Non-Library Jobs for Library School Graduates

Whenever I tell people that I'm attending library school, they almost always ask me, "So, you're going to be a librarian?" Maybe. Or maybe not. You can go in so many different career directions with a Master of Library Science (MLS) degree that librarian is not your only job option.
 

Heather Halpin Perez, archival consultant for Boardwalk Empire, at work.
Image via lj.libraryjournal.com

Take, for instance, Heather Halpin Perez. Her position at the Atlantic City Free Public Library in New Jersey led to her being a consultant for the hit HBO show Boardwalk Empire. The producers of the cable television show seek out Perez for her archival expertise in order to ensure that the show is as historically accurate as possible. Ed McGinty, lead researcher for Boardwalk Empire, told the Atlantic City Free Press, "Heather is just so knowledgeable. Whenever I need some specifics, say a photograph...anything I can't find anywhere else, I call her."

Being an archival consultant like Perez is just one career you could have as a graduate of a library science program. Mia Breitkopf has come up with sixty more. In an article for Information Space, a blog of Syracuse University's School of Information Studies, Breitkopf compiled an eye-opening list of nontraditional jobs for MLS degree holders. In coming up with the list, Breitkopf said she was struck by the "many postings out there for jobs that demand the skills and knowledge of MLS degree holders but aren't traditional librarian jobs." This caused her to wonder: "How many human resources folks are posting non-librarian jobs that require MLS skills and knowledge?"

Here is a partial list, in no particular order, of non-librarian jobs for library school graduates, as compiled by Breitkopf:
 

• Web analytics manager
• Information resources specialist
• Curator, media resource center
• Head of access services
• Metadata analyst
• Digital manuscripts project manager
• Intelligence associate
• Research coordinator
• Records and information manager
• University archivist/professor
• Automation coordinator
• Teaching and services learning coordinator
• Acquisitions team leader
• Business researcher
• Digital archives system administrator
• Documentation specialist

To see the complete list of nontraditional career options, go to Mia Breitkopf's article "61 Non-Librarian Jobs for LIS Grads" at THIS LINK.

Meet the 'Boardwalk Empire' Librarian

In 2006, when Heather Halpin Perez began working at the Atlantic City Free Public Library in New Jersey, little did she know her name would one day be connected to one of the most critically acclaimed shows in cable television history.

Image source: http://www.imaginaryforces.com via HBO

Perez works as an archivist in the library's local history section, the Alfred M. Heston Collection. In the course of a usual day, she assists people in piecing together their family histories, helps authors who are doing research for their books, and answers research questions asked by city officials. But then she gets a phone call from Ed McGinty, a native of Atlantic City and the lead historical researcher for the HBO show Boardwalk Empire.

"The archive is an incredible resource," McGinty told the Press of Atlantic City. "Heather is just so knowledgeable about what's in there. Whenever I need some specifics, say a photograph...anything I can't find anywhere else, I call her."

Heather Halpin Perez, at right, offers her expertise for HBO's Boardwalk Empire.
Image source: http://www2.newsadvance.com

Perez is often called on to locate a photograph or provide a newspaper article or historical account so that McGinty and others on the Boardwalk Empire staff can make the show as historically accurate as possible. But "it's historical fiction," Perez told the News & Advance. "So they've taken some liberties."

For her contributions to Boardwalk Empire, Perez sees her name among the show's end credits; she's listed as "historical consultant." However, she insists that she's not on the show's payroll and that she "doesn't do anything for Boardwalk Empire that she wouldn't do for anyone else who calls or visits the library with questions on Atlantic City's past," according to the Press of Atlantic City.

When Perez decided to go into library science, she "didn't do it for the glamour," she told the News & Advance. "I've always been interested in old stories and working with old photographs and scrap booking. It was an opportunity to do something I really enjoy."

On assisting the makers of Boardwalk Empire, Perez said, "It was a chance to let Atlantic City shine, and that's really what my job is about."

To read more on Perez, the "Boardwalk Empire Librarian," go HERE and HERE.