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Librianship degree equivalency

Librianship degree equivalency

Old Jan 7th 2012, 5:31 pm
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Default Librianship degree equivalency

Are there any librarians in the forum that received their degree (or certification) in the UK but have since moved to US? I have an MA from Brighton Uni.
I’ve had a quick look into the agencies that ‘convert’ or evaluate degrees but I’d like to hear if any librarians have had any experience with this. Is it worth it, recommendations for agencies, how long did the process take?
I have plenty of post qualification experience and the ALA (professional body in US) website states that a degree accredited by CILIP (professional body in UK) “is considered acceptable for employment in the United States”. I’m sure I can’t be the first librarian going through this process.

…And yes, you can get a degree in librarianship – had a whole module on shushing (there is a mastery in the placement of the index finger over the lips).
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Old Jan 7th 2012, 5:43 pm
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Talking Re: Librianship degree equivalency

Originally Posted by MellD
…And yes, you can get a degree in librarianship – had a whole module on shushing (there is a mastery in the placement of the index finger over the lips).
That's a turn-up for the books


Jim.
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Old Jan 7th 2012, 11:56 pm
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Default Re: Librianship degree equivalency

Who you use to transfer the qualifications is going to depend on who's asking, so no point doing it in advance as they're pretty meaningless on their own.

How you getting to the US anyway?
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Old Jan 8th 2012, 4:52 am
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Default Re: Librianship degree equivalency

Originally Posted by Bob
Who you use to transfer the qualifications is going to depend on who's asking, so no point doing it in advance as they're pretty meaningless on their own.

How you getting to the US anyway?
The OP is a USC.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showp...&postcount=971
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Old Jan 8th 2012, 7:41 am
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Default Re: Librianship degree equivalency

Thanks for the responses.

Yes, I'm a USC. I came here as a spouse at 19, so both my degrees are British.

I was hoping on hold out on the agencies until I'm asked. I'm interested in hearing any real experiences.
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Old Jan 8th 2012, 3:25 pm
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Default Re: Librianship degree equivalency

The degree you need to be a librarian here is the Masters of Information and Library Science, MLIS, and very few colleges offer it. You may want to try contacting ones who do to see if there is some sort of conversion and how much your qualifications match it up. I don't know if you can just transfer it. Also, some states require you have a teaching license if you want to work as a librarian in a school.
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Old Jan 8th 2012, 6:35 pm
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Default Re: Librianship degree equivalency

Originally Posted by MellD
... and the ALA (professional body in US) website states that a degree accredited by CILIP (professional body in UK) “is considered acceptable for employment in the United States”.
I was going to suggest that you contact the relevant US professional body - but I see you already have. I assume your qualification is accredited by the UK professional body...in which case all you need is proof of your degree. If a prospective employer asks for more, you can jump off that bridge when you get to it.
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Old Jan 8th 2012, 6:48 pm
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Default Re: Librianship degree equivalency

Because I was a 'Friend of the Library' of the local public library here (until I got fed up with the in-fighting ) I was looking at what qualifications they were asking for and it seemed to only be a bachelor's degree which included an element of library studies.

Last edited by Sally Redux; Jan 8th 2012 at 6:50 pm.
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Old Jan 8th 2012, 8:53 pm
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Default Re: Librianship degree equivalency

I'm a librarian at a liberal arts college. As you know, and as others have mentioned, the degree here is the MLS.. I got my degree at Simmons College in Boston. But you'll be fine with the UK equivalent. Most jobs specify "ALA approved MLS" but "or foreign equivalent" would generally be implied. The good news is, a lot of librarians are of retirement age just now so a lot of jobs are opening up and many posts have to be re-advertised because of a lack of good applicants.
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Old Jan 8th 2012, 9:12 pm
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Default Re: Librianship degree equivalency

Originally Posted by MellD
Are there any librarians in the forum that received their degree (or certification) in the UK but have since moved to US? I have an MA from Brighton Uni.
I’ve had a quick look into the agencies that ‘convert’ or evaluate degrees but I’d like to hear if any librarians have had any experience with this. Is it worth it, recommendations for agencies, how long did the process take?
I have plenty of post qualification experience and the ALA (professional body in US) website states that a degree accredited by CILIP (professional body in UK) “is considered acceptable for employment in the United States”. I’m sure I can’t be the first librarian going through this process.

…And yes, you can get a degree in librarianship – had a whole module on shushing (there is a mastery in the placement of the index finger over the lips).
You'd think a librarian would be able to spell the word
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Old Jan 8th 2012, 9:38 pm
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Default Re: Librianship degree equivalency

Originally Posted by N1cky
You'd think a librarian would be able to spell the word
Interesting, I'm a librarian and I didn't notice the spelling error! It's one of those entire syllable missing things.. I do that all the time when I'm typing..
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Old Jan 8th 2012, 9:48 pm
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Default Re: Librianship degree equivalency

Originally Posted by MellD
Are there any librarians in the forum that received their degree (or certification) in the UK but have since moved to US? I have an MA from Brighton Uni.
I’ve had a quick look into the agencies that ‘convert’ or evaluate degrees but I’d like to hear if any librarians have had any experience with this. Is it worth it, recommendations for agencies, how long did the process take?
I have plenty of post qualification experience and the ALA (professional body in US) website states that a degree accredited by CILIP (professional body in UK) “is considered acceptable for employment in the United States”. I’m sure I can’t be the first librarian going through this process.

…And yes, you can get a degree in librarianship – had a whole module on shushing (there is a mastery in the placement of the index finger over the lips).
What kind of librarian job are you looking for? Academic, public, school, special library? Generally speaking, in the academic or special sphere an additional degree is usually preferred; for instance, if you want to work in a business library, you'd usually need an MBA, in a law library, a JD, and in academia, an additional degree is usually preferred; a PhD, or an MA in a subject (history, computer science, whatever.)

Public & school library jobs are not that frequent these days... Budget cuts are starting to bite. As I mentioned in my previous post, academic library jobs are still looking pretty healthy.
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Old Jan 8th 2012, 9:49 pm
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Default Re: Librianship degree equivalency

Originally Posted by robin1234
Interesting, I'm a librarian and I didn't notice the spelling error! It's one of those entire syllable missing things.. I do that all the time when I'm typing..
I do it all the time too. My home town ends in field, but I constantly put filed.
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Old Jan 8th 2012, 9:50 pm
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Default Re: Librianship degree equivalency

Oops!

Thanks for the replys. Feeling a bit more relaxed now.
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Old Jan 8th 2012, 10:00 pm
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Default Re: Librianship degree equivalency

Currently working in health, previously worked in academic. I'd like to stay in health. I've looked at dozens of job adverts and most seem not to mention foreign degrees or state 'or equivalent'. I come across one recently that mentions foreign transcript evaluation.
Sorry for spelling, thinking faster than I type. Guess I should take 'eye for detail' off my cv.
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