(I couldn't reply before because I was up to my eyeballs in a
project that had to be finished.)
    Sorry, Anita--I didn't mean to push you over the edge, nor to
imply that an MLS program is useless.  Matter of fact, my former
supervisor who got his MLS after getting an MA in history said many
times that he thought that much of what he learned in library school
(how to find info) should have been part of the MA in history
program.
    The point I was trying to make (and obviously I rambled too much)
is that a "professional degree" is no magic bullet.  To get support
for an institution (or for the field in general), one has to get out
there and hustle.  To get public support, the public has to be
convinced that the thing is worth paying for.  Said public may be
impressed by "certification" or "professional standards" or
whatever, but the nitty-gritty will always be:  "What's in it for
us?  Why should we pay for it?"
    After the public library here lost out, some jerk actually wrote
a letter to the editor saying that he had voted against it because he
believes that people who don't use the library shouldn't be obliged
to pay for it...
 
 Nan Lawler
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