by Shayna Monnens, Head Editor, INALJ South Dakota Illicit Activity in the Library – the PORN! And it happens…again! There is always someone, without fail, who just seems to not understand the concept of (please choose one of the choices listed: decency, privacy, common sense, propriety, FREE WI-FI IS NOT FOR PORN VIEWAGE). I honestly…
by Leigh Milligan, Head Editor, INALJ Wisconsin New York Comic Con: A Rewarding Experience for Librarians On October 10th, I attended New York Comic Con (NYCC) for the first time. I have always heard about it and wanted to go, but never had an opportunity to until this year. NYCC includes pop culture related vendors and artists, as…
by Emma Pinault, Head Editor, INALJ Delaware The Association of Research Libraries’ Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries Confused about fair use and how it applies to your library? Academic librarians, especially, often find themselves setting guidelines on what is a fair use of the library’s copyrighted materials, or…
by Ryan Nitz, Head Editor, INALJ Alaska Unplug and Recharge As a result of the recent government shutdown, I’ve had the opportunity to step away from technology throughout the day a bit more than I usually would. I’ve noticed that not having to be in front of a screen for a significant part of the…
by Sarah Porter, Head Editor, INALJ California Become More Marketable: Learn Spanish Sadly, “No hablo Espanol. Un momento por favor” is about the extent that I can speak Spanish to library patrons. Furthermore, when I apply for jobs, many California job postings state “bilingual preferred” or even “bilingual (English/Spanish) required”. If you are in the…
by Amanda Viana, Head Editor, INALJ Massachusetts Seminars and Webinars and Online Courses—Oh My! I’m insatiably curious; a committed lifelong learner. I think of it as one of my greatest strengths and one of my main motivators in working to make public libraries centers of lifelong learning. Since graduating in late 2012, I’ve been trying…
by Rebekah Kati, Head Editor, INALJ North Carolina Library Jobs in North Carolina: Key Statistics Over the past six months, I have collected data on the type, title, and location of jobs that I post to the INALJ North Carolina page. At first this was an effort to cut back on the number of duplicates…
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Caitlin Moen, Head Editor, INALJ Louisiana Transitioning to Management: Q&A with Anna Jensen Caitlin: What has been the greatest challenge for you in moving into a management role? Anna: Moving into a library with…
by Shelley Macon, Head Editor, INALJ Florida The Slide A couple of weeks ago I was at one of my children’s extracurricular activities. And, as usual, the parents were congregated in one area chatting. Most of these parents are acquaintances, not what I would label “friends.” So, normally the conversation consists of talking about our…
by Courtney Baron, Head Editor, INALJ Georgia 5 Tips for Attending your First Conference I just got back from my first library conference last week! It was a great learning experience and I’m excited to share my tips with other library students and first time attendees. I can’t stress enough how important it is to…
by Emily Guier, Head Editor, INALJ Wyoming Halloween Book Round-Up In the spirit of the season, I’ve rounded up a list of spooky(ish) reads to get you in the mood for October. I will note that these are mostly YA, and chosen because I’ve read them (Forever YA, anyone?) and can offer an opinion. Beautiful…
by Gabrielle Spiers, Head Editor, INALJ Montana How Being a Researcher Has Made Me a Better Archivist I do research for a living, more specifically I do historical research with primary sources – mostly military history with some genealogy as well as anything else that comes my way. As with many things in life, I…
by Tiffany Newton, Head Editor, INALJ Missouri How Many Jobs Should You Apply For? I’ve been without a job for several months now. I had a student position while getting my MLS, and when I graduated, I lost my job. That’s just how student positions go. I was recently talking to a colleague and I…
by Nicole Usiondek, Head Editor, INALJ Michigan Finding Common Ground: Publishers and the Libraries eBooks, publishers, and the library were all much talked about topics in 2012. eBooks have become a staple in the lives of many and so it was only natural that more and more patrons began looking to their local libraries to…
by Elinor Crosby, Head Editor, INALJ Nova Scotia Authors Advocating for Libraries “I see libraries and librarians as frontline soldiers in the war against illiteracy and the lack of imagination.” – Neil Gaiman Who out there besides librarians, library staff, and patrons are advocating for libraries? Authors, that’s who. Many authors love libraries, grew up…
by Ashley Crace, Head Editor, INALJ West Virginia The Replacement It is so exciting to take on a new job! Sometimes, it is easy to forget that someone else was doing that job before you (unless it is a new position, of course). Though you may wonder under what circumstances the previous person left the…
by Sarah Deringer, Head Editor, INALJ Mississippi Don’t Get Lost on Your Job Search! Getting lost in the job search can be very easy without a plan. Before beginning a job search (or after getting lost), take a moment to breathe and reflect. It’s easy to rush around trying to apply to every job out…
by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario How I Jumped in with Both Feet Every library and information professional has that moment in their life where, with 100% certainty, they realise that the LIS industry really is where they belong. That moment happened for me in the midst of what was the most intense year…
by Aimee Graham, Head Editor, INALJ New York State Why I Volunteer (And Why You Should Too) My first encounter with INALJ came during a summer session in graduate school; I was going to be completing my MSIS at the end of the upcoming fall semester and needed to find a professional position before they handed…
by Stefanie Maclin, Catalog Specialist, EBSCO Information Services Looking Outside the Box Recently, I spoke on a panel to an Archives Management course at Simmons College on the topic of ‘Lone Arrangers’. At the time, I was working part-time as the Special Collections Librarian at Bunker Hill Community College Library and Learning Commons. Towards the…
