Music Library Association

Career Resources

 

LIBRARIANS AND Ph.D.'S

 

  • Berry, John, III. "But Don't Call 'em 'Librarians'." Library Journal 128, no. 18 (November 1, 2003): 34-6..

    Faced with an alleged shortage of qualified people for certain specialized positions, academic libraries are recruiting Ph.D. degree holders and graduate students in the humanities and other disciplines. However, these new gateways to the library profession are considered by some to be a threat to the monopoly of library and information studies (LIS) programs leading to the master's degree in LIS. The possible advantages and disadvantages of initiatives designed to attract Ph.D.'s and graduate students in many disciplines to library assignments are discussed. (Library Literature)

  • Crowley, Bill. "Just Another Field?" Library Journal 129, no. 18 (November 1, 2004): 44-6.

    The education of academic librarians must be reclaimed by library and information studies programs. The academic librarian's already unstable place within higher education is likely to be undermined further by a recent initiative to open the field to Ph.D. degree holders who lack library credentials. Alternative approaches would be to encourage current academic librarians to earn interdisciplinary Ph.D.'s in areas of value to libraries and to establish master degree programs within the accreditation system of the American Library Association. (Library Literature)

  • Gilman, Todd. "Becoming a Librarian." Chronicle Careers column, The Chronicle of Higher Education (October 17, 2003). Available at http://chronicle.com/jobs/2003/10/2003101701c.htm.

    Gilman, a Ph.D. in English and librarian for literature at Yale University's Sterling Memorial Library, has contributed several recent articles on the subject of Ph.D.'s and librarians to The Chronicle of Higher Education's Career Resources column. The four following citations are Gilman's other narratives.

  • __________. "Covering the Bases." Chronicle Careers column, The Chronicle of Higher Education (December 9, 2004). Available at http://chronicle.com/jobs/2004/12/2004120901c.htm.

  • __________. "A Matter of Degrees." Chronicle Careers column, The Chronicle of Higher Education (May 18, 2005). Available at http://chronicle.com/jobs/2005/05/2005051801c.htm.

  • __________. "Putting Your Ph.D. to Work in the Library." Chronicle Careers column, The Chronicle of Higher Education (April 8, 2004). Available at http://chronicle.com/jobs/2004/04/2004040801c.htm.

  • __________. "Suspicious Minds." Chronicle Careers column, The Chronicle of Higher Education (March 3, 2005). Available at http://chronicle.com/jobs/2005/03/2005030301c.htm.

  • Johnson, Mary Dillon. "Turning Ph.D.'s Into Librarians." Chronicle Careers column, The Chronicle of Higher Education (October 16, 2003). Available at http://chronicle.com/jobs/2003/10/2003101601c.htm.

    Like Gilman, Mary Dillon Johnson holds the Ph.D. in English and works at Yale University as Director of Graduate Career Services. She is also a frequent contributor to the Chronicle Careers column. In this article, she suggests that academic librarianship should be a first-choice career for Ph.D.'s and not just a back-up.

  • Oder, Norman. "New Movement for Ph.D.'s to Work in Academic Libraries." Library Journal 128, no. 11 (June 15, 2003): 16-7.

    New demands on university libraries and a shortage of applicants for more specialized positions have spurred a movement to recruit doctorate-holding academics, with or without library degrees. The movement has brought about heated debate among librarians and librarian educators about whether bypassing LIS education undermines the profession and about how much library training newcomers should have. (Library Literature)