by Abby Hargreaves I know we’re out there, because I’m one of them: New Adults. This category, often used as a marketing demographic for publishers, has more recently been creeping into the periphery of public library service. The Arlington Public Library in Arlington, Virginia, recently hosted an “indoor recess” event as part of their summer reading programming,…
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October 2015 Roundup (INALJ Stats)
14 million page views! What a great month! And incredibly busy as I had little access to wifi for the last two weeks! And we celebrated 5 years doing this!!!! Happy birthday to us! Our busiest day in October had 20,706 views on 10/5, and our busiest week had 119,379 views, and our month had 445,878 views! We…
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Learn a New Language For Your Library Career!
by Raymond Pun, reference and research services librarian in New York University Shanghai peviously published 7/14/2014 Learn a New Language For Your Library Career! One of the most important and useful skill to have is knowledge of another foreign language. Libraries today are interested in having someone who has multilingual skills and experiences working in a diverse…
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BANNED! 8 Lesser-known Books Banned in the United States
by Ashley Mancill previously published 10/6/14 BANNED! 8 Lesser-known Books Banned in the United States Most of us have read or at least know some of the works that are on the American Library Association’s lists of banned and challenged books. From literary masterpieces, to edgy young adult fiction, to beloved tales and new classics in children’s…
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10 Minutes before the Interview
by Sarah Roark Schott, former Head Editor, INALJ Arizona previously published 7/22/13 & 8/18/14 10 Minutes before the Interview I recently had the best interview. Seriously, the best interview! I’m not just saying that because during my last interview there was a crying baby. No, this time I felt super comfortable with myself and the…
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September 2015 Roundup (INALJ Stats)
13.9 million page views! What a great month! And incredibly busy as I went back to my roots re-taking over much of the daily grind! Our busiest day in September had 23,017 views on 9/1, and our busiest week had 119,822 views, and our month had 511,791 views! We also hit 13.9 million page views in total! Also hoping…
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Avoiding the Michael Scott Syndrome: 9 Tips for New Managers at Every Level
by Aisha Conner-Gaten First of all, congratulations! You have successfully convinced someone important that you have the knowledge and confidence to lead other individuals into a new era. Now that you’re here, there are some things you should know. Most employers assume that you have your own set of managerial rules and that you can…
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Reference isn’t dead, just different
by Andy Woodworth I recently read Brian Kenny’s latest column piece for Publisher’s Weekly “Where Reference Fits in the Modern Library” which talks about the state of reference in public libraries. It’s worth a read and I’d suggest taking it in before continuing here. Don’t worry, I can wait. … First off, Brian nails some…
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The Power of Introversion
by Diana La Femina previously published 9/8/14 The Power of Introversion I’ve been reading Quiet Influence: The Introvert’s Guide to Making a Difference by Jennifer B. Kahnweiler. It’s an interesting, short book explaining how introverts can make the most of their innate strengths and translate these strengths into their careers. Kahnweiler discusses six main strengths: taking quiet time,…
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8 Reasons Informational Interviews are Useful
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One Library’s Quest to Start a Board Game Group
by Fallon Bleich previously published 11/13/14 One Library’s Quest to Start a Board Game Group Earlier this year, the reference department of the Bentonville Public Library, where I work, decided to put together some new adult programming. One of the programs that came out of their brainstorm was the TableToppers group, named for the Wil Wheaton YouTube…
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August 2015 Roundup (INALJ Stats)
13 million page views! What a great month! August was such an amazing month at INALJ, though bittersweet. It was also the end of an INALJ era as it was the last month long serving volunteers Rachael Altman, COO and Ashley Mancill, Volunteer Manager, were with us. Starting in August I went back to my roots and was the…
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The (Pregnant) Elephant in the Room
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Green Spaces: 6 Structures Repurposed as Libraries
by Ashley Mancill previously published 10/25/13 & 10/30/14 Green Spaces: 6 Structures Repurposed as Libraries I have a thing for repurposed buildings. One of my favorites is a pizza place in Pensacola that is located in the basement of an old hospital, supposedly where the morgue used to be. Eeriness aside, it actually has a…
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Amber Clement: My Superior Librarian
Amber Clement: My Superior Librarian by Kevin Alexander I am very proud of my fiancée, Amber Clement. She grew up in the Upper Peninsula on the shores of Lake Superior near a small city which boasts the Soo Locks, with accessibility to Soo, Canada, the Mackinac Bridge and other amenities of wildlife and nature. She grew…
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Thinking about making a career transition? Highlight your transferable skills.
by Rachael Altman previously published 3/4/14 Thinking about making a career transition? Highlight your transferable skills. I enjoy a good challenge and I like to learn something new every day so I recently inquired about making a transition from an academic library job to a research position in a corporate or legal environment. I received many useful,…
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You Worry About You (Taking Charge of My Narrative)
by Claire Schmieder, Volunteer Manager previously published 8/5/14 You Worry About You (Taking Charge of My Narrative) Both of my boys had the same wonderful Kindergarten teacher. Like most educators, she has tons of bite-sized bits of knowledge for her students. Occassionally, I would end up applying those bits to my own life and one in particular…
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A Few Tips for Transitioning into the Private Sector
by Sarah Roark Schott, former Head Editor, INALJ Arizona previously published 2/26/14 A Few Tips for Transitioning into the Private Sector In October I accepted a position as an Aircraft Records Analyst with a company based in Oregon. I applied for the job on a whim because it looked interesting, it was in the town I wanted to…
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The Linebacker Librarian
My Husband: The Linebacker Librarian by Jaclyn Butz Jesse Butz is 6’2, 365 pounds and looks like a football linebacker. Once, forever ago, he DID play football, but that was many years and a broken back ago…now he’s a librarian. When people walk up to the reference desk at the public library where he works,…
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Appreciating Your Staff: It’s Not All Fun, Games and Parties
Appreciating Your Staff: It’s Not All Fun, Games and Parties by Laura Birkenhauer This month, I was thrilled to be appointed head of the Staff Appreciation Committee at my library. Planning parties? Thanking awesome staff? Totally up my alley. My first thought after the initial excitement? “Wait… I’m the head of the Party Planning Committee.…
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How I Found My Job: Moving On From Disappointment (and finding success!)
By Karly Szczepkowski previously published 7/17/13 & 7/29/14 How I Found My Job: Moving On From Disappointment (and finding success!) After some time working as a Business Researcher I realized I was ready to move on. One of my LinkedIn connections recently posted a job to her newsfeed so I applied. My connection was the…
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July 2015 Roundup (INALJ Stats)
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Tips for Post-Conference Networking: Ask a Special Librarian
Ask a Special Librarian – July Edition What to Do With That Stack of Business Cards: Tips for Post-Conference Networking 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 In this installment of “Ask a Special Librarian,”…
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Why We Should Banish Business Suits for Interviews
by Naomi House, MLIS Why We Should Banish Business Suits for Interviews When I graduated from high school back in 1995 I had no idea just how different college was going to be, especially the costs. We were rural and poor to lower middle class growing up, though lower middle class might be a stretch. …
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Four Things I Wish I Had Done in Library School
Heidi Taylor-Caudill, former Head Editor, INALJ Kentucky previously published 5/13/14 Four Things I Wish I Had Done in Library School Next week, I’m graduating with an MSLS from the University of Kentucky’s School of Library and Information Science. As with any milestone, one has a chance to reflect on successes and failures, things done right, and things that…