by Brad McNally, Head Editor, INALJ Ohio Unique Library Programs: The Listening Dog I’ve seen this at many libraries, but I was lucky enough to work at a library where this program was already occurring on a regular basis. Although I have moved on from that library, I’m glad to say that their Listening Dog…
by Alexandra Janvey, Head Editor, INALJ Iowa Tips for Creating Your Online Portfolio An online portfolio is a great branding tool that every job seeker should have. It is a great way for candidates to differentiate themselves, offer insight into their personalities and showcase their talents. Here are three tips for creating a great online…
by Emily Guier, Head Editor, INALJ Wyoming If I Were in Charge of the World, or at Least the Children’s Department Since having my son, I’ve attended my fair share of library programming for babies and toddlers, and explored a number of different children’s areas in public libraries. It amazes me how public libraries are able…
by Matthew Tansek, Head Editor, INALJ Rhode Island Our Shelves Have Changed: A Look at the Evolving Home Library There are many articles floating around that would seem to suggest that the home library is going the way of the parlor or the coat room – a throwback to when people read books printed on…
by Elena Bubelich, Head Editor, INALJ Quebec My First Job after Graduation So, I have now my first real job at the library. Since August, I’ve been working in a private school library as an assistant. I’d like to share in this article my impressions about the job interview, about my place of employment, and…
by Duda Trickovic, Head Editor, INALJ New Brunswick and INALJ Prince Edward Island Using SlideShare to Market Yourself SlideShare, which was recently voted among the World’s Top 10 tools for education & e-learning is an online professional and educational community where anyone can share slides from presentations for free. SlideShare allows you to upload your presentation publicly or privately…
by Shayna Monnens, Head Editor, INALJ South Dakota Talking Up the Book Talks Yay! School is in session, and they are filled with kids eager and waiting to learn! Ok, might be a big of a stretch, but they are there and they are waiting. Waiting for something (or someone) awesome to come see them.…
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 Wait, but If You’re a Pilot Then Why Do You Want to Work Here? Are You Sure You Don’t Want to Fly?: Meet Annie Bahu, Assistant Editor, INALJ…
by Gabrielle Spiers, Head Editor, INALJ Montana Tell Me about Yourself This is one of the most common interview questions out there. It is usually asked at the beginning of the interview and is an ice-breaker of sorts. However it can also be a question that trips people up. People can take this as an…
by R.C. Miessler, Head Editor, INALJ Indiana Celebrate Theological Libraries Month! When people ask me, “What do you want to do with your library degree?” laying out my vocational path of theological librarianship can be difficult to explain. After advising that I’m not going to be working in a church library or shelving Bibles all…
by Sarah Parramore, Head Editor, INALJ Middle East/Arabian Gulf Spotlight on Libraries – Maine, USA What is it? The Camden Public Library Where is it? Camden, Maine, USA Why should you visit? Such a cute, charming and quaint little library, right? Well, take a look at the back of this humble little building: Do you see…
by Lisa Iannucci, Assistant Editor, INALJ New Jersey Jimmy V Was Right In this economy, it’s easy to get bogged down in the negative jobs numbers they talk about on the news, easy to let yourself fall into a downward spiral, but I’ve learned first hand that it’s when you’re at your lowest, fate has…
by Diana La Femina, Head Editor, INALJ South Carolina Take a Risk and Follow Through Putting yourself out there is never a comfortable thing. However, wonderful things can happen when you take the risk. For example I’ve been searching for a volunteer position in New York City. You’d think this would be easy to find,…
by Lisa Huntsha, Head Editor, INALJ Sweden MOOCs on Your Resume You’ve heard of MOOCs, right? The acronym stands for Massive Open Online Courses. These are, as the name suggests, large online courses you can take for free, offered by some really great schools and professors. I’m currently taking Metadata: Organizing and Discovering Information by…
by Brad McNally, Head Editor, INALJ Ohio Beyond Basics in Job Searches Many job seekers do the same basic things – read job ads, submit resumes, and hope. When I was an undergraduate, I checked the newspaper each day for job postings and then the online job boards for postings in the general area. I…
by Nicole Usiondek, Head Editor, INALJ Michigan The Opposite of Job Search Fatigue Job search fatigue is very common. I experienced it while I was job hunting and I know several of my friends and coworkers also went through it when they were searching. When I landed my current position I was overjoyed – no…
by Alexis Rohlfing, Head Editor, INALJ New Hampshire Hack an App: Non-Job-Hunting Apps to Brighten Your Search These days, everyone seems to live on their smart phone– you can take your whole life on one tiny device, you can even manage your job apps and CV from your phone. There are scores of apps out…
by Yandee Vazquez, Head Editor, INALJ Texas Deep Vein Thrombosis and the Workplace This is a bit of a public service announcement on a topic that is rarely mentioned but can be pertinent to us: Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). This is a condition where a clot forms in a deep vein in the body, generally the…
by Tiffany Newton, Head Editor, INALJ Missouri How to Prepare (Now) for Your Future Dream Job So you have a professional goal or a dream job. The only problem is that you’re not qualified at this time for that job. Either you want to be a library director at a small public library or an…
by Jennifer Crutchfield, Head Editor, INALJ Connecticut Resume Building While Searching for a Job Building your resume doesn’t have to be put aside because you can’t find a job at the moment. Use your free time wisely and refine your skills as an information professional. Here are a few tips that I have found helpful…