by Shayna Monnens, Head Editor, INALJ South Dakota Teens LOVE Welcome to Night Vale If you haven’t experienced the phenomenon that is sweeping the podcast world, be ready for one of the most interesting teen friendly things out there. As a teen librarian, I am ALWAYS searching for new things that will hook the teens,…
Articles
The Only Thing We Have to Fear
by Nena Schvaneveldt, Head Editor, INALJ Utah The Only Thing We Have to Fear Overcoming fear is still a big issue for me. I will find myself in a difficult situation and see two options: the easy way and the right way. Of course, the right way often involves a change or confrontation, which makes…
Articles
Extreme Resume Makeover: Library Technician Edition
by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario Extreme Resume Makeover: Library Technician Edition As a job seeker, one thing I inevitably spend a lot of time doing is reading career advice blogs and one take away from them is new advice and tips for resume writing. I enjoy writing, and I think, hope, that I…
Interviews
Conference Tips: An Interview with Sarah Mailloux
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Emily Guier, Head Editor, INALJ Wyoming Conference Tips: An Interview with Sarah Mailloux Emily: As a first-time library conference attendee, what were you expecting? Sarah: I think I was expecting more people. There were…
Articles
We Wish You a Merry Bloomsday, and a Happy Book Year!
by Alexis Rohlfing, Head Editor, INALJ New Hampshire We Wish You a Merry Bloomsday, and a Happy Book Year! The holidays are upon us, and while you may be snuggling in with a toddy for another viewing of Charlie Brown Christmas or It’s a Wonderful Life, have you ever thought about all the fun book…
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November Book Reviews from Annie Bahu & Rachael Altman of INALJ Illinois
by Rachael Altman, Head Editor, INALJ Illinois November Book Reviews from Annie Bahu & Rachael Altman of INALJ Illinois In the spirit of National Novel Writing Month and Illinois Reads, Annie Bahu and I have rounded up a list of books we recently read and wanted to share with the INALJ community. Happy reading! The…
Articles
What Is a Librarian?
by Nicole Usiondek, Head Editor, INALJ Michigan What Is a Librarian? I have been fortunate to have a full time professional position for just over six months now. My experience has been that people who are not in the library field typically view librarians in three ways: the boring spinster who likes quiet and books,…
Articles
A Customer Service Cheat Sheet
by Kristen Jaques, Head Editor, INALJ Maine A Customer Service Cheat Sheet If you’ve been browsing job postings lately, you’ve probably observed that for many library positions, excellent customer service skills are expected, if not required. The ability to work well with the public can be developed with experience, but for some of us, it…
Articles
Librarians & Libraries in Comic Books
by Mychal R. Ludwig, Head Editor, INALJ New Mexico Librarians & Libraries in Comic Books LIS workers of all categories are quite commonly utilized in fictional settings, as main and supporting characters, as well as for incidental run-ins with those primary persons. How exactly are those info-professionals portrayed, in both personality and in comportment? Does…
Articles
Volunteering in Storyland
by Ashley Mancill, Head Editor, INALJ Alabama Volunteering in Storyland We all have heard how volunteering can serve as job experience and provide those who are seeking a career in librarianship an opportunity to network. But it can be beneficial in other ways, too. Some find it relaxing while others say they find satisfaction in…
Articles
Telecommuting
by Erin Kinney, Assistant Editor, INALJ Alabama Telecommuting One option for working is telecommuting, also known as telework. When my husband took a job across the state, we did the commuter marriage thing for a few years, but it wore on us. I was fortunate that I could telecommute in my former position, as it…
Articles
Celebrate! Commemorate! And Tell the Story Well!
by Christina Wilson, Head Editor, INALJ Alberta Celebrate! Commemorate! And Tell the Story Well! I moved to Alberta in 2007 to take on a position as Emerging Technologies Librarian for The Alberta Library, a consortium serving all libraries in the province. As it turned out, it was a significant year to be working for Alberta’s…
Articles
Are Librarians Taking over the World?
