait!

Congrats! Same here! I think the U of I email says they want a response by April 15th...I hope I know the status of my funding at other places before then.

oh wow

Has anybody heard anything from UIllinois yet? I know it's early but the results page shows somebody last year heard as early as Feb 27...so...just thought I'd ask!

Hi Bubbles. Don't know much about the programs in Hawaii or SC. Btw when did you apply to those schools? I have heard from Pitt and IU (both positive responses). I applied in early December and I got responses from those schools in late Dec/early January. I'm sure your responses will be on the way soon.