The degree needed for becoming a librarian is a Master’s in library and information science. Other institutions might call it library science, information science, or it might just be a school of information.
This is a relatively short program as far as graduate school goes, as the degree usually takes 2 years to complete. Working professionals often take longer as they take a few classes at a time, while highly motivated students are able to complete the degree in just 1 year. There are also many online programs that allow maximum flexibility depending on your personal situation.
There is another important point to add, however. The library and information science master’s degree is required for positions that are officially “librarian.” But these are far from the only jobs in the library. There are library paraprofessionals, often called assistants or support staff, whose jobs do not require any graduate work. Most often these jobs do require either a bachelor’s or possibly just a high school diploma.
The general public often forgets that not everyone seen behind a library desk is a librarian (sort of like how not everyone in a hospital is a doctor!), so those who simply want to work in the library environment at some level can certainly do so with very little to no specialized education. Instead, those library assistant jobs will usually require some specialized training and sometimes the completion of an exam. They do, however, pay less than librarian jobs and are sometimes part-time or without benefits.
If you decide that you are going the master’s degree route to become a professional librarian, you’ll need get a bachelor’s degree first. The good news is that library programs do not require any specific major; you can choose anything you’d like. The most common areas for applicants, however, are in the humanities, such as English, and STEM degrees are usually less common. If you are interested in becoming an academic librarian at a college or university, many of those librarians use their undergraduate major as part of their job. This can include specialized instruction for classes in that major, collection development work, and other types of outreach and collaboration with faculty in that subject area.
The coursework in a master’s program for librarians is very diverse. It can range from database design and programming to information law and policy to children’s storytelling. It all depends on what you want to ultimately do with the degree, whether that be working in a public library, an academic library, a special library, or one of many other possibilities. You will likely also notice that certain programs have different focuses. Schools of information or information science will usually have more coursework in advanced technologies, while others have a stronger emphasis on the “traditional” library.
Picking up some actual work experience is also very important for ultimately securing a librarian job, so you should try to do that as early as you can, whether it be a nice paid position or just an internship or volunteer work. It all helps, and will also help you make sure that your career aspirations are in line with what you actually like to do.