There are a lot of underrated degrees in college and one of which is Library and Information science. Despite being one of the students enrolled in an underappreciated degree, I learned to appreciate LIS after a year of studying it.
At first, I was hesitant to pursue a LIS degree because of several factors such as the number of students interested in pursuing it, the job opportunities that are offered after graduating, and the amount of money to acquire this degree.
By experience, it can be quite discouraging that most people do not recognize the field of work that I am passionately doing. Let alone, enroll in a degree like this or to make it worse, have a pool of oblivious friends in terms of the degree I chose. But when people do appreciate and acknowledge it, it somehow sparks joy.
One of the notable things that I like about the LIS curriculum is that it allows students to explore and navigate through information resources as quickly as possible. There was a time I managed to hit the right information. It was the time where a library client asked for poems and writing references and having found it quickly while using the classification table, she gave a warm “Thank you” with a smile. It was a simple process. But because of the librarians’ effort to arrange library materials for easy access, students won’t have to spend so much time looking for information.
Aside from the training to become an ultimate search engine, I also find enjoyment in creating resources like newspaper, brochures, biography, formal letters, standardization papers, policies, budget outlay, pathfinders, abstracts, instructional videos, bibliographies, and other formats. Knowing that the curriculum isn’t limited to reading different information resources, it somehow brings excitement when I think that I can publish a children’s book, newsletters, and other print or non print materials.
Although some may argue that the curriculum isn’t aligned with the advancement of technology, I beg to differ that it does offer enough basic knowledge in technological advancement. After a thorough examination of the curriculum, I found that programming, animation, application of databases and other aspects are included. Moreover, the integration of technology in libraries is evolving. It could even include media libraries, sound libraries, graphic and assets libraries, code libraries and more.
As a library and information science student looking forward to the advancement of libraries in the age of technology, I am eager to learn more and apply it in the field of librarianship. In fact, I admire the efforts of the National Library of the Philippines. Until now, NLP continues to transform books to e-resources, augmenting them through a mobile application, creation of a highly responsive library website, visually appealing promotional contents, clear, interactive and fun video lessons, and a wide access of information sources.
I see most of the great things to come in libraries and if others think otherwise, then it is best to let them think what they want because I strongly know that LIS is not the least desired profession nor should any profession be denigrated by the number of enrollees. Every profession needs to be acknowledged solely for their purpose, not their numbers.
