<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Well, you've opened a real can of worms with that question -- and one which probably doesn't belong on this list. So I'll just say that current industry standards equate "professional librarian" with someone who has at least a Master's degree in library science [or, information science]. I sometimes refer to my non-MLS-degreed colleagues as "librarians" as a courtesy [they mostly have Bachelors degrees in other subjects] but in actuality they are "Library Assistants" and their job descriptions are quite different from mine.<div><br></div><div>But this is an on-going debate in the field, for a variety of reasons, so you'll get different answers from different people.</div><div><br></div><div>Susanna de l'Essart</div><div><br><div><div>On Aug 23, 2008, at 12:00 PM, <a href="mailto:sca-librarians-request@lists.gallowglass.org">sca-librarians-request@lists.gallowglass.org</a> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">"She doesn't appear to be a professional librarian, even though all <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">the newspapers are labeling her as one.". Well, your quote calls her <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">a "library employee". Again, as a non-librarian, what is the <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">difference between a "professional librarian" and a "librarian"? <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Having a degree in library science? The actual work done in the job <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">at the library?</font></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Stefan</font></p> </blockquote></div><br></div></body></html>