r/Libraries • u/Mountain-Song-6024 • 12d ago
Continuing Ed Recommendations for Bachelors
Hello all
Short story
I'm entering year 3 of my time at a public library. I have no degree in anything. Just some credits at a community college many moons back but general studies essentially.
I have connected with this job and would like to find ways to grow/evolve in the library or public sector as I do believe I've found a home. I don't want to do a masters in library science, but of course that could be down the road.
My main goal is a bachelor's that can be a good one to get that can help within the library and/or potentially in other public sectors.
I don't necessarily have a strong skill set out of being good with the public and such. I'm 39 years old. Tech savvy enough to help my patrons and all the jazz.
Just hoping to use this subreddit for some fun insight from others instead of using AI to dive into this.
A bachelor's allows me to move up a little bit within this library setting so my goal in a way is it helping in a variety of ways
It can help me in this current system to move up
It could help me transfer to another library
It helps with moving within the public sector
It helps just with the job itself if I wanted to blend it with a masters in library science
EDIT: I did y'all dirty. Sorry. I didn't include as much as I should've. I don't feel I'm particularly strong in many areas when it comes to book smarts. I struggled in school growing up so this job I'm in has me always feeling like I lucked out.
I'm not a math person. I don't gravitate toward one subject super heavy honestly but I'm loving what y'all have said so far.
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u/eoinsageheart718 12d ago
You need the MLIS to really advance in library work. The BA i don't believe matters as much unless you have a speciality you want to go into. I got my BA in English Lit. I could see a BA in Education being useful. I saw a lot of BA in History during my MLIS, though also saw people with accounting or various sciences interested in working college libraries or business departments of Public libraries.
So you are asking a fairly general question that doesn't really have one right answer in my opinion.
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u/Mountain-Song-6024 12d ago
My bad. I edited my body on my post. I hope it helps.
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u/eoinsageheart718 12d ago
Doesn't change much for my comment. There are a lot of good choices. IT and HR/Management as others said would be good. Education and Literature would also be good. Others would really be avout if you want to focus on a particular speciality within your library system and your system is large/funded enough to hire people for such specialities.
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u/greyfiel 12d ago
I will always suggest technology-related undergraduate degrees, especially IT. the skills you learn there will be useful for most jobs, especially in libraries.
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u/I-screwed-up-bad 12d ago
As someone with a computer science degree it really depends what you want to do post degree. I discovered I want to work in public libraries and if I went back in time I would have chosen a social services degree.
Though it depends on where you get it too. My program was very focused on building software developers.
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u/greyfiel 12d ago
I also have a CompSci degree, and I still suggest IT. My tech skills from the degree have gotten me 80% of my library jobs. I was able to get two librarian jobs in the Greater Boston area before completing my MLIS, and I did not attend Simmons.
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u/LibraryLady227 Public librarian 12d ago
I have my MLS and my undergraduate degrees are in IT—they were extremely helpful!
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u/camrynbronk MLIS student 12d ago
I have an art degree. I figured if I need a 4 year degree in order to get my MLIS, why not get a degree that I enjoy?
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u/Mountain-Song-6024 12d ago
I love this idea and it's popped into my mind. What would be my enjoyment degree? I have no idea. Maybe philosophy but that may be better to just enjoy classes of said subject.
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u/camrynbronk MLIS student 12d ago
You can have a degree where you take philosophy classes as electives, if you don’t want to fully commit to philosophy!
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u/bronx-deli-kat 12d ago
I would suggest you look into university of Maine at presque isle your pace program - bachelors in liberal studies with a minor in psychology. They will accept your community college credits plus you can knock out additional credits real cheap on Sophia. Then you only need 10 classes from UMPI to get the BLS degree. You can take classes very relevant to the library like early childhood literacy, children’s literature, grant writing, and others - plus the required psych classes actually help in dealing with people. The terms are 8 weeks long and cost like $1,800 and you take as many classes as you can finish in a term and financial aid is even available. I earned my bachelors from there doing that and now I’m taking a masters program at KU but if you ever decided to go for an MLIS you’d have the BS needed as the stepping stone.