by Tiffany Newton, Head Editor, INALJ Missouri Are Librarians Taking over the World? Libraries are everywhere. I can’t think of one town that doesn’t have at the very least a public library. Schools also have libraries, colleges and universities have libraries, organizations like law firms and zoos have libraries. Hospitals have libraries; there are libraries…
Articles
Finding the Right Library Job Is Kind of Like Dating
by Kathleen Kosiec Finding the Right Library Job Is Kind of Like Dating Ok, I can’t take credit for this analogy, but if you really think about it, isn’t finding the right library job a lot like dating? Let me count the ways. Searching and applying for jobs (Flirting) Ahh, the fun stage. You’re searching…
Articles
Other Benefits of Volunteering
by Nena Schvaneveldt, Head Editor, INALJ Utah Other Benefits of Volunteering When I was 14, I started volunteering at a local hospital. My parents wanted me to get experience and give back, as well as help my college applications stand out. For several years, I volunteered in order to get something in return. Even in…
Articles
Designing Your Web: Learning HTML, CSS, XHTML, and More
by Sarah Deringer, Head Editor, INALJ Mississippi Designing Your Web: Learning HTML, CSS, XHTML, and More Read many job descriptions these days, and you might find certain skills needed that include being able to design websites using HTML, CSS, XHTML, Javascript, PHP, MySQL, and a number of other coding languages. You may have had some…
Articles
How to Make Yourself More Valuable by Being Self-Aware
by Roselle Pendergast, Head Editor, INALJ Minnesota How to Make Yourself More Valuable by Being Self-Aware “If you want to be more valuable to the organization, know who you are. Self-awareness breeds people who are more easily managed.” There are many different ways to become more valuable, such as taking classes on the side to…
Articles
My Working Soundtrack
by Caitlin Moen, Head Editor, INALJ Louisiana My Working Soundtrack I have a hard time working in silence at home, which is important to know, since I work full time from home. So I’ve worked to find some specific artists that strike the right balance for a work soundtrack for me to have going while…
Articles
Feeling Awkward around Business Cards?
by Lisa Huntsha, Head Editor, INALJ Sweden Feeling Awkward around Business Cards? Does anyone else feel awkward when handing out business cards? I always did. I felt like I was on a first date asking for a second one before it was even over yet. To get over this, I developed a sort of script…
Articles
Steampunk – Science Fiction and Fantasy with a Twist
by Renee Holden, Head Editor, INALJ Nebraska Steampunk – Science Fiction and Fantasy with a Twist I am a collection development librarian in a public library that also specializes in reader’s advisory for my library. Patrons ask me all day long about books that are similar to this author or that author and books that…
Articles
The Hardest Button to Button: Closing the Deal
by Christina Wilson, Head Editor, INALJ Alberta The Hardest Button to Button: Closing the Deal The White Stripes’ song title came to mind recently when posting yet another job that requested applicants to submit their salary expectations along with their resume and covering letter. It’s a helpful colorful metaphor for a thorny application issue. The…
Articles
Working at Library and Your Health
By Elena Bubelich, Head Editor, INALJ Quebec Working at Library and Your Health I’d like to talk about a subject that nobody discusses before and during our education at MLIS program: our health. We listen to attentively to everything about potential salary, benefits, and career progress, but nobody talks with us about the potential impact…
Articles
Cross-Training with MOOCs
by Jess Bruckner, Assistant Editor, INALJ Wisconsin Cross-Training with MOOCs Today, MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are shaking up the educational landscape due to the surging popularity of distance education platforms such as Coursera, Udacity, and EdX. These dynamic platforms have the potential to be game changers for librarians, allowing them to self-educate outside their…
Articles
The Comparison Trap
by Diana La Femina, Head Editor, INALJ South Carolina The Comparison Trap I’ve written about finding your strengths, about tracking your accomplishments, and about taking risks and following through. I know some of these are rather generic and obvious, but sometimes it’s the obvious things that need to be brought into conversation or else we’ll…
Articles
Keep in Touch with Your References
by Tiffany Newton, Head Editor, INALJ Missouri Keep in Touch with Your References One of the most important parts of getting a job is your references. Usually prospective employers will wait until after the interview to call your references, but occasionally, they will call before. I just spoke with one of my references, Keith, and…
Articles
Spotlight on Libraries – Istanbul, Turkey
by Sarah Parramore, Head Editor, INALJ Middle East/Arabian Gulf Spotlight on Libraries – Istanbul, Turkey What is it? Istanbul Museum of Modern Art Library Where is it? Istanbul, Turkey Meclis-i Mebusan Cad. Liman İşletmeleri Sahası Antrepo No: 4, 34433 Karaköy – İSTANBUL Tel: +90 212 334 73 00 Why should you visit? No doubt, Istanbul’s rich…
Articles
What to Read While Waiting for Season 4 of Downton Abbey …
by Roselle Pendergast, Head Editor, INALJ Minnesota What to Read While Waiting for Season 4 of Downton Abbey to Start in January 2014? I’m sure many of us are eagerly waiting for the start of Downton Abbey’s 4th season, which starts January 5th 2014 on PBS’s Masterpiece Classic. I’ve been finding myself reading Jane Austen’s…
Articles
Oh, Sit!
