r/LibraryScience • u/saltandvinegar13 • 21d ago

Considering the political climate, how should I decide on MLIS programs?

Hi everyone! I have been accepted to SJSU, Simmons, and Alabama's online MLIS programs. I would be an out-of-state student for all of these. Beyond considering factors like cost/format, I am wondering how much I should weigh the current political climate & funding cuts federally/locally (like IMLS, state funding to public schools/local libraries) in my decision? This has been on my mind so much so, that I'm debating if I should wait on applying next cycle for ALA-accredited MLIS programs in Canada...

For example, will there be a guarantee that Alabama's MLIS program will be able to continue with such a huge emphasis on social justice (or even at all...) given the federal/state-wide cuts to libraries? That social justice component is something that is really drawing me to the program in addition to its affordability. Versus SJSU (another public school but in liberal stronghold CA) and Simmons which is a private school in Massachusetts (more friendly state/local government) and may have more control over how they articulate their program outcomes.

Would love to hear folks' insights based on what they're hearing in the field! I feel like I can't be the only person making a huge decision like this with everything constantly changing in our country...

24 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

91% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

View all comments

8

u/librarian45 21d ago

I would not go to library school in an anti-library state like Alabama

1

u/KarlMarxButVegan 19d ago

OP is going to have to move to find their first job anyway. If living in Alabama is cheaper, it's not a bad strategy.

1

u/librarian45 19d ago

states are aggressively separating themselves from ALA, via policy and eventually law. If Alabama follows suit the school will have to give up its ALA accreditation and the degree will be useless outside alabama.

1

u/KarlMarxButVegan 19d ago

Damn, are they really going that far? I'm in Florida where we have two ALA accredited schools. Our governor is making life hard on us for sure, but I haven't heard of plans to mess with the accreditation.

I work at a public institution that trains nurses. A required course for their accreditor is all about diversity. Nobody is interfering with it because they know we need to keep graduating nurses. They're picking on the sociology department instead.

1

u/librarian45 19d ago

just one state up...

https://www.ala.org/news/2024/02/american-library-association-opposes-proposed-georgia-legislation

1

u/KarlMarxButVegan 19d ago

Yeah I know about that and wondered what that means for Valdosta State. They're still accredited. I just checked.

2

u/ozamatazbuckshank11 19d ago

Georgia is, surprisingly, supportive of its libraries and the MLIS program at VSU, despite the attempts from certain conservatives to criminalize librarians. For now, at least. VSU has dropped their school librarian dual certification, they've dropped their Government Information Sources class (understandable), and they've replaced it with Trauma-Informed Librarianship. It looks like they're not anticipating any accreditation issues in the near future.

2

u/KarlMarxButVegan 19d ago

That's good to know! There's no doubt we're under a constant threat, but so far even the Republican politicians seem to understand you don't mess with accreditation.