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…
Crowdsourcing, Digital Volunteering and Science by Gabrielle Spiers, Senior Editor One of the great things about the internet is that it brings people together from all over the world and allows them to collaborate on projects. Many people have heard of the Citizen Archivist Dashboard, which is part of the National Archives. It allows people…
Tips for a successful internship or practicum by Gabrielle Spiers, Senior Editor As a former intern who did a practicum during library school I have experience from the the LIS student perspective. I know my LIS program is far from the only one to require a practicum. Additionally, I currently run an internship program…
Library School: Some Thoughts in Hindsight by Gabrielle Spiers, Senior Editor I graduated from library school in August 2012 which I realize is not really that long ago. However I feel it is just long enough ago that I am able to reflect on the experience with the distance and perspective I did not…
by Fallon Bleich, Senior Assistant, INALJ Arkansas previously published 3/12/14 Why Frozen’s “Let it Go” is the Perfect Job Hunting Anthem I’m obsessed with all things Disney. I’ve been to Disney World five times and Disney Land once; I’ve seen every film at least twice; and I collect both the pins and the Vinylmations. I love me…
by Valarie Swayze, Senior Editor, INALJ Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware Find a Mentor, Be a Mentor Serving as a mentor is an excellent opportunity to serve others that can also contribute to your own personal and professional growth. A mentor can be anyone who is willing to invest time and commit to helping one…
by Valarie Swayze, Senior Editor, INALJ Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware Cover Letters & Resumes: Perfecting the Basics Here is a compilation of tools to help you get your cover letter and resume prepared for your next job application. These resources offer a myriad of opinions for formatting, how to convey your personality, and what…
by Valarie Swayze, Senior Editor, INALJ Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware Ask the Teens! Five Resources to Help Build a Teen Advisory Board The library offers a unique experience to each member of the community. Similarly, each member of the community can offer a special contribution to the library. Teens are a talented group…
by Valarie Swayze, Senior Editor, INALJ Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware 9 Tips for Getting Back to Work! This is a very exciting time for me as I plan my transition back to the field of librarianship. Leaving my dream job as an archivist in a museum library was a difficult decision for me:…
by Fallon Bleich, Senior Assistant , INALJ Arkansas How to Build a Fantastic Comic Book Collection I’ve been reading a ton of comic books and graphic novels lately, the majority of which have come from my library. We’ve also recently done programming for Free Comic Book Day, as well as increased our comic collection quite a bit.…
by Fallon Bleich, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas Small Talk at Conferences: How to Survive It I have major social anxiety and therefore going to ALA conferences can be a huge chore for me. It’s not that I don’t love seeing all my fellow librarians and learning awesome new things, it’s that I have to face the dragon known…
by Fallon Bleich, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas Why You Should Apply for the ALA Emerging Leader Program Last year, I was luckily chosen to participate in the ALA Emerging Leader program. It was a great experience and has really supercharged my career both within and outside of ALA. The following is a list of the…
by Fallon Bleich, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas Why color matters in Children’s Literature There’s been a lot of press lately on the lack of diversity in children’s lit. I, for one, am trying to become a champion behind that issue and work to get more diverse literature not only in libraries but also published…because if there is no…
by Fallon Bleich, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas So You Want to Do A Poster Session? Going to conferences is probably one of the most fun things that I get to do as an information professional. At no other time do I get to be in a room/city with thousands of people who are just like me! However, the…
by Fallon Bleich, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas What is GIS? I started a new position this year—thanks to finishing up my MLIS and my awesome new networking skills—and while it’s not in a library, I do use a ton of my library skills! First off, never let anyone tell you that a MLIS doesn’t transfer…
by Fallon Bleich, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas How to Create an Awesome Twitter Account What a great year INALJ has had! In just a short time, we’ve created a great resource for library job seekers and a small LIS community that’s growing every day. Sometime around the middle of the year, many of us head…
by Fallon Zschiegner-Bleich, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas Go Ahead, Be a Little Bossy If you had told me a year ago that I would not only be doing metadata in my non-library job but that I would WANT to do metadata…well, I would have laughed in your face. Yet, in the three months since I’ve…
by Fallon Zschiegner-Bleich, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas The Best Not Quite Free Apps for Reference We’ve all seen the lists of free apps out there (I cannot say enough great things about the 40 free apps presentation I went to at Annual this year), but what about those that are fabulous apps but aren’t free?…
Fallon Zschiegner-Bleich, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas My Bucket List of Libraries-Global Edition Last month, I wrote about my bucket list of libraries that I want to visit in the U.S. This month, I’ll tackle my ever growing list of international libraries I want to visit. Granted, most of these are probably not going to ever…
by Fallon Zschiegner-Bleich, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas My Bucket List of Libraries – US Edition I have always loved libraries and I am the stereotypical 90’s child who fell in love with them through Matilda and Beauty and the Beast (you can’t deny wanting Belle’s library when you watched that movie for the first time!).…
by Genise Gorman, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas Landing a Job the “Old School Way” Technology is a great way to look for a job, but in today’s economy why not try a different approach to your job search, the “old school way.” Listed below are several approaches to finding a job using old school job…
by Genise Gorman, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas Free Webinars: Another Useful Tool To Enhance Job Searching Skills Many job seekers are familiar with social networking sites, job sites, and simply searching Google to find information on the tools they may need to secure a job in today’s economy. These are all great resources, and offer…