All Jobs for INALJ can be found here: http://inalj.com/?p=1441 Updated daily
Naomi House’s interview with success story Rebecca.

Naomi:  How did you find your current job?
Rebecca:  Unlike a previous recent hire at Holland America that you interviewed back in December, I had no clue cruise ships had libraries until about two months ago.  I stumbled upon the job listing for the position on the INALJ Daily Digest sometime in late November and thought working on a cruise ship would be an amazing opportunity to do what I love while seeing more of the world.  I am a big fan of traveling, but there is still so much of this world I have yet to see.

Naomi:  Favorite library you have been to?
Rebecca:  On a short two-week study abroad trip I was lucky to be a part of while in graduate school, I got to visit some amazing British libraries, but the Yorkminster Library in York, England sticks out the most in my mind.  It certainly is not as large or as fancy as the British Library in London or the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh, but it was there that I got to see and touch the Wicked Bible (aka the Sinner’s Bible).  The Wicked Bible, printed in 1631, is a reprint of the KJV Bible with a huge typo.  In the Ten Commandments, readers are admonished “Thou shalt commit adultery”.  Suffice to say, very few copies of this misprinted Bible remain.  There was also an amazing exhibit on the 400th anniversary of the KJV and the whole place felt old and musty and beautiful.

Naomi:  Favorite book?
Rebecca:  As a huge Tolkien fan, I have to point to “The Silmarillion“.  I adore allegory and fantasy, and Tolkien’s posthumously published work has all of that in spades, as well as histories, language, mythology, and romance.  Names like Beren, Earendil, Turin, Tuor, and places like Gondolin, Numenor, Angband, and Beleriand flow from the tongue.  This is a book that I would love to read out loud to my kids one day.

Naomi:  Favorite thing about libraries/ library technology?
Rebecca:  I am a people person and I love to help people access information or connect them with a new favorite author.  I think libraries are the bastion of information and I am looking forward to a long career in librarianship.  Much like how Tiffany’s seemed to soothe and calm Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, libraries do the same for me.

Naomi:  Any websites or feeds or blogs we should be following?
Rebecca:  I could, of course, toot my own horn and suggest www.rebeccavogler.net, but I’ll admit that I am not the best at keeping it updated.  I hope to do better while I am working on my ship.  Otherwise, I could not stress enough the growing importance of Tumblr.  There are scores of Tumblarians now, but the best one is thelifeguardlibrarian.tumblr.com.  Once you are on her blog, find her Tumblarian link to access the growing number of librarians and library science students on Tumblr.

Naomi:  Best piece of job hunting advice?
Rebecca:  I think the best piece of advice is not give up and to apply for positions you would consider unusual.  Do not box yourself into the typical school/university/public library jobs when searching for open positions.  Besides applying with Holland America, I had also applied with Blizzard (computer game company best known for the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft), Fox News, and Nestle-Purina.  Although I was not given the opportunity to interview with those companies, it was worth trying.

I grew up in suburban St. Louis, Missouri.  After high school, I found myself in various restaurant management jobs, culminating in a store manager position for a now defunct outlet mall bookstore chain.  After losing my job when the company filed for bankruptcy, I decided to pursue higher education.  After graduating with my two BAs in Political Science and Religious Studies in 2010 from the University of Missouri, I chose to stay at my alma mater and enrolled with the School of Information and Learning Technologies.  I earned an MA in Library Science in December 2012.  For the past four years, I have worked in the Special Collections Department on campus as a student assistant, and then a graduate student.  I will be embarking on my first post-graduation job with Holland America in March 2013.