Librarian.net blogged about a recent article in Library Journal, The Entry Level Gap
By Rachel Holt & Adrienne L. Strock. This article looks at library job marked and ascertains that their won't be a librarian shortage in the years to come and that it is actually more difficult for entry level librarians to find jobs.

First paragraph:
"Data from the library job market and mounting anecdotal evidence show that there is cause for alarm. The number of full-time, professional positions in libraries is dwindling, salaries continue to be depressed, more entry-level positions are being liquidated or "deprofessionalized," and qualified job seekers are having trouble securing work. Meanwhile, an industry wide MLS recruitment drive is in full swing, ensuring another large crop of graduates will be spilled out into the job market each year. Even with this bumper crop of new professionals, library administrators complain about the lack of qualified applicants for available positions."

I think this is a very interesting article and one that will generate a lot of discussion. I agree with many aspects of this article in regards to liquidation of some positions entirely or to non-MLS employees. I think ALA and library schools need to be WAY more technology driven.

For example: How many library schools offered systems librarianship? How many offered anything close to those kind of classes? Many of the systems librarians I know either were "Accidental Systems Librarians," or they were in computers and IT in a previous career life. Given that professionals in computers tend to make more money than librarians you tend to have more accidental systems librarians rather than computer professionals turning into librarians. That is no way to advance a libraries and ALA should really start to look at re-vamping and updating their core class requirements and accreditation requirements. One way to cut down on the number of library students is to seriously weed out and eliminate woeful library schools. While this might create some short term problems, I feel if done correctly could strengthen the over all profession.

I find one area of contention within this article.
"There is also confusion over what qualifications new graduates really need in order to get a library job. Most students enter master's programs thinking that they are earning the degree that will allow them entry into the library profession. They are not aware, by and large, that library experience is essential to their success upon graduation."

My opinion is: Name a profession that allows you to automatically get a job once you have a degree. The idea that you are entitled to a job (once you obtained the degree) with no prior experience is ridiculous. For some reason I don't hear other professionals complaining about this. How many new law school grads expect to get a job if they haven't clerked somewhere? Regardless of the profession, the job marked is extremely competitive, you have to arm yourself with the most experience possible in order to win a job. In my opinion there is NO degree that gives you the on the job knowledge that employers want. That is why there are internships, clerkships, volunteers, etc. I don't know whether we have a bunch of extremely naive library students or some less than truthful library school administrators. My hunch is a little bit of both.

That being said, ALA still needs to have a curriculum that supports and allows students to have the skills necessary to find those coveted internships, thus turning the theory into practice. I know of one library school that still teaches cataloging with CARDS!!! Really, at that point, do you want to hire an intern that doesn't even know how to do online cataloging? Don't give me this whole, MARC format can be taught without a computer....It is called MAchine-Readable Cataloging!

I hope you find this article as interesting as I have.