（读书已经是10几年前的事，最后当图书馆员也是几年前的事，以下挂一漏万，泛泛而谈而已。）

美国图书馆学院以研究生科目为主，一般没有图书馆本科生，图书馆员的准入门槛是ALA认可的图书馆硕士。有些大学，图书馆学院也和社会或教育学院合作开些应用型本科课程，但是那些并非为正规图书馆员训练养成而用。

图书馆硕士招收范围是任何专业的本科生。但是，生源大都是文科专业，如艺术史等专业。图书馆学院一般是来者不拒。物以稀为贵，如果原专业是法律，或者工程特别是生物化工的人，将来找要求比较强专业知识的专业图书馆的工作比较更受欢迎。学电脑的读图书馆，在图书馆自动化领域也受欢迎。

图书馆学院的学生的年龄相对偏大，30岁以上，有家有口，兼职读书的很多。有些学生也挺特别，有30岁左右透着精明强干的律师，因为一起做项目，熟悉后，问她为什么读图书馆。她说，当律师太累，想当法律图书馆的图书馆员。也有50多岁的原电视主播，被电视台拿下来后，读图书馆，准备事业第二春。

还有一个70多岁老者。抗战时的是青年军。后来，又做了美国空军的翻译。抗战胜利后，老蒋信守承诺，让从军的大学生解甲，返回学校读书。这位老青年军，由国民政府公派出国留学，学成后，大陆易手。老青年军回到台湾服务，供职成功大学，他自己说做到了系主任，后来又赴美当工程师。退休后，还报乡梓，在老家捐了个小学图书馆。于是来旁听图书馆学院的课程，说是，可以指导他捐的图书馆的工作。

以我读书的学院为例。

图书馆硕士课程是12门课（美国图书馆没有本科，这12门课就是图书馆硕士所有的专业课了。），每门课3个学分，36个学分毕业。一般是3个学期，读快点，春季，秋季（常规学期）加一个夏季学期，每学期4门课，一年就可以拿硕士。一学期4门课，很轻松。以我理工本科，英语非我强项的底子，每星期还在大学图书馆打10多小时工，一学期4门课也比较轻松拿得下。

必修课4－5门，参考咨询，分类编目，藏书建设和管理，情报学概论，图书馆管理学。选修课有很多选择，如图书馆自动化，数据库检索，科技参考咨询，少儿图书馆，信息自由等等。就这些课，老美同学还挑偏文科的课读，比方说，科技咨询，当时只有我和一台湾学生选修。

每门课（除分类编目主要是听教授说以外），课堂讨论和课程论文占学习中的主要部分。需要考试的课程不到一半，考试时，有些教授也不监考，到时候来收卷子就成。读图书馆专业的老美大都是30岁以上成年人，都很自觉，也真的不需要监考。教授给成绩也很松，数据库检索考试时，那些简单的BOOLEAN SEARCH，一些AND，OR，NOT的组合，就把有些老美大娘大爷转得七荤八素。100分的卷子，考10几分的也有，教授最后也都放过。

好些课程，连考试都不需要，完全就是写些课程论文，做些项目了事。一般都没有什么死记硬背的理论。写课程论文时，没有固定答案，各自发挥，正反都可以。如果你的文章的内容论点新颖，或者干脆和教授的论点相反，只要你说的有理有据。教授不但不生气，还很赞赏，每每会拿出来，在课堂上让大家讨论。

另外，学生也可以选修实习课3－6个学分。我在大学图书馆申请到3个学分实习，100小时做参考咨询，50小时做分类编目。美国人此时也确实很大方，理工科出身的我，英文口语听力本来就不强。在大学图书馆参考阅览室做咨询，有时得接电话帮助教授学生查资料。大学图书馆居然二话不说，同意我实习。我口音很重，有天上课时，教授说，“我昨天打电话到图书馆请图书馆员帮我查个资料，我听出是你了，你不知道是我。”其实，每次电话铃响，我都紧张得很，怕听不懂简单的问题，出洋相，哪里还能听出电话那端是我的科技参考咨询那门课的教授。

我读书的学院不要求做毕业论文，但是要通过一个综合考试。准备综合考试也不是死记硬背，把必修课读的书和笔记翻翻，基本概念不要弄错了就行了。再把几本图书馆专业杂志翻翻，做议论题时，可以有些素材，就行了。

