Career Environments
Career Environments
Are you asking: Where can I best use the skills I will develop in my MLIS program? What are the different work environments where my skills might be needed and wanted? What is it like working in different LIS environments, institutions, companies?
The Career Environment pages expand on the career pathways by offering information and very specific details about what it is actually like to work in a specific LIS environment and the possible jobs and roles/responsibilities available. This information can help you focus your own career direction decisions. The Career Environment pages cover working in academic libraries, public libraries and special libraries.
Working in Academic Libraries
According to the American Library Association, there are 3,094 academic libraries in the United States, of which 2,238 are associated with four-year and above institutions and 856 with less-than-four-year colleges (for example, community colleges, vocational colleges, and similar types of schools.).
Working in Public Libraries
With over 16,000 public libraries in the United States, public libraries are embedded in communities of all types and sizes and are often described as serving community members for a lifetime. Public librarians are staunch defenders of the rights of citizens to have free access to information, and they are committed to making libraries the great equalizers in their communities.
Working in Special Libraries
According to the American Library Directory, there are approximately 6,357 special libraries or information centers (including those in government and armed forces organizations, law firms, medical organization, and religious institutions) in the United States, and their missions vary from curating specialized collections such as that of a presidential or museum library, to providing research support to staff at a hospital or to business analysts in an international consulting company.