Libraries, hey? That could be a dissertation topic by Jen Li, INALJ Contributor I begin with a confession. I claim to be a lover of books, reading, and libraries, and indeed during the course of my PhD research, I have visited over seventy libraries in several countries, amassed a number of library cards, and borrowed…
4 Tips for Making the Most of Your Project Archivist Position by Amanda Axel, INALJ Contributor Finding a job in an archive early in one’s career can be very difficult. For any given position, we may be competing against hundreds of candidates that are just as qualified as we are. We may also be up…
by Naomi House, MLIS True Story – Librarian on a Mission Saves Timbuktu’s Manuscripts but Doesn’t Stop There! Librarian as a position in the United States is usually a job you seek out and get trained for through a university degree program, but in Mali, in the ancient region around Timbuktu, it is a lifetime appointment. ‘Abdel…
by Ruth Lincoln, former Senior Assistant, INALJ Washington, DC previously published 10/4/13 & 8/29/14 Conflict in the Job Interview: How to Approach the Tricky Questions A job interview isn’t complete without a little conflict. That is, questions about how you handle conflict. A great employee knows how to stay calm when plans go awry, attitudes clash,…
by Christina Wilson, former Head Editor of INALJ Alberta and INALJ Manitoba previously published 2/27/14 Your Career Statement Of Purpose: a SOP Story At a recent library conference, l learned a new approach towards the all-important career summary that all job seekers are expected to deliver during an interview. Typically, interviews begin with a request to provide a career overview. Most…
by Caitlin Moen, former Head Editor, INALJ Louisiana previously published 12/18/13 & 7/11/14 Lurk and Learn: Take Advantage of Library Social Media as a New or Aspiring Librarian When I was in library school I had never worked in a library or really had any connection to the library community. I knew there were communities…
by Krystal Corbray, Managing Librarian with Yakima Valley Libraries in Washington State previously published 7/15/14 Avoiding Cinderella Syndrome: Why Every Job Doesn’t Have to be a ‘Perfect’ Fit Once you’ve been job hunting for a while, things can get a bit…intense. Many job-seekers talk about their employment search as if it’s a full-time job—which is an…
Ask a Special Librarian – May Edition (Part 2 of 2) Tracy Z. Maleeff Library Resources Manager at Duane Morris LLP in Philadelphia @LibrarySherpa & LibrarySherpa.com Joshua LaPorte Law Library Assistant – University of Connecticut @joshualaporte & https://www.youtube.com/user/JoshuaLaPorte It’s a banner month for all you INALJ.com readers. You get not one but two editions of…
By Katie Blake previously published 4/30/14 Workplace Information Needs: Color Perception and Color Blindness Tools for Worksheets In the everyday of work I am asked to do many things which involve some form of information interpretation. I started tracking reference questions just to be able to reflect upon the information needs which are the most…
Ask a Special Librarian – May Edition (Part 1 of 2) Tracy Z. Maleeff Library Resources Manager at Duane Morris LLP in Philadelphia @LibrarySherpa & LibrarySherpa.com Mentoring. It’s a word that seems to strike fear in the hearts of new and experienced professionals alike. If you are just starting out, you probably often hear…
by Ryan Nitz, former Head Editor, INALJ Alaska previously published 5/14/14 Professional Shadowing for Your Toolbox As part of a training program at work, I recently had the opportunity to spend a day shadowing someone in a leadership position in my organization. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it turned out to be one of the…
5 tips for telecommuting (and how to find a library job that will let you do it) by Brad McNally, Senior Editor Some positions require that a person be physically on site, and librarianship is one career field that typically is seen as an in-person job choice. With new technology, however, and positions such as…
by Samantha Read, former Head Editor, INALJ New Brunswick previously published 6/10/14 Avoiding that “Conference Itch” Well, folks, we’re in full conference season now. A relative newbie to this scene (I just started in my position as Archives Advisor at CANB in February), I attended the CNSA conference the other week and will be at the APLA conference…
by Rossy Mendez, former Head Editor, INALJ Puerto Rico previously published 6/11/14 Turning Disaster into Brownie Points Like many people I have had my share of crappy jobs. I have worked in places where people lacked ethics, in places where I have questioned my sanity and lost my dignity, places where I spent many afternoons in tears and…
by Naomi House, MLIS Congrats to “Julie Todaro, PhD, Dean of Library Services at Austin (Texas) Community College, has been elected president-elect of the American Library Association.” We look forward to her leadership starting after the 2016 ALA Annual conference. One thing we feel passionately about and feel that ALA leadership should be passionate about,…
by Kathleen Kosiec previously published 11/8/13 & 6/30/14 Taking the TARDIS back to the Start of My MLIS Program My fellow Doctor Who fans know the British sci-fi show celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. For those unfamiliar with the show, it’s about a time-traveling alien with a time machine that resembles an old telephone…
Cover Letters: They’re Kind of a BIG DEAL! by Natalie Browning, Senior Assistant, INALJ DC Cover Letter. Letter of Interest. I dare you to find a job posting that does not require you to write a letter about your qualifications. Sending in a resume is not enough; the hiring committee wants to see not only…
I Survived Rejection after an Internal Interview, and So Can You! by Laura Birkenhauer It’s a worst case scenario for most, combining some of our greatest fears: fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of being inadequate. Imagine: Your dream job opens up at the library where you already work. You interview for the position…
In order to better reflect how LIS folk currently feel I am removing all interviews that are more than 1 year old. This interview may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions, so it has been harvested to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine (see link below) and removed from INALJ. All…
by Veda Darby Soberman, Head Editor, INALJ Hawaii previously published on 10/4/13 & 5/16/14 SWOT Analysis: A Handy Business Tool for Library Job Seekers Being successful in a job search is not unlike finding success in business. As in business, it is important to know the internal and the external factors which can affect your…
by Alexandra Janvey, former Head Editor, INALJ Iowa previously published 11/4/13 & 5/20/14 23 Useful Twitter Tools There are an abundance of tools available that you can use to manage your Twitter account more effectively and save time. Here are 23 useful Twitter tools. HootSuite – Social Media management system where you can keep track…
Open thank you note to past search participants by Mary-Michelle Moore, Senior Editor It takes many people in the library to successfully hire a new librarian. While the head of the search committee (and sometimes the whole committee) gets a thank you note, many people involved in the interview day do not get much recognition.…
11 million page views! What a great month! April was such an amazing month at INALJ! I was lucky enough this month to travel to my alma mater, Rutgers SCI MLIS program and present the final colloquium of the year, Developing Your Digital Brand … with an emphasis on getting a job.” Our busiest…