Best MLS for Law Librarians, and Phd ? Anyone have it? Was it worth it?

[Jennifer Adams]

Wondering if some experienced librarians can give feedback on what library schools are the best for MLS (for pursuing law librarianship) and, does anyone have a PhD in library science? If so, where did you get it?
Thanks
Jen

[Sarah Glassmeyer]

I went to Indiana University and am pretty happy with the education I received for my MLS. I would suggest that you look for a SLIS school that offers lots of opportunities for jobs/internships while in school so that you can get some practical experience if you do not currently have any.

That being said, I believe that the popular consensus is that the University of Washington has the best law librarianship prep program.

[Jennifer Adams]

Thanks for the info Sarah. I have my MLS already, and I have been mentoring quite a few students. It is good to know that there is a popular opinion, and I was not aware of that. I get asked that a lot, and always draw a blank.
Thanks
Jen

[Roberta Woods]

I believe the University of Washington has a well-respected law librarian program.

[Vicenç Feliú]

Jen; US World an News Report ranks the UW program consistently as number 1 in law librarianship. I'm an alum of that program and I highly recommend it to anyone that asks.

Best;

Vicenç

[Lee Van Duzer]

There is also the MLS program at the University of Arizona with Fellowships at the James E. Rogers College of Law Library - the Fellowships are the focus for law librarianship, there is no real law component to the MLS outside two classes offered by the director of the Law Library.

[Jennifer Adams]

Thank you all for your wonderful insights. I have found that the volunteers I work with are usually willing to relocate to another state for a graduate education, so it is good to know what to recommend. Thanks again.
Jen

[Betsy McKenzie]

U. Washington is the only one still running a specialty program for law librarianship, I think, and is really stellar. Other than that, I think there are really good library & info science programs at many schools. I have a very good impression of Simmons, in Boston, of Missou, in Columbia, MO, of Syracuse, and those are just the ones whose students I have have gotten to know most.

The biggest difference I think is whether you have real library experience before and/or during library school. The people I knew who worked in libraries while they attended library school seemed to get a lot more out of their library school experience than I did, for instance. And I felt like I got so much more out of my graduate assistanceship in the government documents department at Univ. of KY than I did in the regular classes. So, I think the hand-on experience really can't be discounted.

If you don't already have some library experience, try VERY VERY hard to get a part time job of some kind in a library, or an internship before you graduate. Libraries have a totally unfair expectation to hire new librarians with real library work experience. It is so good to have something on your resume.