Experience Mandatory: Assessing the Impact of Previous Career and Educational Experience on LIS Education and the Academic Library Job Hunt

Since 2002, 97% of librarian jobs posted in American Libraries have required an American Library Association (ALA) accredited master’s degree (2004). The ALA Committee on Accreditation provides a general framework for library master’s program curriculum, “through a variety of educational experiences, for the study of theory, principles, practice, and values necessary for the provision of service in libraries and information agencies and in other contexts.” (Accreditation, 2014). ALA curriculum requirements are broad, however, so courses and requirements within ALA degree granting institutions vary immensely from program to program