Julia Barbalace ….Success Story

This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions

My interview with INALJ success story, Julia

Naomi: How did you find your current job?
Julia: It came through on the UMD listserv and then popped up on the INALJ Daily Digest (now called INALJ Jobs). I was initially hesitant, but it sounded perfectly suited to my abilities and career goals, so I applied. And so far, I’m glad I did!

Naomi: Favorite library you have been to?
Julia: St. Louis Public Library Main Branch. It had a wonderful atmosphere (old, traditional library with old, traditional librarians – I like that). It’s undergoing major renovations and I hope it doesn’t lose it’s charm.

Naomi: Favorite book?
Julia: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It’s the perfect novel.

Naomi: Favorite thing about libraries/ library technology?
Julia: That libraries are everywhere. These places are not always called “library”, but I’m glad that most places see the value of having or creating a repository of knowledge.

Naomi: Any websites or feeds or blogs we should be following?
Julia: I don’t follow too many blogs, but a few I’ve enjoyed reading:
http://lonewolflibrarian.wordpress.com/
http://embeddedlibrarian.com/
http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/
http://inalj.com/ (of course!!)

Naomi: Best piece of job hunting advice?
Julia: In my case, my goal was to be a nontraditional librarian. I had to think very carefully about my past experiences and how they could fit into my new career. All I can say is that it’s important to take a hard look at your resume, because there is a job out there that will be the perfect fit for you.

I am from St. Louis, MO. I have a BA in Psychology and a MA in Counseling from Webster University. I started my professional life in behavioral research, working my way up the ranks at Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. I generally loved my job, but after 10 years it was time for something new. So, 2 years ago, I picked up my cat and moved east to attend the iSchool at the University of Maryland. I’ve always been fortunate to quickly find a job in my chosen field and this time was no different! Not long after graduating this past May with my MLS, I started my first job at the beginning of July as a Records Analyst. Additionally, my temp job at NIH during graduate school has led to a volunteer position at the NIH Library I will be starting soon, assisting with the Social Media University program by setting up a CampusGuides page for the program. My internship at the World Wildlife fund led to a small consulting project that I have been working on since June, helping in the development of an information resource center for a small policy firm. Otherwise, I like to spend my free time baking bread, catching up on my big backlog of magazines, and searching for the perfect satchel.

reposted from 7/9/12, formerly titled Julia Barbalace ….In Six

Naomi House

Naomi House, MLIS, is the founder and publisher of the popular webzine and jobs list INALJ.com (formerly I Need a Library Job) and former CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) of T160K.org, a crowdfunding platform focused on African patrimony, heritage and cultural projects. INALJ was founded in October 2010 with the assistance of her fellow Rutgers classmate, Elizabeth Leonard. Its social media presence has grown to include Facebook (retired in 2016), Twitter and a LinkedIn group, in addition to the interviews, articles and jobs found on INALJ. INALJ has had over 21 Million page hits and helped many, many thousands of librarians find employment! Through grassroots marketing, word of mouth and a real focus on exploring unconventional resources for job leads, INALJ grew from a subscription base of 20 friends to a website with over 500,000 visits in one month. Naomi believes that well-sourced quantity is quality in this narrow job market and INALJ reflects this with many new jobs published daily. She has also written for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 LexisNexis Government Info Pro and many other publications in the past decade. She presents whenever she can, including serving on three panels at the American Library Association's Annual Conference in Las Vegas; as breakout presenter at OCLC EMEA in Cape Town, South Africa; as a keynote speaker at the Virginia Library Association annual meeting; at the National Press Club in Washington DC; McGill University in Montreal, Canada; the University of the Emirates, Dubai, MLIS program and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Naomi was a Reference, Marketing and Acquisitions Librarian for a contractor at a federal library outside Washington, DC, and has been living and working in Budapest, Hungary and Western New York State. She spent years running her husband’s moving labor website, fixed and sold old houses and assisted her husband cooking delicious Pakistani food. She is preparing to re-enter the workforce and is job hunting. Her husband is now the co-editor of INALJ, a true support!  She has heard of spare time but hasn’t encountered it lately. She pronounces INALJ as eye-na-elle-jay. 

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