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I have decided to pursue a Master’s of Library & Information Science. I am currently in the middle of gathering data for my graduate school application to Queens College. I am not yet sure whether I will be applying to any other library schools in my region (such as St. John’s, Pratt Institute, or LIU). Queens College is, by far, the most affordable ALA-accreditted library school in the NYC area. There are other schools that I can attend in New Jersey or even Canada (oh, how I would like to live in Canada one day…) but the cost of schooling and living would be astronomical, especially for someone who has $0 in savings.

Besides, I have just secured an “internship” at my school’s library. I will be volunteering there for 10-20 hours per week next semester. One day, it may actually turn into a paying gig… which would be really, really nice. (Currently, I have to continue working at my current place of work because I need the income… Even though my heart’s no longer in it. I find this to be incredibly sad.) That way, I can go to library school while simultaneously working in a library. I would then have a much better chance of getting hired for a full-time position right out of grad school, since many library listings — such as this one — require “3-5 years Library experience.”

Another nice thing about volunteering in the library will be finding out in which departments/units I really enjoy working. As one of the three librarians with whom I met yesterday said, “You might find out, for example, that you absolutely hate working in Reference. You’ll say to yourself, ‘I never want to see another patron ever again.’ At least this way, you’ll know which areas of librarianship to avoid.” With this experience, I will be able to take appropriate classes in grad school that will assist me in getting the job that I really want. I will also have an easier time looking through job listings once I know the exact position I want to attain.

That’s something else that one of the other librarians pointed out yesterday. She said that with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, I should not have problems getting hired right out of library school. “So many librarians have degrees in English, History, or even Anthropology,” she said. “Not many of them have degrees in Computer Science. The stronger your background in computers and technology, the more valuable you become to a prospective employer.” So that was nice, as she assuaged my fears of being unemployed and homeless with a Master’s degree. (I also passed this information on to my mother, who seemed to be somewhat pacified.)

In the meantime, I will be volunteering at my school’s library, working on various projects (e.g., sprucing up the library’s FAQ page, making it searchable by implementing a database) and shadowing several librarians. I will also get to work closely with the school’s AIT crew, improving the library’s website and creating a student-friendly web presence. I am very excited about this opportunity to gain valuable library experience.

The one thing that I am not excited about concerning the upcoming semester is my workload. I will be taking 6 classes (18 credits) while continuing part-time work at my current programming job, with the added workload of volunteering at my college’s library. I hope to graduate in May 2008 so that I can enter library school in September 2008. That means that I have to pass all of my classes this semester… and I am seriously in jeopardy of failing one class. If I fail this single class, my May graduation goes out the window. I will need to re-take that class in a different semester, which will be either next fall or even spring. What I may have to do is email this professor and beg him to give me a D in his class, which is actually a much more detrimental move since I cannot get rid of a D. (If I get an F in this class, my college allows me to take the class again another semester and replace the F grade. A grade of D, however, is not replaceable.)

I’m too close to the end to be failing now. Wah.