LETTER TO FUTURE LIBRARY SCIENCE STUDENTS

Yesterday i met a young lady who asked me to advice her on whether librarianship is a profession she can pursue.  It pushed me to write this letter to the future library science students, sharing my thoughts and experiences as a young professional librarian. here goes:

Dear Future Library Science Students

I write this letter to enlighten you on my thoughts and experiences in the library science environment. 10 years ago i was faced with a critical decision on the programme to undertake at the National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo. My first option was a commercial programme. Library and Information Science was never one of my options. A kind professor X (name withheld), a good friend of my father, offered to advise me. That was the day he changed my life. He pointed out that most people want to go the commercials way, that is, accounting, finance, banking and so on, but the fact is that market is flooded. There is more than 20 universities and colleges in the country that graduate thousands of commercials students into the market. He made me realise that library and information science is not saturated. It is fairly new. There has been an information explosion and huge gaps in the market. I understood his advice. I enrolled for Library and Information Science. Four years later i graduated, got a job in a local university and i have loved every moment. I love being a librarian.

Library and Information Science does not limit graduates to library jobs only. The LIS graduate can be an information resources specialist, documentation officer/manager, metadata analyst, researcher, information consultant, school media specialist, and so on.

For more job suggestions, follow the link below: 
http://infospace.ischool.syr.edu/2011/12/23/61-non-librarian-jobs-for-librarians/

Looking forward to meeting you in future.

Yours faithfully

The young professional librarian