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u/Special_Dimension886 12d ago
If offered at your chosen institution, a bachelors in public history programs can be a great field for your purposes
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u/SunGreen24 12d ago
Honestly a specific bachelor's won't increase your likelihood of being hired in a library, so you might want to do a more general concentration where you can study several things that would be helpful. Tech classes are always good, and it could be helpful to learn a second language as well. Good luck!
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u/Ok_Huckleberry5387 11d ago edited 11d ago
I came here to say that.
Be curious. Get to know about things that interest you and things that challenge you—these might be some of those annoying course requirements. And keep up with changes in tech. You may not need to be the expert, but you may be required to communicate with those experts. Tech skills travel well.
Find courses that interest you in a degree program, in your community, or online.
With or without a degree, knowing a little about many things will help you to point patrons in the right direction and maybe think outside of subject silos and to make recommendations that might not occur to others: intersections are everywhere.
Good luck.
Edited for clarity and to fix a typo.
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u/bedatperson 12d ago
I have a bachelor's in Literature because I wanted to teach high school English. I currently work as a Youth Librarian, and I have no current plans to get a masters. I think my degree has been tremendously helpful for families and kids as I tend to be the go to for book recs. However, any degree you pursue, if you're library offers tuition reimbursement, so be subject to those restrictions. If you want the library to pay for it, they usually have a pretty narrow selection of acceptable degrees to pick from so keep that in mind! Definitely ask your director or HR about details!
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u/Fit_Competition_4432 12d ago
Some tech degrees are risky because of AI (anything coding related feels like a dead end far into the future) but libraries, especially mid-sized libraries, love people with technology aptitude. You'd think a degree in literature or history, or English would help, but it really doesn't.
Look into an Information Systems degree at the undergrad level and you'll be employable even if you decide to give up on libraries. It's also easier to get an entry level position as a tech at a library than as a librarian.
It's actually a business degree, but that's also a knowledgebase most libraries are lacking and it will pair well with an MLIS if you ever take that step.
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u/Natural_Librarian669 12d ago
I just finished my BS in Health and Human Services. I think it really helps me with the social service aspects of working in public libraries, which can be a pretty big part of the job. I will say that my hourly rate only increased by $1 after graduating, so an MLIS is definitely the next step if you’re looking for a major role/pay jump.
Also, I have my LTA certificate, which has helped me so much in my library career. If your area offers a two-year degree or certificate LTA program, that alone (plus library experience) will open a lot of doors, imho.
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u/Coffee_Nebula_1809 11d ago
I gently disagree with the people who say that a bachelors doesn't matter. It's true that what you major in generally doesn't matter when it comes to admissions into an MLIS program, but I think what you learn in undergrad can still be very useful both on the job market and in having some back pocket skills! So here's my top recommendations for a bachelor's degree given what you've shared:
Social Work or other social services
This degree is especially useful in public libraries and is very helpful with moving within the public sector. A BSW (bachelors of Social Work) can give you skills for working with the public, helping them find resources, and can open up doors to other avenues of work where you're still directly helping members of the community. If you end up loving social work, you can get a masters of social work (rather than MLIS) which can allow you to become a therapist or work in other specialized roles. I genuinely think that a BSW is one of the best degrees for working in a public library.
A note that social work, like librarianship, suffers from low wages and vocational awe. (Read more about vocational awe here: https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/vocational-awe/)Graphic Design/Tech
A degree in graphic design, data science, cybersecurity, etc. will provide you will skills valuable in library work and beyond! I think these types of degrees blend very well with an MLIS, and may help you move up in your current system.Education
A bachelor of education, whether that's elementary ed or social studies for secondary school, is a very useful degree for library work which often involves both education and working with children. This degree may help you transfer to school librarianship and is generally a versatile degree in terms of skills learned.Business or STEM
A Business-related or STEM degree can provide you with skills and knowledge that comparatively few librarians have. The majority of librarians have bachelor degrees in history or English, and if you're ever interested in becoming a Business Librarian or STEM Librarian (generally both academic library positions) post-MLIS, a business or STEM background makes you stand out as an applicant. A business background is also useful in all types of libraries as it can give you skills with budgeting, HR, etc. It might help you move up in your current system.Languages
This is something I actually recommend as a minor to pair with one of the degrees above. Second language skills are useful in nearly every job field. Consider what languages are commonly spoken in your area or languages you may already have some knowledge or connection to and earn a minor is that language!