美国图书馆硕士真正读到的图书馆核心课程，一共就4－5门必修课，和中国国内的图书馆本科的理论要求可能都无法比。比方说，你要问美国图书馆员芝加哥学派是怎么回事，很多人根本就不知道。读书时，就没读到，以后就更用不到。不过图书馆主要是服务，中国国内考试时那种死记硬背考完就忘的理论标准答案（分类编目规则除外），对服务有用吗？很多东西，比方说参考咨询的工具书的使用，都是后来在工作中熟能生巧掌握的。但是，有些原则，如ALA的图书馆权利是在学校的教学和就职后的实践中潜移默化成为图书馆员信奉的“标准答案”。我后来的一个同事，真的为对抗一次很小的CENSORSHIP，准备以不惜被解雇来抗争。这些理念，不需要死记硬背，自然而然，就形成了。

就这些，毕业后就有资格申请图书馆员的职位了。好的大学图书馆因为待遇环境都好，可能会加码要求双硕士学位，但是这些都是个别的要求，也并非行业强制的准入要求。

就职后的再培训和学习，一般都是业务训练。我实习过的大学图书馆，参考咨询图书馆员有三分之一时间是用于学习研究（主要是其负责领域的参考咨询的自我培训，并非写论文），每个图书馆员都有专门的负责领域，每周，有一个讲座，由一个图书馆员向其他图书馆员介绍他（她）负责的领域里的学习研究成果。因为，平时每个图书馆员都要承担全面的参考咨询，遇到难题时，就会向负责该领域的图书馆员请教。大学图书馆一般都鼓励馆员再修第二硕士学位。

我就职过的公共图书馆，少儿服务图书馆员隔几周会一起开个会，有时也交流下服务经验，分馆的参考咨询图书馆员没有专门的交流活动。但图书馆根据职务和兴趣，有些COMMITTEE。如自动化，亚裔服务，拉丁裔服务，参考咨询等。参加那些COMMITTEE，主要谈的是这方面的工作，也有些业务交流。但是，如另文说过，该图书馆福利待遇好，如果图书馆员读第二第三硕士，市政府会返还学费。（别的城市的图书馆可能就没有这样的待遇）。但是，不象大学图书馆鼓励图书馆员再读第二硕士那样，读不读第二硕士，在公共图书馆，完全是图书馆员自己的决定，就是拿了第二硕士，升职时，好象帮助也不大。升职主要看年资，经验。

天呀，万万没有想到图书馆硕士竟是这样好读，肠子都悔青了。

悔之晚矣，没听说过吗：什么专业老中挤破头了，这专业也就很快要玩完了。

“那些简单的BOOLEAN SEARCH，一些AND，OR，NOT的组合，就把有些老美大娘大爷转得七荤八素。”

海雨又逗人。：)

谢谢介绍。我在国内的外甥女喜欢宗教(研究的角度)，由于中国没有，现在大学专业是历史系。建议她出来读个图书馆硕士，也算是实用一些。

在美国社区图书馆做图书馆员时，也有难处。缺乏西方的文史知识，跟踪不上美国的大众文化，有时也要闹大笑话。有一次，一群孩子做生物课作业，每人要描写一种禽鸟，孩子各取所好，秃头鹰，鹦鹉，鸽子，绿头鸭，鹭鸶，忙得我不亦乐乎。偏偏有个孩子，还想捎带借点别的书。问我：“你有ＬＬ　ＣＯＯＬ　Ｊ（黑人影视明星）的书吗？”，我只知道BLUE JAY，没听过叫做“ＣＯＯＬ　JAY”的鸟啊。“对不起。ＬＬ　ＣＯＯＬ　ＪAY？”我说，“Ｉ　ＤＯＮ‘Ｔ　ＫＮＯＷ　ＴＨＩＳ　ＢＩＲＤ（我不认识ＣＯＯＬ　Ｊ这只鸟）。”That kid's eyes were wide open.  If I were not too busy that time I had my way to handle it.  So that was the biggest joke I made in 5 years on that position.

I have been a librarian and later on a programmer.  I have to say to be a reference librarian is harder.  This job is much easier if you were born an American or if you have language talents.  My English was never good, specially the speaking and listening skills.   When I was in junior high, the English teacher almost wanted to throw her chalk at me once.

When I was studying for the library degree, I lived in the student dorm that helped me a lot.  There were no Chinese students living in the dorm.  Taiwan students thought the room was too small, mainland students thought it was expensive and small, almost all Chinese students hated that dorm didn't allow you cooking.  I was lazy and I didn't know how to cook anyway.  So I lived in the dorm as the only Chinese among 3000 students.

Like in my stories 马克的故事, the first day I met my roommate, he only understood one thing that my major was library science.  

Mark said later on, first, he didn't know "library had a science".  Second, he hated that he was assigned a roommate that couldn't speak English.  We were assigned together because we were the only few graduate students and who were 25 or older there.  Mark's mom told him he should help me out when he called home.

(I met some other interesting older students there too, including a guy, Scott, who killed or hurt someone in a fight when he was 18, did his time in the jail for 10 years and just got out the jail back to school).   

