Dear Riley et al:

I was thinking the same thing as Coral.  I have a humanities undergrad
degree; a computer science oriented degree would certainly have been
beneficial, especially with an emphasis on network and server
administration, or even web development depending on your interest (as a
systems librarian I also managed the website and catalog).  The
library-oriented education can wait until grad school.

Honestly, I think we come from a variety of backgrounds.  My liberal arts
foundation works for me (I feel my education was well rounded in a way a
science or IT degree may not have been), but I would definitely have wanted
some more technical classes such as I mentioned above if I had known I
would be in this field.

In peace,

Amy

In peace,

Amy M. Drayer, MLIS
Senior IT Specialist, Web Developer
[log in to unmask]
http://www.puzumaki.com


On Wed, May 28, 2014 at 11:24 PM, Coral Sheldon-Hess <[log in to unmask]
> wrote:

> Riley,
>
> Whatever you do, don't major in library science as an undergrad. Maybe
> minor in it, along with some other major, if you want, but it's not useful
> by itself as an undergraduate degree--most libraries want librarians to
> have the MLIS. And what if you change your mind after a few years and don't
> want to get the masters? Do something you could get a career in--or work
> in, part time, to afford the MLIS.
>
> If you want to be a systems librarian, why not get a degree in systems
> engineering or IT? (Seriously, there are degrees in
> IT<http://www.ccsu.edu/page.cfm?p=332>now, what a world!) Computer
> science wouldn't hurt, if you don't mind
> theory, and you can get some good foundational stuff that will help with
> the information science part of "libraries and information science."
>
> The school where I got my MLIS had an "Information Science" department that
> was mostly IT, too. So, that's a possibility.
>
> --
> Coral Sheldon-Hess
> http://sheldon-hess.org/coral
> @web_kunoichi
>
>
> On Wed, May 28, 2014 at 7:17 PM, Riley Childs <[log in to unmask]
> >wrote:
>
> > I was curious about the type of degrees people had. I am heading off to
> > college next year (class of 2015) and am trying to figure out what to
> major
> > in. I want to be a systems librarian, but I can't tell what to major in!
> I
> > wanted to hear about what paths people took and how they ended up where
> > they are now.
> >
> > BTW Y'All at NC State need a better tour bus driver (not the c4l tour,
> the
> > admissions tour) ;) the bus ride was like a rickety roller coaster...
> 🎢
> >
> > Also, if you know of any scholarships please let me know ;) you would be
> > my BFF :P
> >
> >
> > Riley Childs
> > Student
> > Asst. Head of IT Services
> > Charlotte United Christian Academy
> > (704) 497-2086
> > RileyChilds.net
> > Sent from my Windows Phone, please excuse mistakes
> >
>