AboutRobert H. Kieserman, MBA, MLIS Expertise I am a consultant to public and special libraries and I specialize in library management and administration. I am able to answer questions about library science as a career as well as about the general topic of library science and how libraries work and the services they provide.
Experience I have an MBA, an MLIS degree, I am a business professor, I have written four books on entrepreneurship, and have been a expert in another management area (healthcare) for AllExperts with a consistently high rating for over two years.
Organizations the American Library Association, the Library Administration and Management Association, the Public Library Association, and the Medical Library Association
Publications I have written for numerous national publications on the issues of marketing, human resources management, and strategic management.
Education/Credentials MBA in Accounting and a MLIS
Awards and Honors honored for my teaching by Sigma Beta Delta
Question I hold a J.D. degree and have been practicing law for 2 years. I am currently pursuing an MLS degree with an online program.
I have heard via online posts that Librarian positions are filled by non-MLS degreed persons when an MLS grad cannot be found. Is this true? Are MLS grads scarce? If so, could I now be considered for an MLS required Librarian position based on my educational background and current MLS studies?
Answer Christina:
It depends on what kind of library job you are seeking. Most law libraries, whether in a firm or part of a law school, require the combination of a J.D. degree and an MLIS. Public libraries may hire you for a professional position while you are in library school with the condition that you complete your MLIS. The fact that you have a law degree would probably not be relevant to their decision to hire you. However, a special library (corporate library, medical library, news library, etc.), typically only interested in MLIS graduates, may have interest in you before you finish your MLIS since you already have the law degree and have practiced law, and are now in library school. Some academic libraries may also have interest in hiring you before you get the MLIS, again since you have the credential of the law degree. My big question is why, after going through law school and practicing, are you now interested in becoming a librarian? When I attended library school, I also had attorneys in my class. Most of them were planning careers in law librarianship.
Write back if you have other questions. Good luck!
