Naomi: How did you find your current job? Jess: Through INALJ Jobs Page for Virginia.
Naomi: Favorite library you have been to? Jess: Probably the Rust Library, which is in the Loudoun County Public Library system. It was doing most if not all the positive things we discussed in the iSchool.
Naomi: Favorite book? Jess: Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Naomi: Favorite thing about libraries/ library technology? Jess: Besides that most everything is no fee? I love that libraries present a place where people of different backgrounds can interact for the purpose of consuming information. I also love customer service without the angle of trying to sell people anything. Oh, and downloading eBooks to my Nook is pretty amazing.
Naomi: Any websites or feeds or blogs we should be following? Jess: I follow Library Advocates on Tumblr, and they provide important information about the field as well as the lighter side of library science.
Naomi: Best piece of job hunting advice? Jess: Don’t be afraid to have someone, especially an employer, edit your resume. I had the head of Public Services at UMD Libraries edit mine, and it really made a difference. His biggest piece of advice was to show the impact you’ve made on your previous or current jobs.
I was born and raised in Central Virginia, raised by two bookworms, so I was doomed from the start. I attended George Mason University for my undergraduate, where I majored in Communications and minored in History. I went to graduate school at University of Maryland where I entered their iSchool, immediately after I earned my B.A. from Mason. I graduated from UMD this past May with my M.L.S., and was hired in the beginning of June to work for Loudoun County Public Libraries as a Reference Librarian. I spend my free time reading (obviously), watching British television shows, and reblogging things on Tumblr.