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…
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…
by Naomi House, MLIS previously published 5/23/14 Khan, Kahn, Caan, Khaaaaaaaan!!! A Homophone Trick for Email Back in 2007 when I was helping my husband set up his moving labor business Khan Moving, LLC, we realized early on that approximately half of his customers misspelled his name; his name is Sana Khan but they spelled…
by Rebecca Ciota 8 Reasons Informational Interviews are Useful I have always been a thinker and a planner. My mother recounts several times when, as a child, in a toy store, I would consider which toy would be the best purchase. If I was like that before I can even remember, it is no wonder…
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…
by Naomi House, MLIS previously published 11/26/14 I am not a librarian (and neither are you) What do you do? I’m a librarian! Right? This is how we often answer because the jobs we hold are truly what we do for much of every day. Sometimes we are lucky and hold a job we are…
Sponsor or Donate to INALJ INALJ works hard to find you jobs and needs and appreciates your support! Libraries, orgs, and individuals can sponsor a page! Here is how you can donate at the individual level or become a page Sponsor: To Become a Sponsor $400 per page per month Sidebar sponsorship is $1000 per…
by Alexis Rohlfing, former Head Editor, INALJ New Hampshire previously published 1/14/14 The Door closed and a window opened WHERE? Making the most of any opportunity As one year winds down and another starts, this is usually the time that people pause and take stock of themselves, and create a set of New Year’s resolutions.…
12.5 million page views! What a great month! July was such an amazing month at INALJ! It was the one year anniversary of my most popular personal blog post ever, Why I Quit My Library Job and Why I No Longer Want One. My how time flies. It was also the end of an INALJ era…
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. …
by Naomi House, MLIS How To Suck At Volunteering Surprise! This is not really and truly a list of how to suck at volunteering! I could have just as easily called it How to be Great at Volunteering. So why the negative slant in the title? Because I have been a bad volunteer and I learned more…
by Sarah Porter, former Head Editor, INALJ California previously published 12/17/13 Over Prepare Then Go with the Flow Yesterday I opened a fortune cookie with ideal advice for someone prepping for a job interview. It read: “over prepare then go with the flow”. I am actively seeking jobs and interviewing, as I am relocating to…
by Naomi House, MLIS So grateful for another peaceful, uneventful Ramadan for my husband, Sana! It was hot here in New Orleans but we are lucky this year to be in a finished home, with AC and fans. May everyone’s Eid be blessed and here is to another year!
by Naomi House, MLIS Bloggers Desired INALJ.com is a platform for anyone in the LIS spheres, whether they are students, patrons, staff, or in tangential fields. Our main goal and focus is finding and sharing jobs on the Jobs pages, however the blog posts have been nearly as popular over the past few years. Until…
by Naomi House, MLIS How INALJ Can Help You Get a Job Our extensive jobs lists for the US, Canada and a few virtual & international jobs (6000-9000+ jobs a month) Our advice in articles & blog posts Sponsored jobs Tweets & Facebook posts Private LinkedIn group advice Yup, that about covers it! INALJ, one…
by Sara Dixon, former Head Editor, INALJ Kansas previously published 5/21/13 & 6/16/14 Making the Case to Attend ALA Annual Conference…to Yourself If you are like me, you have been weighing the pros and cons of attending the ALA Annual Conference. ALA says, “Expand your network. Build your knowledge. Improve your profession.” Why, yes, ALA, I would…
by Naomi House, MLIS Happy Ramadan Librarians! Happy Ramadan! Many of you know my husband, Sana, is Muslim and from Pakistan. Usually Pakistan is a day behind the US for starting Ramadan, but only the moon shall tell. 🙂 I have observed Ramadan 3 times, only once successfully, and certainly not in the heat of…
by Emily Woodcock, Senior Assistant, INALJ Nova Scotia and PEI previously published 8/11/14 5 things you need to realize before starting to digitize a collection I am currently completing a co-op where one of my responsibilities is to work on digitizing a collection of documents mainly from the 1970-80s about the coal industry and co-operatives.…
by Naomi House, MLIS #SLALeftBehind for #SLA2015 I was supposed to present at SLA in Boston on Sunday, June 14th, but on May 29th changed any chance I had of attending. I had my 4th miscarriage and with the blood clotting disorder I have my Doctor recommended I not fly. We didn’t announce this miscarriage…
by Naomi House, MLIS True Story – Librarian on a Mission Saves Timbuktu’s Manuscripts but Doesn’t Stop There! Librarian as a position in the United States is usually a job you seek out and get trained for through a university degree program, but in Mali, in the ancient region around Timbuktu, it is a lifetime appointment. ‘Abdel…
by Caitlin Moen, former Head Editor, INALJ Louisiana previously published 12/18/13 & 7/11/14 Lurk and Learn: Take Advantage of Library Social Media as a New or Aspiring Librarian When I was in library school I had never worked in a library or really had any connection to the library community. I knew there were communities…
by Krystal Corbray, Managing Librarian with Yakima Valley Libraries in Washington State previously published 7/15/14 Avoiding Cinderella Syndrome: Why Every Job Doesn’t Have to be a ‘Perfect’ Fit Once you’ve been job hunting for a while, things can get a bit…intense. Many job-seekers talk about their employment search as if it’s a full-time job—which is an…