A few days later, Mark and I got along very well, and Mark began to know that my English was not that kind bad.  When I asked him to check out my first essay and he didn't believe that I wrote it.  So I told him I learned "mute" English, my writing was better than speaking.  He told me that in the future I should only ask him to check out my essay and I should not ask next door roommate Thomas, because Thomas' writing was much worse than mine.

One semester later, I got a job as a student assistant working in the current periodicals department in university's library.  The job was simple, and we were only allowed to answer the questions regarding to the periodicals if we had it or not, how to get them, how to use the computers and microfilm machines etc.  The rest of the questions we were supposed to direct to the librarians.  It was easy.

But the third semester, I began my field work to work as a practicing reference librarian in the university's library.  100 hours working there for 2 credits.  I only had been in United States for one year then.  It was the hardest thing for me.  And almost everyday when I went home I was very tired and sometimes I had a headache.

And I still worked as student assistant in the current periodicals department 15 hours a week then.  It was kind funny, that 5 minutes ago, I was the practicing reference librarian at the reference desk answering reference questions, and after I finish my shift, I went downstairs to work as a student assistant to make a few bucks.

If the library patrons asked me the same kind reference questions they just asked me a few minutes before when I was at the referecne desk, but due to I was a student assistant now, I would have to say "no, I cannot answer you that, I am student assistant here, you have to go upstairs to ask the referecne librarian there."

But that field work helped me landing my first real job as a reference librarian in a branch library in a large city, I only had been US for 1.5 years then.

The second day I took the job, the two senior librarians took their long overdue vacations.  And I was told that I was in charge of everything in the branch library.  

And the first few months were very hard, but after that, it became easier.  Working in the public local branch library, we were not facing too many difficult questions.  And when I talked with the library patrons face to face, most times I could understand the questions they asked.  

Almost all the times I could find a way to cover my shortage in English or culture background knowledge.  Such as that “L L Cool J” question, if I was not super busy that time, I wouldn’t make that mistake.  I would ask that kid, “Oh, you like LL Cool J?  Tell me why you like LL Cool J so much.”  The kid would say, his songs were so amazing or his movies were so cool etc.  Or if “LL COOL JAY” was truly a bird, the kid would say, I like that bird, it is beautiful and smart.  So I would know who or what “LL COOL J” was.

The difficult questions were the phone reference, I couldn’t play that “tell me why" trick on the phone.  But at the same time, the phone reference questions were usually very straightforward and I could ask for other librarians’ helps after I made the notes, without embarrassing me in front of the library patrons.  

The other librarians would be very happy to help me out because I might ask for help once or twice a month, but they would ask me for help or direct the kids to me almost every day if the kids had "difficult" math homework questions or they had computer problems.

In library service, we said there were two kinds knowledge, "you knew it" or "you knew how to find it".

After I had worked there for years,  I would know the "how to find it" knowledge like the back of my hands.  It was not like that I had 6 years experience, it was like I had 1 year experience repeating 6 times.

As for the knowledge "you knew it", it was a plus.  Math and computer science were my "you know it", and I gave free lessons to the public in the library too once a while then.

Also the library comptuer system made life much easier than before for us, such as if i don't know a word at all, in old time, i don't know where to begin with, i cannot ask the patrons to wait here i will check my dictionary first.  but in the comptuer time, i go to the comptuer, type in the words, and i don't just find the books right away, you also find the related subject headings, etc., and i can right away begin my "knowledgeable" talking with the client.

in my whole 5 years as a librarian, i only made that one big joke about LL CooJ.  I don't know "cool j" or "kull jay" or whatever it was, and there were dozens other kids waiting for me and i had no time to ask more questions to get it clear out.  now i could have a good laugh, at that time i was very embarassed but i coverd it with, "oh, i mean i would find books for your classmates about birds first, and i will then get the cool j book for you."  then i went back to the back office and asked other librarians what the hell cool j was.  they had a good laugh.

I don’t think I could handle a reference librarian job well in University library then.  Some of the professors were not easy to deal with.  When I was a student assistant working in the current periodicals department, a professor came to ask for one periodical.  I checked the system and told him we didn’t have it at all.  He was so mad, and yelled at me and made a big scene right there.  He told me that he had used it before and I had to find it out for him right away because that he had an important paper due etc.  And it was late evening hours, no librarians were on duty.  The early next morning, he came back again and brought the head of the library, he was trying to get me fired.  It ended up that he remembered it wrong, he used that periodical somewhere else.  He apologized to the head of the library and never apologized to me.

(The original old post was in English.  I may rewrite it in Chinese sometime later on when I have time)

海雨现在的英文多好，一笔下来就洋洋洒洒。：)