As most people know, I am working on my Masters degree in Library and Information Science. I need to perhaps correct an idea that people have about what that involves:
BECOMING A LIBRARIAN INVOLVES FAR MORE THAN "LEARNING THE DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM". If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me something akin to "so you just have to learn the Dewey Decimal System?", I wouldn't bother getting this degree. I would instead retire and live off my earnings. Let's drop the ignorance folks. Do you think that it would be worth a Masters degree if it was just "learning the Dewey Decimal System?" And furthermore, would I have bothered travelling 3000 miles at great expense to myself and my lovely wife, financially and otherwise, to learn the Dewey Decimal System? Any chimp, should they desire, can familiarize themself with Dewey's system of classification. I wanna be a LIBRARIAN, dammit, and a librarian I SHALL BE.
I have learned about legal resources, government information, copyright law, Paul Otlet's concept of the document, how to design web pages and databases, and the implications of digital technology on the future of information dissemination, just to name a few things. You need to find a needle in a haystack? I'm your man. So, let's drop the Dewey Decimal talk and think of some more creative comments and/or questions to ask me about my choice of career, okay?
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7 comments:
...but besides that other stuff you're basically just learning the Dewey Decimal System, right?
dude - thanks for the clarification. i was under the impression you were a complete dolt for being suckered into a "masters" program to become a librarian.
the only question left to answer now is whether "shhh'ing" is more effective when uttered in conjunction with the index finger raised to your lips or not.
What I've really been curious about is: How did this happen?
When we met, you were a page at BH and I distinctly recall you saying that you did NOT enjoy working in the library system. Perhaps this was a lie, considering the extended length of time that you were a page... but honestly, I just thought you were in it for all the staff parties and free food (like I was).
What's the deal?
I gotta admit... i was one who asked about the Dewey. It was a question of "are you actually learning..." At that moment, he was in the middle of writing a paper on how the Dewey is useful for doing research on rock'n'roll. I guessed the rock'n'roll part too.
As far as I'm concerned, being a librarian is perfect for either of the Bingham's I am closest to. You guys are incredibly intelligent, you love to read, you protect your 'quiet' time fiercely, and when you were younger you both read the Dictionary. Like, who does that?!?
Okay, those are some good points that make sense. I suppose being a librarian could actually be similar to being a rock historian (that's what I figured you'd be perfect at)...
I feel you pain... my sister is doing the same degree at McGill... oh well, it is better than it was for her undergrad where she did music and people joked she should tell them she was studying the recorder because, well, it is the recorder... and recorder actually was one of her instruments (she is really good, okay!?!). I love those jokes that backfire.
Preach it, brother!
I did an MLIS at UBC. If I had a nickel for every time some git slapped their knee and asked me if I was learning the Dewey Decimal system, I would throw those nickels in a sock, swing it three times over my head, and HAI-YA! they would learn it is not so easy to slap your knee once your patella has been shattered.
"That's Weapons, Blackjacks DDC 399" I would yell. Because I am a stickler for cataloguing accuracy.
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