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Short Librarians?

In 1966 I finished "library school" (master's degree program) at the University of Illinois. I didn't have to look for a job because I'd worked in the Slavic Languages department of the library both as an undergrad and a graduate student. Those were the cold war years--today someone with a slavic specialty might have to do something else. Those who entered library work in 1965 were told in a conference with Dean Downs at the University of Illinois there was a shortage and a great future. Those who entered in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and today are told the same thing. We were all pretty much told the same thing--the librarians of the 30s and 40s were retiring--technology was changing the face of the profession. Yet, every year library schools closed limiting regional choices. There is no shortage of librarians. There might be a shortage of students to sit in the classroom or dial in for on-line courses and pay the salaries of professors and deans in the library schools that are left, but there is no shortage. There may be a shortage of librarians willing to work for $25,000 a year after years in graduate school and huge school debt, but there is no shortage of highly qualified people with masters degrees willing to design systems, manage libraries, supervise paraprofessional staff, work with decent budgets, and publish in the professional journals. The big lie. Don't let our Congress build another bridge to nowhere.