I went to Madison. It was a pretty good program for the public and academic library tracks. Don't go there if you want to be a cataloger/metadata specialist or an archivist. My boss, a public library manager at a small town in Wyoming who's never even been to the Midwest, loves UW-Madison--he says the quality of applicants from that school is on average very high (and he's hired two UW-Madison grads within the last year, so I guess it's true?). I'm guessing this is because one thing UW-Madison does a great job of is providing career services in the form of workshops and panels on job seeking and interviewing and cover letters, etc., and resume and cover letter critiques by actual library directors, and mock interviews, and so on. It seems like while I was there there were one or two career-focused events per month
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This was super in-depth; thank you so much! I did hear that Madison is awesome for hands-on experience and community engagement (Allied Drive Literacy Time as one example), but also how the archives program is more than lacking. (Another source says there's no archive faculty for this year.)
I'm sure I'll have more ?s re: the program itself, so I just might take you up on your offer of brain picking!
I grew up in Milwaukee and went to college in Madison. Madison really is a wonderful place, and I'd choose living there over Milwaukee any day. The East Side of Milwaukee, where UWM is located, does have some appeal, but it's been getting a bit worse as a neighborhood. (Then again, so has Madison, some.) Madison is a little liberal island, split between the state government and the university, with lots of art and quirkiness. Milwaukee is a nice city, but has more big-city problems. That said, it IS a bigger city, and will offer more choices in lifestyle, etc.. It's also a cheaper place to live, though you do need to be cautious about where
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Indeed part of what attracts me to Madison is its reputation as a fairly liberal city, but in general I'm more keen on big(ger) cities. I'm curious as to what you meant by neighborhoods "getting a bit worse," though.
Anyway, thanks for replying. I feel like many folks have more experience with Madison, so I'm glad to hear your perspective on Milwaukee as well.
I've never been to Milwaukee, but I did my undergrad degree at UW-Madison. My experience was somewhat different than the other two commenters'. It's a VERY party-oriented school, which I found extremely annoying (lots of drunk people being loud and wandering the streets at 2am), and the academic atmosphere was much more laid back and less rigorous than I expected/wanted from my college. I didn't take any library-related courses so I can't speak to that program specifically, but it was something I saw in basically every department I did take classes from.
I also have never been to Milwaukee, but got my MLIS from UW-Madison and found your observations from undergrad were what I experienced as a grad student. I found the program to be far from rigorous and much of the content felt ten or fifteen years behind the times. Madison as a town was particularly stifling for me, and I frequently regretted not selecting a program in a larger city with more opportunities professionally and socially (-even though I have spent most of my life in places smaller than Madison). I love libraries and librarianship, but found almost all of my classes there bland. A huge disappointment after adoring my undergrad school and enjoying the library ventures I've had.
Also, I strongly recommend visiting Madison before potentially moving there, as my thoughts and experiences of it as a city are nearly the polar opposite of the first commenter. If I had visited first, I never would have lived there for two years.
I appreciate hearing about your experience with Madison, particularly as many folks seem to rave about the city as well as the school.
What do you mean when you referred to the LIS content being "behind the times?" Do you think that there was too much emphasis on discussing "what it means to be a librarian," "the role of the information professional in the 21st century world," etc.? Or is the program not technologically progressive, not as into employing tech in the field?
Re: visits -- If I can manage it, I'll definitely attempt to physically check out the programs I end up selecting!
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I'm sure I'll have more ?s re: the program itself, so I just might take you up on your offer of brain picking!
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Indeed part of what attracts me to Madison is its reputation as a fairly liberal city, but in general I'm more keen on big(ger) cities. I'm curious as to what you meant by neighborhoods "getting a bit worse," though.
Anyway, thanks for replying. I feel like many folks have more experience with Madison, so I'm glad to hear your perspective on Milwaukee as well.
Have a great weekend!
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What do you mean when you referred to the LIS content being "behind the times?" Do you think that there was too much emphasis on discussing "what it means to be a librarian," "the role of the information professional in the 21st century world," etc.? Or is the program not technologically progressive, not as into employing tech in the field?
Re: visits -- If I can manage it, I'll definitely attempt to physically check out the programs I end up selecting!
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And which is why I'm also carefully researching funding opportunities. :)
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