Arriving Somewhere

I’m thinking about going back to school for a Post-Master’s Certificate. Does this make me a glutton for punishment? As an academic librarian I have access to this wonderful thing called “tuition remission” which basically translates to free tuition for a max of four classes per year. I’ve thought and thought about taking classes for fun that would lead to an M.A. in History or Philosophy or Literature or whatever, but I’ve found myself coming back to Library & Information Science. For my career I think an MBA in IT Management would be ideal, but since MPOW doesn’t have such a degree a Post-Master’s in LIS would give me the opportunity to tailor the degree to my particular interests in libraries.

First, of course I have to consider whether I truly want to go back to school. I won’t be leaving my job, so that would mean school on top of work. But if I only go one class at a time, it shouldn’t be too bad, right? I think the only thing that might hold me back is the time factor. Time for family and time for me. If I go back, I’ll have to remember that finishing is not critical. I say that because I have a bit of a workaholic streak in me — I become super focused on achieving a goal to the detriment of all else. Family comes first, and if school begins to affect that in a negative manner it will be okay to take a break. I said it, so please hold me accountable.

Second, I have to figure out exactly what my program of study will consist of! The post-master’s program at CUA is very flexible and from my initial investigation it looks as though half my time will be spent doing independent studies (If I’m spending this much time on my own research should I just go for a Ph.D.?). I do have some ideas about how I’ll construct my course of study — mostly around the dual areas of IT management and the application of emerging technologies in libraries. At least that’s what I’m thinking right now, but I’ll save that for another post.

Anyone out there doing post-grad or doctoral work in library science? What do you think?

The next three days I’ll be hanging out in Crystal City at the Computers in Libraries conference. The sessions look pretty good — I’m especially excited about a day-long track about the “Next-Gen Catalog Interface“. Right up my alley.

This will be my third CiL and while I’ve enjoyed each one, I’m considering a more “techie” conference next year. Perhaps the ASIS&T annual conference in Columbus (nov 2008) or the code4lib conference at Brown University (feb 2009). ASIS&T did reject my paper last year so perhaps that should count against them Either way, I’ll be traveling.