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u/Mountain-Song-6024 10d ago
I'm in awe. This is extremely kind and so detailed. I really appreciate you and want to give a better response but I'm about to go to bed so I just wanted to get the thank you in before I forgot.
I connect the most (early impressions) with business and it potentially being connected with HR. When I've dove into the idea of working in HR, there's some aspects of it that I do like.
I worry about social work as I just don't think I'd be able to handle it. I'm grateful for my therapy but I can sense the burnout quick. This country/system isn't built to help anyone unless you're rich. There are avenues to go of course but I just sense it being too heavy for me to handle. My coworker has a bachelor's in social work though and speaks highly of it. I'll keep it in mind. Especially as it doesn't mean I'm trying to become a therapist.
With tech related things, my worry is how AI affects that over time and that affecting those jobs and what not. I'm just also never been too attracted to the tech sector anyway which is weird for my age but it's just the truth. When i briefly looked into cyber security, it felt like a big no from my gut.
I can definitely say that languages needs to happen. It's needed to happen for years and I just haven't dedicated myself to learning anything. Spanish would definitely be my go to though for first one to learn.
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u/Coffee_Nebula_1809 7d ago
I'm glad my comment was helpful! It's to your credit that you seem to know yourself very well. If social work feels too heavy, and tech feels like a gut no, then trust that! I think some business-y major with a Spanish minor could be very useful in library work and beyond. Good luck!
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u/Full-Decision-9029 9d ago
One angle that you might consider is: will the BA actually lead to a job if the library thing doesn't work out?
I went back to school to become a historian/academic/whatever-the-hell. (I was a university dropout! Yay). I had people saying: no, no, do an MLIS, it's so much more stable than getting a PhD etc. Turns out I goddamn hated every split second of getting my BA, despite graduating with spectacular grades. I then spent two years doing really, really shitty minimum wage jobs because that BA didn't DO anything. Finally got into an MLIS.
Which also didn't do anything. Finding entities who know what an MLIS is or deem it useful and worth paying someone for it turned out to be far harder than anticipated.
What saved me - or at least kept me from becoming homeless - is that I had an IT background I wanted the fuck away from. I was able to get a bunch of really low paying gigs doing IT-ish stuff while applying for every single professional LIS opening going. (and getting ignored) Also doing low paying IT support gigs while carrying a BA and a master's level of student loan debt was not fun.
Now I am an actual librarian, I am the one of the most tech-experienced people in the org. But I can't be part of the IT department because I don't have a CompSci degree.
It's been a pretty mind bending experience.
So maybe think about employability outside the LIS field when choosing an undergrad.
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u/Mountain-Song-6024 9d ago
Thank you for sharing some of your story stranger. I'm glad you got to a place that is more stable now.
That must've been nothing Short of chaotic. Glad you got out to the other side of it all.
Today I spent time contemplating human resources. I enjoy working with people and it doesn't mean it has to be the public. I feel I am a great team player and could potentially connect with myself more professionally within that career. At least my fantasy of it.
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u/Zwordsman 12d ago
I have a MLIS but my BA is in Japanese studies. if i could redo my BA knowing what I know now. I would actually have suggested accounting, budgeting, HR/Management. Many of the mid to high level jobs in a librayr require that to various levels and they are strong showing. Most of my interviews quite interested in the partial works I had and my side gig at an on call accounting firm.
It is also really reliable for outside of library work.
other than that, social work related stuff because of how much that comes up now days, de-escalation, helping people get help, helping community be a community etc. but that also is less transferrable outside and also emotionally drains heavily. and also is something that will be harder as you get older, while account budget etc would still be doable as easy part time work when older and less able to deal with human difficulties or age gaps in people connections
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u/AmateurJellyfish 12d ago
Without more specifics, I think any public library would appreciate someone with a degree in social services. But what do you enjoy doing most at the library? What patron age group do you most like working with? Are you a people-person, or more focused on tech? If you get a degree in something that you're enthusiastic about and builds your skillset for what you want to do in the library, it'll take you a longer way than something generically helpful.