Librarian endorsement?

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mrspepper
Posts: 28
Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2011 7:29 pm
Location: USA

Librarian endorsement?

Post by mrspepper »

Would taking grad classes to get a school library endorsement help me to find a job abroad even if I don't have a job as a school librarian? I'm already a h.s. teacher but since I teach a modern language and I'm not a native speaker I'm trying to see what else I can do to help me be more marketable. Plus I like the idea of working in a library :-)
PsyGuy
Posts: 10849
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Advice

Post by PsyGuy »

It wold make you more marketable, but an endorsement as a librarian without any experience isn't going to impress a recruiter. Librarians usually end up doing a lot of the job by themselves, you may have one assistant, but they expect that you kow and have done the job before. The school would essentially put you at the bottom of the pile, below all the applicants that did have experience working in a library. That's not the way to get a job really. It's also a very competing position, schools don't hire a lot of librarians, so there isn't a lot of demand.
overseasvet2
Posts: 191
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 10:50 pm

librarians

Post by overseasvet2 »

Librarians seem to be a dying breed - you could do very well even without experience. Chances are you'd start at a tier 3 or 2 school but quickly move your way up. If it's your passion...go for it!
PsyGuy
Posts: 10849
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

True

Post by PsyGuy »

True librarians are becoming harder and harder to find, a lot of them are Information Systems specialists. While the endorsement or credential has become less important, you have to be able to demonstrate for a recruiter that you know what your doing and can do the job. That would be hard to do with no experience, when there are other candidates with ANY experience that would be ahead of you.

I dont know how much graduate work you would have to do to add an endorsement as a librarian? A couple of classes i would say go for it, but if you needed to essentially do a Masters degree in it, I dont think it would pay off for you.
Nomad68
Posts: 175
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 11:50 pm
Location: East of nowhere you want to be

Tough line

Post by Nomad68 »

I am a fully qualified, UK Chartered and experienced librarian and it is very tough finding work on the international circuit. I think you are facing a tough ride on this one. Lots of luck, though.
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