Further Tales of Library School

The following incident actually occurred in my last LIS class...

A few weeks ago my professor was explaining Cutter numbers, the part of a classification number which stands for the author or geographic location (for example M6 is Minnesota.) She explained that you could further break down the numbers into cities etc. Great Britain is G7, and as with the US, you can break it down into smaller areas, she believed it was counties. Then she said something like, "...but I don't know exactly how the division in Great Britain works. Counties I think, but they are different than in the U.S. Does anyone know?"

It was then that my classmate explained that he believed that the counties were like the Shires from Lord of the Rings. He went on to explain the shires as grassy places where the hobbits live and how they govern themselves, and ... oh my God?

I shouldn't mock, but I can't help myself. There were plenty of confused, exchanged glances. I can't believe no one laughed.

Less amusing was my realization that part of the LIS curriculum is to tell you that the profession is doomed and best of luck finding a job when you finish. At $550 a credit, I had better find a job when I'm done. I have until July 12th to decide if the threat is real, or some sort of Librarian hazing...