by Alexis Rohlfing, former Head Editor, INALJ New Hampshire previously published 2/19/14 Making Peace with the 24 hour day – taking the good, the bad, and the haggis I don’t know about you, but from time to time, I find myself suddenly faced with a time deficit. The 24 hours a day that used to do…
by Leigh Milligan, Head Editor, INALJ Pennsylvania previously published 2/21/14 Ten Conference Tips for a First Timer Last weekend, I went to my first big library conference, ALA Mid-Winter in Philadelphia, PA. I was very nervous and jittery going into this conference. It was my first conference, and I went by myself since my other librarian friends had…
by Sarah Roark Schott, former Head Editor, INALJ Arizona previously published 11/18/13 Gift Ideas for the Librarian in Your Life With the holidays right around the corner, I am sure many of you have started thinking about what to get that special Information Professional in your life. While searching for neat library/archive/book related gifts I…
by Rebecca Tischler, Senior Editor, INALJ North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon What Does a Librarian Do – Academic I recently wrote an article about what a librarian does, so I thought I would continue that with a series of articles exploring what different types of librarians do. Because while all librarians share a central duty…
by Amelia Zavala Vander Heide ,Senior Editor, INALJ Massachusetts, Maryland, and Virtual Work Library School Redux If I knew then what I know now, I probably would have done some things differently, including taking a different course load in library school. This article is for those INALJ readers who are either currently in library school or are…
by Holly Boyer, Senior Editor, INALJ Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia Repetitive strain injuries are a real pain I bet you use your computer a lot. Aside from all your work related computer use, you come home and get right back on, don’t you? Are you making sure that you’re protecting yourself from injury? Or are you…
by Paula Pergament, Volunteer for ALA’s NMRT Resume Review Committee Resume Review Service We hear this job-seeking advice all the time: it’s important to make the most of professional conferences by networking, and to have your resume and cover letter reviewed by an experienced professional in your field. However, finding the right professional to look over your resume…
by Rebecca Tischler, Senior Editor, INALJ North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon What Does a Librarian Do? A while ago, I wrote an article about the 5 Things That People Don’t Realize their Librarians Do, and one of my grad school teachers pointed out that I had not included the most important duty of a…
by Diana La Femina, Senior Editor, INALJ Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta How to List Your Accomplishments In my last blog post I talked at length about what should go into your resume. Now, I want to discuss how to list accomplishments. You’ve heard it over and over again: you…
by Cassidy Charles, Senior Assistant, INALJ NYC Associating with State and Regional Associations Last Spring, Mary-Michelle Moore wrote a series about Professional Organizations. She highlighted the different division in ALA, diverse professional LIS associations, and additional professional LIS associations. When looking down the long list of professional organizations to connect with you may want to consider reaching out…
by Lauren Bourdages, Senior Assistant, INALJ Ontario 8 Office Holiday Party dos and don’ts as told by Christmas Carol lyrics In the memorable words of Andy Williams in the holiday classic It’s the Most Wonderful time of the Year “There’ll be parties for hosting” – We’re specifically concerned workplace parties in this case, and the fact…
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 Leigh Milligan, Senior Editor, INALJ Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee Jennifer Lau-Bond…ipl2 Manager of Reference Services I have been volunteering with the Internet Public Library (ipl2) since I started library classes at Drexel University in 2009. I loved volunteering with the ipl2 so much, I continued volunteering after I graduated and…
by Ashley Mancill, Senior Assistant, INALJ Alabama Opening a Library, the Future of Librarianship, and Teaching—Interview with Tracy Hall Tracy Hall is the library director for Spanish Fort Public Library, a long-awaited addition to the small Alabama community set to open in Spring 2015. Tracy previously served the staff and student body at Virginia Tech as the Information Literacy Instruction…
by Claire Schmieder, Senior Editor, INALJ NYC, INALJ New York State, and INALJ Texas Luck Is the Residue of Design Branch Rickey began his Major League Baseball career with the St. Louis Browns and the New York Highlanders in the early 1900s. He wasn’t a strong player and quickly left the MLB to attend college at the…
by Josh Rimmer, Senior Editor, INALJ Missouri, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Kentucky, Louisiana How to Avoid HR’s Wall of Shame. Job Application Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs (advice from non-library HR pros) Definitively not a prestigious accomplishment to include on your resume, but mistakes do happen. Did you come across an ideal job opportunity and…
by Jennifer Reisch, Senior Assistant, INALJ NYC What Kind of Librarian am I? As a rule I do not take the quizzes that people post on Facebook. You know the ones: Which mythological creature are you? Who is your alter ego? What kind of golf swing are you? How New York are you? What character from Downton Abbey are…
by Rebekah Kati, Senior Assistant, INALJ North Carolina On Culture Fit and the Job Search Whenever I was rejected from a job, my friends and family would try to reassure me that it would not have been a good fit anyway. Often, this was true, but it made me muse on the idea of a “good fit”…
by Stephanie Noell, Senior Editor, INALJ UK, Nunavut, Yukon, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island Access for all: library resources for patrons with disabilities We in the information professions are devoted to access to information for all. Information professionals spend much of their time locating and evaluating new resources and technologies and presenting them to…
by Heidi Greathouse, Senior Assistant, INALJ New Mexico The “Social” Librarian I’ve been working as a cataloger at a university since March of this year. In the last 8 months, I have learned how important it is to be a “social librarian”. This basically means forming important relationships with the faculty, students, and other employees. The benefit…
