Valarie Swayze, Head Editor, INALJ Massachusetts Share Your Passion-Be a Library Advocate! One of the best qualities you can share during a job interview is your passion for what you do. Library advocacy is an ideal activity to demonstrate your knowledge and enthusiasm for your area of interest. Advocacy is a mutually beneficial endeavor as you help…
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…
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Rachael Altman, Head Editor, INALJ Illinois Meet Megan Ashley, School Librarian and INALJ Assistant Editor Favorite Library you have been to? I studied at Loyola University Chicago for my undergraduate degree, and spent a lot…
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Rachael Altman, Head Editor, INALJ Illinois Meet Paula Pergament, Former Nonprofit Development Professional, Current MLIS Student and INALJ Illinois Assistant Editor Favorite Library you have been to? The British Library in London. My family and I…
by Ryan Nitz, Head Editor, INALJ Alaska Maximize your effectiveness: Rein in overextending Aside from my career as a librarian, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time as a student of music. I’ve been fortunate to have worked with some brilliant pedagogues. One of the most important things I’ve learned on the journey so far is that overextending…
by Sheryl L. Christensen, Head Editor, INALJ California The Brilliance of Being Earnest – Job Search Edition The job search. I know, right? It is intimidating enough to make the strongest of us weep. A year out of my MLIS, about a “zillion” searches into the process, and I am at a point where I am speculating a…
by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario Online vs. F2F Programs: Why Employers Need to Stop Stereotyping Grads Based on Their School Lately I have seen a trend in the Hiring Librarians survey responses, a handful of hiring managers have, recently, stated in one way or another that they have a bias against students who have completed their library education…
George Hawtin, Head Editor, INALJ Saskatchewan Library hiring from the other side of the table In my misspent youth, I served on my hometown’s library board, where one of our duties was to hire a new chief librarian. Later, I served on the selection committee to hire my own replacements at the library board. I would dearly love…
by Ashley Mancill, Head Editor, INALJ Alabama Four Pieces of Advice from Mary Schmich When coverage of commencement season began over a month ago, I found myself mentally reciting a few random lines from the late-90s hit “Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen.” Those familiar with the song know it is not actually a song as much as it is…
by Katherine Kimball Adelberg, Head Editor, INALJ Michigan Why the FCC Needs to Hear from Librarians This summer, the Federal Communications Commission (the FCC) is debating one of the Internet’s founding principles: net neutrality. They’re also giving you a chance to participate. The FCC might appear to be a dinosaur of federal bureaucracy, but they have one…
Angela J.A. Kent, Head Editor, INALJ-Virtual Work The Second Time Around I recently returned from a conference that I attended for the first time last year and was very glad to have the opportunity to attend again this year. Last year, everything and practically everyone was new to me. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, and, although…
Angie Solis, Head Editor, INALJ Missouri Acing the job interview – Part 1 of 4: Pre-Interview Prep Recently, searching for a job has brought me to really work on perfecting my interview skills. There is a lot of content online that may be maddening to search through and decipher. The whole interview process can be stressful, confusing, scary…
Rachel Loria, Head Editor, INALJ Colorado When you’re too poor for ALA Las Vegas (but still want to show you care about those libraries!) Although I understand that most conference attendees are—to at least some extent—sponsored by their respective organizations, I still cannot help but feel slight librarian-envy at the Facebook status and Twitter updates I have been…
by Ruth Kitchin Tillman, former Head Editor, INALJ Maryland previously published 11/13/13 Making Library School’s Dirty Little Secret Work for You As I finish my final semester of library school and talk to others new to the profession, I realize that library school is hiding a dirty little secret: It’ll teach you a little about…
by Tracy Wasserman, Head Editor, INALJ Florida Say What? Fascinating Oral Histories Have you ever wondered what those who lived during a specific era or world-altering event in history had to say about that event, in their own words? Or what shared memories certain groups of people have in common? Wonder no more because digital libraries around the…
by Jennifer Devine, Head Editor, INALJ Maryland Why you should and how you are able to partake in American Library Association Annual Conference when not attending If you’re like me and you’re not attending or able to attend the ALA Annual Conference this year you are still probably flooded with information from your e-mail, on Facebook, twitter, other…
by Holly Boyer, Head Editor, INALJ Virginia (originally published 6/6/14 & last updated 6/26/14) Your Unofficial Guide to Socializing at the ALA Annual Conference 2014 Going to Las Vegas for ALA’s Annual Conference this June? If you are, I bet you’ve been struggling to plan your schedule when there are so many amazing programs to attend (did…
by Ruth Lincoln, Head Editor, INALJ Washington, DC previously published 8/6/13 How to Stand Out: Be Who YOU Are; Not Who You THINK the Employer Wants You to Be Everyone wants to stand out in the job-application process, and we’re often told personalization is the best course: Tailor your resume and cover letter for…
by Sandra Hoyer, former Head Editor, INALJ Washington previously published 9/26/13 They Lend What??? The Magical World of Unique Lending Libraries I have always been fascinated by unusual lending libraries and the spectacular items they have for users. I think libraries (whether private, public, academic or special) in general could truly benefit from taking an…
by Mandi Goodsett Tips for Learning on the Job There has been a lot of discussion about how well the LIS degree is preparing students for the professional library world, and there will most likely be some big changes in the near future. However, librarianship continues to be a very hands-on kind of profession, with…
by Mychal R. Ludwig, Head Editor, INALJ New Mexico previously published 10/24/13 The North Remembers: A Recent Example of Book Censorship in New Mexico The recitation of phrases such as “the North remembers” or similarly, “the North never forgets” by the North-men in George R. R. Martin’s fictional realm of Westeros, while originating as a…
by Amelia Zavala Vander Heide, Head Editor, INALJ NYC If it’s Not Pleasurable, Don’t Read It: Being a Reader’s Advocate I was recently approached by a teen with an unusual question: “How do you get through Faulkner?” At first I was taken aback. How do you answer such a question? Secondly, having been a History major, I had…
By Bradley Woodruff, Head Editor, INALJ Wisconsin 5 Things I’ve Learned Serving on Search Committees If you’re given a chance to serve on a search committee, do it. Do it for the free meals. Do it for the cross-campus connections you’ll make. But most of all, do it because you’ll learn about life on the other side…
by Josh Rimmer, Head Editor, INALJ West Virginia Closing the Digital Educational Divide Whether your degree is obtained through online schooling, or acquired the traditional route in person is irrelevant in the end after you graduate –academic pitchforks up. What matters is being active in the professional librarian conversation. What do I mean by being active? Local…
by Natalie Kahn Why I Turned Down my First Professional Library Job Offer They offered me the job. I haven’t even received my MLIS in the mail yet, but a small college has offered me the HEAD Librarian position. They offer a little more money, fine benefits, and the seemingly limitless opportunity to explore every and any…