by Stephanie Taylor, Head Editor, British Columbia Oh, Sit! Gone are the days when job searching meant actually walking the streets, moving and shaking, hustling your groove. Much to the chagrin of my parents, job searching in 2013 is done sitting on your gluteus maximus while you pore over job websites (like this one!) with…
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Gearing up for a Phone Interview
by Claire Schmieder, Head Editor, INALJ New Jersey Gearing up for a Phone Interview I recently had my first ever phone interview. Obviously, I was excited – and seriously nervous. (I am not what you would call a “phone person.”) The only way for me to relax enough for the phone call was to prepare…
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Library-Themed Music for the Soul
by Sandra Hoyer, Head Editor, INALJ Washington Library-Themed Music for the Soul I find that music, above almost anything else, always has the power to shift my mood to a more positive place. Here are ten fun/silly/rocking/serious library-related tunes to get you through any lumps, bumps, library woes, or plain old slow days. Time…
Articles
Location, Location, Location: If I Can Make It There…?
by Kate Kosturski, Head Editor, INALJ NYC Location, Location, Location: If I Can Make It There…? While I was at New York Comic-Con this weekend, I received the following email: I did my MLIS at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I moved to New York to pursue an internship for school at an archive and then…
Articles
Stand Up! Everything You Need to Know about a Standing Desk
by Ruth Lincoln, Head Editor INALJ Washington, DC Stand Up! Everything You Need to Know about a Standing Desk While our jobs as information professionals can run the gamut, we often find ourselves sitting. A lot. All that sitting can take a toll. For the past six months, I’ve been working behind a standing desk,…
Articles
Support Open Access Week (All Year ‘Round)!
by R.C. Miessler, Head Editor, INALJ Indiana Support Open Access Week (All Year ‘Round)! Open Access Week was October 21-27 this year, but it’s not too late to get involved. If you’re new to the idea of OA, there are numerous open access resources available for librarians; the Open Education Database has a two-part list of resources,…
Articles
The Best Not Quite Free Apps for Reference
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?…
Articles
The Many Sides of Reference: Special Collections versus Academic Libraries
by Courtney Butler, Head Editor, INALJ Idaho The Many Sides of Reference: Special Collections versus Academic Libraries I recently accepted two different part-time positions that both require that I man the reference desk for a significant portion of each shift I work. One position is in a special collections department within a public library and…
Articles
Beyond Basic Tech Programs for Libraries
by Brad McNally, Head Editor, INALJ Ohio Beyond Basic Tech Programs for Libraries In recent months, I’ve worked with a large number of people regarding technology in the library. While it is absolutely wonderful that libraries can offer basic computer skills courses, there are patrons that would like to go beyond that and explore deeper…
Articles
Success! (On Program Planning)
by Scottie Kapel, Head Editor, INALJ Oregon Success! Last month I wrote an article about my worries as a first-time program planner. If you’ll recall, the event was Teen Read Week, and I’m back today to recap the week’s events and address if my concerns came to fruition. What events should we schedule? While planning…
Articles
Local vs. National Conferences
by Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas Local vs. National Conferences Last weekend, I attended the Kansas Library Association Annual Conference, my first conference as a gainfully employed public librarian. And. It. Was. Awesome. It was great to meet so many librarians in situations similar to mine. I found out that my “small” town library…
Articles
Cover Letters – Best Practices
by Mary-Michelle Moore, Head Editor, INALJ Vermont Cover Letters – Best Practices Your cover letter may be as important, if not more important, than your resume in a hiring packet. It is an initial writing sample as well as your introduction to the search committee. Many people create a boilerplate cover letter to send out…
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One Librarian’s Holiday Reading List
by Kristen Jaques, Head Editor, INALJ Maine One Librarian’s Holiday Reading List It is said that some dedicated professionals have a hard time learning not to “bring their work home with them.” As a public librarian and book hoarder, I am no exception. While my lovable, zany patrons will not be getting my home address…