Message-Id: <mailto:199411232244.QAA00959@library.wustl.edu> Date: Wed, 23 Nov 1994 17:22:45 -0500 From: "Benjamin R. Kessler" <mailto:SLIDES@PUCC.bitnet> Subject: Re: Position Description To: Multiple recipients of list IMAGELIB
On November 23, I. Gribovsky wrote, regarding a University of Chicago position opening for curator of visual resources:>I find it rather disturbing, speaking as a librarian and a professional, that
>a position such as this one would not require a MLIS (Master of LIbrary and
>Information Studies) or and MLS (Master of Library Studies), but that a
>candidate with no library background and an arts degree would be the preferred
>candidate...especially since this position seems to involve management of
>personnel, budgeting, and database management (all of which are part of
>librarianship in the 1990's). Nor does any previous experience in libraries
>appear to be requisite for this position, either.
>Perhaps I could understand a requirement for BOTH degrees, i.e. a MSL plus an
>MA; but an MA ONLY??? What do other librarians have to say about this?
This is a thorny issue for which there is no simple answer. As a member of the ARLIS/VRA Joint Task Force on Professional Issues in visual resources, I am currently wrestling with a position statement on educational qualifi- cations (I have previously published on this issue).
Ideally, the MLS and the MA in the subject discipline would both be desired. Unfortunately, most positions in this field do not offer enough of a salary to justify the time and expense of pursuing both degrees. In my estimation, neither degree standing alone is sufficient. Further, there is a certain amount of necessary know-how that can only be had from practical experience in a VR collection (it is perfectly feasible to have both an MLS and an MA in Art History and still not have the foggiest notion of how to run a VR collection). I am attempting to define a level of qualification that would depend on one degree or the other, plus a certain amount of verifiable courswork in the other field, plus practical experience.
Ben Kessler Director, Slide and Photograph Collections Princeton University