by Rebecca Kluberdanz, Senior Editor, INALJ Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Wyoming Creating a Library Oasis The civil unrest going on in Ferguson, MO right now is no doubt scary but there is one important thing I have learned during all this turmoil. The role of a library can truly never be defined. In the wake of all this destruction…
by Lisa Iannucci, Senior Assistant, INALJ New Jersey Roll With the Changes In the current employment environment, it’s important to be flexible, and to expect the unexpected, especially if your interests within the field are as varied as mine. I’ve been working in two academic libraries for over a year as well as doing volunteer archival work. Cobbling…
by Erin Kinney, Senior Assistant, INALJ Wyoming Retail Customer Service Skills in the Library I recently took a seasonal job at a national retailer. This retailer prides itself on exemplary customer service. This got me thinking of how such customer service skills could be applied to a library setting. Respect This retailer has cashiers that look…
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Whitney Zahar, Senior Assistant, INALJ Pennsylvania Interview with Dr. Candace Aiani: Library Director at Taipei American School Have you ever imagined working as a librarian in another country? Several colleagues on the INALJ blog have…
by Kate Kosturski, Senior Editor, INALJ Ontario and INALJ Quebec So What CAN a Librarian Do Outside the Library? Last month, I wrote about all the types of non-traditional library jobs that are out there for the MLS degree holder – and I do hope you got some good ideas for your own job search. But, I am sure many…
by Suzanne Schultz Pick, Senior Assistant, INALJ UK My INALJ U.K. Success Story I went on holiday to Florida at the end of September, as we usually do, so I wasn’t checking up on job posts for a good two weeks. I arrived back in England on the morning of the 7th October, and went straight back to…
by Renee Holden, former Head Editor, INALJ Nebraska previously published 11/25/13 Foodie Mysteries I am a collection development librarian in a public library that also specializes in reader’s advisory for my library. Around the holidays, I get a lot of patrons that are looking for some good foodie mysteries. There is just something about gorging…
by Holly Boyer, Senior Editor, INALJ Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia Federal Job Application 101 Let’s say in your quest to find a job (any job in your field!) you stumble across the perfect dream job for you. Yay! I know how exciting this is and that you’ve already told all your family and friends. So…
by Holly Boyer, Senior Editor, INALJ Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia Why learning a second language will make you better at life (and your job.) Full disclosure: I am a language nerd. I started studying French in 6th grade and am now fluentish in Spanish and Portuguese. I have a BA in Spanish. And I strongly believe,…
by Leigh Milligan, Senior Editor, INALJ Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee Five Tips for Interviewing Candidates Who Use a Wheelchair In September I wrote the blog, Five Tips on Going on an Interview in A Wheelchair. The blog actually was a success, and I received some very positive feedback. One of…
by Amelia Zavala Vander Heide ,Senior Editor, INALJ Massachusetts, Maryland, and Virtual Work Staying Healthy in the Stacks When I first started working as a professional librarian a little over a year ago, I went from working at a job where I was on my feet 6-12 hours a day to a job where I was…
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 Mary-Michelle Moore, Senior Editor, INALJ California, DC, and Illinois Bragging on the Job Hunt I am pretty awesome. No, strike that. I am awesome. Those two statements may not seem different to you but on the job hunt losing the qualifier may make a world of difference. In the most recent leg of my job hunt I’ve…
by Clare Sobotka, Head Editor, INALJ Idaho Reducing Eye Strain Being a librarian comes with certain occupational hazards that can make work and everyday life more unpleasant. Most of those hazards involve computer use. Currently at work I spend most of my time at a reference desk, and while I do use a computer there, the breaks are…
by Katherine Kimball Adelberg, Senior Assistant, INALJ Michigan The Beauty of Morning Pages Recently I undertook an experiment. My wonderful but demanding job was draining my creative resources. I found myself spending evenings on the couch, scrolling through Buzzfeed, Instagram, or the aww subreddit. Each of these have their place, especially at the end of a long day, but…
by Angie Solis, Senior Assistant, INALJ Missouri Vampires and Treasure and Librarians! OH MY! This month I wanted to do something a little different and a little fun. In honor of the new TV show coming out in December on TNT called “The Librarians“, I thought I’d countdown my favorite librarians in pop culture. This list is in…
by Christina Wilson, Senior Assistant, INALJ Alberta and INALJ Manitoba The Sport of Networking Recently I read an intriguing article in The Globe and Mail “Hockey Course Helps Women Break the Ice” (September 27, 2014) about “The Gal’s Got Game”, a networking company that developed a crash course on hockey specifically aimed at helping professional women get ahead in business by…
by Tracy Wasserman, Senior Assistant, INALJ Florida My Favorite Fictional Heroic Librarians Who doesn’t love a great story featuring a heroic librarian? TV shows, books, and movies have portrayed many librarians as not only heroic, but intelligent, industrious and doggedly stubborn. Librarians are a diverse bunch, and the world should know it! One thing they all have…
by Emily Woodcock, Senior Assistant, INALJ Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island Facebook and Twitter in the Workplace Many different organizations including libraries now have Facebook and Twitter accounts that are used on a regular basis. Below is a list of pros and cons to using Facebook and Twitter in the workplace. I currently work at small…
by Kate Kosturski, Senior Editor, INALJ Ontario and INALJ Quebec If You Want A Library Job, Look Outside the Library! Although our site has the word “library” in the title, we are so much more than jobs in a library. And often, we get feedback from friends and fans asking us to stick a little more to that word –…