Reading through some blog posts, Slistopher's comment on Latasha's post "Thoughts on becoming a librarian..." stuck out: "I don’t think I will work in a library either. I came to SLIS primarily for training in archival studies, which, while related to library studies, is really a separate field. I’ve always approached archives from a historical perspective (my background–I’m biased), but I think I’ve gotten a lot out of my more library-focused classes. I still don’t know with any certainty where I think archival studies as a discipline belongs (LIS programs? History programs? By itself?), but I think I will benefit a lot from the library skills I’ve gotten at SLIS."
I wish there was a specialized program that combined History/Museum Studies/Archives/LIS. I took the only museum studies course offered at UA (in 2004) and loved it! I had a tough time deciding between a Museum Studies program and SLIS, and we all know what I ending up choosing.
I will also say this, as much as I have loved my time in SLIS, I think it is crazy that I have not had the chance to take an archival studies course until my last semester (June 2015). There just doesn't seem to be much of an offering for those interested. Or maybe my problem is I literally want to take ALL OF THE CLASSES and don't have the time in the semesters to do so...
I wish there was a specialized program that combined History/Museum Studies/Archives/LIS. I took the only museum studies course offered at UA (in 2004) and loved it! I had a tough time deciding between a Museum Studies program and SLIS, and we all know what I ending up choosing.
I will also say this, as much as I have loved my time in SLIS, I think it is crazy that I have not had the chance to take an archival studies course until my last semester (June 2015). There just doesn't seem to be much of an offering for those interested. Or maybe my problem is I literally want to take ALL OF THE CLASSES and don't have the time in the semesters to do so...
I can see a lot of continuing professional education in your future .. learning doesn't stop after graduation :-)
ReplyDeleteOn that note, be sure to negotiate for professional development monies before accepting that first professional position after graduation!
I think it would be awesome to take a museum studies class! I plan to keep taking classes (in some capacity) even after I finish my formal graduate training. I agree with your statement about wanting to take more classes than you have time for (I took 12 hours this semester for that very reason). I'm really glad that I took metadata (as one of my 12 hours this semester) because I think it is very applicable to anyone entering a job in the information professions. A lot of what we learned is relevant to libraries, archives, and museums, and I think that gives us a lot of options when pursuing employment.
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