Riley, I'm also a humanities darling , and I'm completely self-taught on
the IT front (Lynda.com and the Head First books are a godsend if you're
going that route). Web Development and Systems Administration are two big
areas to think about specializing in.

My systems librarian role has ended up with a lot of successful
troubleshooting through my interest in information and computer history, We
had a Z39.5 bug that was tracked down as being due to an obscure aspect of
the MARC cataloging format interacting with the specific implementation of
YAZ in our ILS. I didn't know the answer, but I was able to track down the
listserv that could provide me with the answer.

 The humanities program I was in (I did history, religious studies
(anthropology/history/comparative religion) and some digital humanities
English as undergrad) did give me the research tools, but not the specific
technical skills.

I've learned rather quickly that understanding how information is
structured is critical, and then depending on my own fast learning and my
vendors for the specific details has been the core of my successful
projects. You might want to look for courses in information architecture
and database design because those skills are widely applicable to other
thorny information management problems.

Best advice I can give, is start building your own library projects now
with one of the Head First books or a Lynda.com subscription. They don't
have to be spectacular, but you can get a feel for how to build and
structure websites, use Javascript and Jquery, maybe some further
programming with Python or Ruby. Get a cheap laptop or desktop and install
Koha and Evergreen, try out SolrMARC and Blacklight. Get your hands dirty
and break things when you're not working with production systems.

Best of luck,

Brett Williams
Systems  & Electronic Resources Librarian
College of the North Atlantic - Qatar


On Thu, May 29, 2014 at 6:17 AM, 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
>