Is the MLS Necessary? Rethinking Library Science Education

Abstract

These are sentiments the authors of this piece hear regularly. They are often whispered among library professionals that are hesitant to go “on the record” to question the current state of library science education.

Despite any hesitancy to voice concerns about our educational processes, the profession engaged in heated debate about the need for an MLS during the rather contentious search for an American Library Association Executive Director when Keith Michael Fiels retired in 2017. At that time, articles were written supporting or questioning the need for the MLS in this administrative position. In fact, John Berry noted that to disregard the MLS as a requirement or “dilute it by calling it preferred, not required, is to devalue it and the professionalism of the librarians who have earned it.” When ALA was again in search of a new executive director in 2024, these sentiments about the need for an MLS bubbled up, although not as contentiously as in the past.