The Countries You May Like to Go with your American / Canadian MLIS - A literature survey

PS. What is required to work outside the United States / Canada for Library Science Graduates (aka Working Abroad by American / Canadian LIS), is a question, many ask. The answer to this is not clear to many, and professional bodies don't necessarily post this in their FAQs. As the literature survey, below, shows, there are green signals (wherein ALA accredition is recognized), yellow signals (ALA recognized, but...) and red signals (Stop: and ask the respective country's professional bodies).



Here is a thought for the day: 

"I do feel that the level of LIS education here in American is far superior to many other nations." Extract from the Librarian Alternatives Discussion Linkedin discussion: Michael H. Gelman, MLIS, MBA

"I know someone from a foreign (mideast) country who received an undergraduate degree in library science. Of course, she couldn’t get a professional job, so she went ahead and got the MLIS. Similar to someone with significant work experience in libraries prior to entering the masters program, she didn’t feel she learned anything new in the program. She’d already covered it all. Yet, she needed it. That points out two things… 1.) the MLIS is undergraduate-level work, and 2.) an undergraduate degree in library science is useless despite being essentially the same curriculum."
source: Library Journal's comment @ Library Science Majors as Unemployed as High School Dropouts November 14, 2011 By Annoyed Librarian

Literature Survey (here is a sample ask me for more):

5 Things to Know When Taking a Librarian Job Abroad : 1. The Job Titles Aren’t the Same; 2. The Workplace Culture is Different; 3. Your Responsibilities May Differ; 4. Your Job is to Provide Training;  5. Contracts and Benefits May Be Flexible – or Surprisingly Inflexible. Details are at   Hack Library School

 Oh, the Places You'll Go (with your MLIS)! | Hack Library School

Places where no additional qualifications or knowledge are required: Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore

Places where you may need to learn a new language or jump through a few more hoops: Germany, Denmark, Finland, Belgium,

• Librarians need an MLIS: True or false?
• Immigrant Librarians in Britain
• "Employment of Foreign Trained Librarians in the US and Canada: An Enquiry on Behalf of the LED Committee on Equivalencies and Reciprocity, in American Library Association Office for Library Education," (1970) [cited in Encyclopedia of library and information science, 1965. v. 57, p. 262]
• "The evaluation of international credentials and the hiring of internationally trained librarians in Canadian academic and public libraries, Keren Dali and Juris Dilevkoa, The International Information & Library Review Volume 41, Issue 3, September 2009, Pages 146-162
• Assessing the Transferability of Library and Information Science (LIS) Degrees Accredited by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), by Dana Goblaskas, Library Student Journal, February 2012 
• "Lucky Seven" in Get Started!: Library and Information Studies Programs in Canada, Canadian Library Association Blog
• ALA Abroad: A Perceived Elite, by Berry, John, Library Journal 8/1/1986, Vol. 111 Issue 13, p4 
• Oh, the Places You'll Go (with your MLIS)! | Hack Library School
• Exchange programs for Librarians@ International and Comparative Librarianship Blog
• Factors in success or failure of foreign-trained librarians in Canada
• Mister Taxman: Why Some Americans Working Abroad Are Ditching Their Citizenships, Time -- Tina Turner says she’s turning Swiss because she’s lived in Switzerland for years now. But there are tax benefits for giving up an American passport
• We move to canada, by Laura Kaminker -- A Librarian's Blog
• A Well-Kept Secret: How to Become an International School Librarian, by Laura Sanders
• Researching Careers in Foreign, Comparative, and International Law (FCIL) Librarianship, Or, It's a Wonderful Life! by Lyonette Louis-Jacques, Slaw: Canada’s online legal magazine
• Factors in success or failure of foreign-trained librarians in Canada

Exchange programs for Librarians

The team of Priscilla K. Shontz, Richard A. Murray and Tiffany Allen is doing an excellent job by posting all LIS career resources that are useful for librarians. Congrats to the team.

And from the same site is an excellent source for exchange programs. I have updated the links in this article: International Librarianship: Getting There from Here by Robin Kear

 Some places to look for short-term positions:

• IFLA LIBJOBS listserv
This listserv lists international jobs, some permanent and others short-term. This is where I found the posting for my internship in Kenya.
• World Library Partnership [link not updated since 2005]
  
• CILIP LIBEX international job exchange scheme
  
• ALA's IRRT INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES COMMITTEE
  The first URL is a librarian exchange program facilitated by the British group, Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, and the second URL is the exchange committee of ALA-IRRT. Both sites have useful links and ways to look for funding. 
  
• University of Pittsburgh’s Semester at Sea
  The University of Pittsburgh’s worldwide cruising program hires an assistant librarian each semester but you must have professional experience. (The librarian comes from the University.)

Things to Keep in Mind "Living in a foreign country is not all wonderful experiences and friendly people. The choice to work internationally leaves you without a country. Everything familiar disappears, and you miss it terribly at first, but eventually your new surroundings become your home. It is hard to sustain a marriage and family unless your partner has the same type of job or is willing to wait for you to finish your crazy adventures. There is much poverty and suffering in the world and as a resident, not a tourist, you are more likely to see and be affected by these. There are many dangerous places in the world...
Continue reading for jobs, opportunities in other fields, etc. International Librarianship: Getting There from Here

See also books by Priscilla K. Shontz and Richard A. Murray:
See also on the same shelf:

International Librarianship [Fulbright and other exchange programs]

"what are good websites for libriarian international exchange programs?" @ askville.amazon.com/

Google for more

The Best and Worst Jobs -- Ranking professions

Ranked 43. Librarian
Selects and organizes materials to make information available to the public.

Overall Ranking: 43
Overall Score: 334
Work Environment: 385.200
Physical Demands: 7.56
Stress: 21.400
Income: $52,142
Hours per Week: 42.5

Read the full list and the article: Doing the Math to Find Good Jobs

By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN
Nineteen years ago, Jennifer Courter set out on a career path that has since provided her with a steady stream of lucrative, low-stress jobs. Now, her occupation -- mathematician -- has landed at the top spot on a new study ranking the best and worst jobs in the U.S.

Interpreting Library Job Ads

...from Biblia's Warrior Librarian Weekly:

" ... extensive collection ... "
no weeding has been done for 20 years

" ... maintain archives ..."
several hundred boxes of old papers need filing

" ... multimedia skills are essential... "
we really wanted to hire a computer technician, but the board insisted on a librarian for some reason

" ... must be well organised ... "
things are so chaotic here, someone has to sort out all the mess

" ...stimulating environment ..."
free coffee provided - no de-caff

" ... ability to communicate ... "
everyone is at each other's throats

" ... have appropriate qualifications ... "
that won't be considered in our decision - we just go on gut feeling here . Humor, Much more

To correctly cite this page:
Credaro,A.B.(2002). Interpreting Library Job Ads. Warrior Librarian Weekly [online]
http://www.warriorlibrarian.com/LOL/jobads.html [Accessed:insert date]