By Katie Blake previously published 4/30/14 Workplace Information Needs: Color Perception and Color Blindness Tools for Worksheets In the everyday of work I am asked to do many things which involve some form of information interpretation. I started tracking reference questions just to be able to reflect upon the information needs which are the most…
by Naomi House, MLIS Congrats to “Julie Todaro, PhD, Dean of Library Services at Austin (Texas) Community College, has been elected president-elect of the American Library Association.” We look forward to her leadership starting after the 2016 ALA Annual conference. One thing we feel passionately about and feel that ALA leadership should be passionate about,…
11 million page views! What a great month! April was such an amazing month at INALJ! I was lucky enough this month to travel to my alma mater, Rutgers SCI MLIS program and present the final colloquium of the year, Developing Your Digital Brand … with an emphasis on getting a job.” Our busiest…
by Naomi House, MLIS previously published 4/24/14 Threading the Corkscrew: Non-Ladder/Non-Lateral Job Advancement I have not had the most traditional work-life for a librarian. I didn’t get my undergrad degree, then my MLIS and then get a job in a library or information center. I spent years in grocery stores and import stores working the…
JP Porcaro – Candidate for President of the American Library Association All information taken from the candidate’s website. Also check out his mention of INALJ here! “JP Porcaro’s ALA Presidential Platform! My platform for my time as ALA President revolves around ensuring a stronger future for librarianship. Presidential initiative: We know from the data [OCLC…
by Naomi House, MLIS A few years ago I was hired at a large library and part of our orientation was a tour of all the departments within the library, called the Path of the Book. The point of the tour was to show how a book made it from selection to purchase to receiving and cataloging…
by Naomi House, MLIS updated 11/17/14 & originally published 12/13/14 What is T160K? And What Can You Do to Help? Back in February I presented on a panel at OCLC EMEA in Cape Town, South Africa. I was incredibly excited to be placed on the community building panel with Dr. Stephanie Diakité, who was deeply…
by Amanda Viana, former Head Editor, INALJ Massachusetts republished from 2/14/14 & 4/15/14 Dr. Taxlove, or: How I learned to stop crabbing and embrace tax season For everything there is a season. In public librarianship the year falls into distinct seasons: planning for summer reading in the spring, end of the fiscal year reporting, the…
2nd best month EVER & 10.5 million page views! What a great month! March was such an amazing month at INALJ! 2nd best ever, in fact! Our busiest day in March was 22,633 views on 3/30, and our busiest week had 122,687 views, and our month was 543,482 views, our 2nd best month ever! We also hit 10.5…
by Naomi House, MLIS I live in an extraordinary city, New Orleans, Louisiana. It is extraordinary for many reasons; the many cultures, architectural styles, music and food, but to me it is also the best city for dumb-luck/ kismet while walking. I never know who or what I will stumble upon. So two weeks ago I was walking…
by Courtney Baron, former Head Editor, INALJ Georgia previously published 3/18/14 10 Ways Waking up Earlier Will Help You Become a Successful LIS Professional Time management is a geeky interest of mine. I love reading books and articles on the subject and I’m inspired by the way successful people fit it all in simply by…
Re-frame your education & experience in your mind to open new job horizons! by Lauren Bourdages, Senior Assistant, INALJ Ontario Something I’ve thought a lot about ever since I realised I wanted to work in libraries is that there are a lot of people in this profession who are adamant that the library is the…
by Ruth Kitchin Tillman previously published 2/11/14 Fixing What’s Broken: the Importance of Feedback As I bid farewell to library school, I’ve been reflecting on aspects of my experience which were sub-optimal and what might be done to fix them. While the plural of anecdote isn’t data, I was able to glean certain similarities, through…
by Kate Kosturski previously published 1/31/14 Don’t Get Chopped in Your Job Search My partner and I are big fans of the Food Network show Chopped. If you’re not familiar with the program, it is a cooking competition featuring four chefs who have to prepare three meals (appetizer, entree, and dessert) with mystery ingredients –…
by Naomi House, MLIS 10 MILLION page views! We did it! We reached 10 million page views today, just 3 years into this website (4 years + all together)! Thanks to all our fans and volunteers over the past few years. We are THRILLED to have helped so many find jobs and hope that many MANY…
by Sean O’Brien, former Head Editor, INALJ Colorado previously published 3/20/13 & 3/25/14 6 Tips to Beef Up Your Resumé So, you’ve beefed up your work history, found a great resource for job listings, and now you’re itching to get out there and start applying for jobs. However, sending out applications can be one of…
A great beginning to 2015! What a great month! Another year, and getting better! Why? Because in 2015 INALJ has a fantastic new Leadership Team, lead by Rachael Altman and Jennifer Devine, with Kate Kosturski, Ashley Mancill, Claire Schmieder and Stephanie Sendaula! Here are the top 25 INALJ articles and top 10 interviews in 2014!…
SEEKING VOLUNTEERS for INALJ Round 1: Canada Content Editors + Submissions and Formatting Editors (non-Canada) Seeking volunteers for the following positions in February: Canada Content Editors– unpaid volunteers to format jobs for assigned Canadian provinces – 3 days a week, 1 hr each day. 1 calendar year commitment. Submissions Content Editors– unpaid volunteers to format…