Veterans show how LIS skills apply to television, newspapers, Web sites, more

–If you have a LIS degree, maybe you should consider working in movies, or for CNN. Many librarians work in media environments, including newspapers, television and movie studios, all of which require skilled librarians to develop and manage their archives of film, text and other resources. They may be called ‘researcher,’ ‘media manager’ or ‘information manager,’ but these employees are nevertheless highly qualified information professionals. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to put your library skills to work outside the library, A Handbook for Media Librarians will tell you what to expect.

This practical guide, published by Facet Publishing and available from Neal-Schuman Publishers, explores the issues of central importance for media librarians, archivists, catalogers and researchers working for television studios, newspapers and other media-based organizations.

“Media Librarians have a low profile in the information profession and among their employers,” says editor Katharine Schopflin. “Academic, legal and public librarians are often intrigued to discover that some of their peers work for the same people who provide their television programmes and daily newspaper.”

With chapters contributed by nine practitioners who have experienced the media industry firsthand, the book will equip librarians and information professionals with the information necessary to address online subscriptions, news databases, the cataloging of television programs, and more. It will make excellent reading for students of library and information science who wonder what else they could do with their degree.

“Media companies, producing vast quantities of content in an increasing variety of formats, need people both to help them fill up column inches, pages of hours, and to organize this content afterwards so that it can be found again,” says Schopflin. “The profession offering the best skills to meet that need is librarianship and information services.”

A Handbook for Media Librarians
ISBN 978-1-85604-634-0. 2008. 8½ x 11. 350 pp. $125.00