The New-Lib listserv is all abuzz right now about that sticky thing called the GRE. If you aren’t familiar with the term, it’s the Graduate Record Exam and tests you in some the major core areas which I can’t remember right now and am admittedly too lazy to go find out about. I did take the GRE. Mostly I did really well except in the part that required math skills because I’ve forgotten about everything I ever learned in College Algebra, which was the only math class I took in college. I was a music major. Basically all I needed to do was count to three. And I actually did study. I bought one of those review books with the CD-Rom and spent some time preparing. Can’t say if that really helped me out or not. But I helped pay someone’s weekly wage with what I spent on that book.

Personally, I don’t see a problem with requiring the GRE or something equivalent to that. And I don’t say that just because I had to take it for my program (which was, and still is, one of the better LIS programs out there, imo.) As a few people pointed out, it’s not a bad thing to have some basic requirements besides the application. I have to wonder about those programs that don’t require things like a GRE, a writing sample, statement of intent, and minimum GPA. And I’m sure it’s not only LIS programs that do this if anybody wanted to do some research into it. But, I digress.

Like most people, I don’t like the idea that our grad programs are a joke. So, how do we fix this? Who should fix this? What does an excellent LIS program look like, from getting admitted to the graduated degreed librarian? How do we put value into our education and our field?

Pretty serious questions these and there are so many different points of view. I don’t have any good answers to them.

Despite the mess that all this seems to be, there are great people working in libraries. Is this in spite of our education? And how do we explain those people who haven’t bothered (and potentially wasted their money) on the grad degree who are often better “librarians” than those with the MLS.

This obviously is a many faceted problem. Am I even asking the right questions?