Simmons College

Our alumni work as medical and law librarians, archivists, rare-book specialists, reference and periodicals librarians, specialists in literacy and children's literature, catalogers, preservation managers, Web designers, digital asset managers, publishers, information architects, and knowledge managers. They choose careers in the academic, public, corporate, special, and school library sectors, as well as in archives.

To learn more about careers in your field, please explore the links below:

Library and Information Science

• U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook
  The Librarians section gives a comprehensive outlook and general description of work, working conditions, employment outlook, necessary training and qualifications, earnings, related occupations and sources for additional information.
• "Value of the Information Professional"
  Explore the field of special librarianship, read the Competencies for Information Professionals, and see how special librarians provide value-added services at the Special Library Association's Web site.
• ALA Careers in Libraries
  Describes the different types of librarianship (both professional and support-staff positions) and provides information about librarianship in general, including two articles, "Places an M.L.S. Can Take You: Alternative Careers for Librarians" and "The Top Ten Reasons to Become a Librarian." Also see the Divisions page to explore the homepages of the Association for Library Service to Children, the Library Administration and Management Association, and the Library and Information Technology Association, to name a few.
• Association of College and Research Libraries
  Scroll down to the bottom of the page to read past columns in the "Jobs of a Lifetime" series. For example, "Observations of an Observatory Librarian" (written by the solo librarian at University of Arizona's Parker Library Steward Observatory), "When Your Campus is Alaska" (written by the off-campus librarian at University of Alaska-Fairbanks), and "Around the World in 100 Days" (written by the Semester-at-Sea librarians).
  
  Also check out links for the following specialties:
  • Art Librarianship
  • Indexing
  • Information Architecture
  • Law Librarianship
  • Medical Librarianship
  • Music Librarianship
  • Public Librarianship
  • Reference and User Services
  • Theological Librarianship

Archives and Preservation Management

• U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook
  The "Archivists, Curators, and Museum Technicians" section gives a comprehensive outlook and general description of work, working conditions, employment outlook, necessary training and qualifications, earnings, related occupations, and sources for additional information.
• So You Want to Be an Archivist: An Overview of the Archival Profession
  Describes what archives are, the work of archivists, archival repositories, qualifications for employment, and salaries and benefits.
• SCoSAA
  The Web site for the Simmons College Student Chapter of the Society of American Archivists.

School Library Teachers

• School Librarianship as a Career
  This guide, developed by the American Association of School Librarians, presents a bibliography of resources about becoming a school library teacher. Also be sure to explore the AASL's Web site.
• International Association of School Librarianship
  A huge directory of links including newsletters, conference information, toolkits, and e-mail distribution lists revolving around school librarianship.
• "Want to Change the World? Become a School Librarian"
  Statistics on school librarians from the Pennsylvania School Librarian Association.