I knew what I was getting into when I chose librarianship as a career. I knew I’d earn a lot less than others with similar education and experience. But I also knew the work and the environment was right for me. As long as I could pay my bills, it was fine. So I never took much interest in debates over compensation for librarians.

Now, after over a dozen years in the profession, I’m not only working in a notably underpaid profession, I’m working at an institution that pays considerably less than others in the same geographic area. I pay my bills, but have to juggle sometimes to do it. Saving is extremely hard. Dreams of travel are deferred indefinitely. Retirement in 30 or so years? I don’t really believe I’ll ever be able to afford it.

But I love my job. I love my institution. I don’t want to leave it or librarianship, even though I have a skill set I could take elsewhere. But I do wonder how much longer I can do it. And how much longer I can spend so much of my own time and money on professional development before my well of resources (financial, physical, mental) dries up. Sure, professional development is its own reward in many ways. I became a librarian because I love to learn. But still…

Apart from my personal worries, I wonder how long we can continue to expect to attract and retain “the right stuff” in libraries. We are asked to put a whole lot of ourselves into this profession. Money isn’t the only compensation for all that work, but it’s not entirely unimportant.

I, too am sad that any library school would opt to completely cut or change a course such as History of the Book. Even if (and I definitely don’t think this) such a course is considered “irrelevant” to the direction most information professionals will take in the future, there is something to understanding where it has been. This is why I believe that it is important to understand both the new/developing metadata schema as well as the “traditional” forms of cataloging. However, I also think that there should be much more “hands on” work required. A good intellectual foundation is not worth much if you have acquired no practical skills. Most LIS students opt to work in libraries, or already worked in them before pursuing advanced degrees, but a more structured experience for those that want or need them would be an improvement. In the teacher ed program I work for now, students are required to work in classrooms throughout their school career, not just at the end (student teaching being the equivalent to a library internship); requiring a similar range of experiences for LIS students would not only be useful in helping them determine the right career path for them, but would also contribute to “big tent librarianship.”

I find it interesting that as I read about teachers, teacher education programs (a personal interest) and graduate level teaching degrees, there are many of the same complaints being made about them as there are about LIS programs. It seems that lack of rigor is not only found in our professional schools.

Just some random thoughts…