by Scottie Kapel, former Head Editor, INALJ Oregon previously published 5/1/13 4 Steps to Impress in Your Cover Letters Remember last month when I wrote on and on about how difficult resume writing can be? Well, I lied. Writing a resume is nothing in comparison to writing a cover letter. That said, writing a cover…
by Julie Watson, former Head Editor, INALJ Pennsylvania previously published 4/24/13 Soft Skills = Success: Demonstrating Soft Skills in your Job Application – DOs and DON’Ts This is the third in a series of articles on soft skills. Soft skills are very important (see parts one and two of this series), both during the job…
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…
by Shayna Monnens, Head Editor, INALJ South Dakota Library Displays – Go Big or Go Home… or at least go crazy! I love library displays. I love making them. I love that feeling of putting one up. I love seeing one I have done out for the world to see. I love looking at other library displays…
Jennifer Reisch, Head Editor, INALJ NYC The Transformative Powers of Library School On the day that my son turned 8 I turned into an idiot. I spent years lost in the abyss of stupid ideas, ridiculous requests, inability to comprehend even the simplest ideas. Really, it was a mystery, even to the know-it-all himself, how two dolts like my husband…
by Renee Holden, Head Editor, INALJ Nebraska Reader’s Advisory – If You Liked HBO’s True Detective As a fiction librarian in a public library, I often get patrons who have watched compelling shows or movies and want to read fiction books that are similar to what they have seen on TV or at the movies. The latest TV…
by Claire Schmieder, Head Editor, INALJ New Jersey Conference Session Proposals and Presentations: Less Complicated than You’d Think During the first week of June, I attended my third New Jersey Library Association annual conference. The first time I went, I was a student; the second time, I was a job seeker; and this time, I was a gainfully…
by Mychal Ludwig, Head Editor, INALJ New Mexico Home Collection Conservation Practices and Tips Whether a children’s librarian, an academic library systems administrator, or a special collections archivist, everyone has physical items and collections that they’d like to protect and preserve at home. As someone with both training in conservation techniques and the proud owner of various personal collections…
by Leigh Milligan, Head Editor, INALJ Pennsylvania 5 Tips for Conquering the Exhibits Hall Since its conference season and there are a lot of great conferences coming up such as ALA Annual, SLA’s conference and many others, I figured I would do another conference tips article since my last one Ten Conference Tips for a First Timer was…
by Amelia Zavala Vander Heide, Head Editor, INALJ NYC Adjusting to Part-Time Work It does not matter if you are finishing library school, relocating, or just looking to jump to a new position the amount of part-time versus full-time librarian work can be disheartening. It seems like everyone knows someone who is piecing together full-time work through multiple jobs.…
Angela J.A. Kent, Head Editor, INALJ-Virtual Work Paying your way through conference season Many information professionals and students, myself included, are currently gearing up to attend some of the industry’s largest annual library conferences. While there’s been no shortage of articles on conferences, there is one aspect that I thought was worth adding my two cents. Let’s talk…
by Diana La Femina, Head Editor, INALJ South Carolina How to Thrive After a Set-Back Sometimes things happen in your professional life that you have no control over. The secret is to think of how you can turn these events into opportunities. (Easier said than done, I know.) In my usual way, I’ll explain with an example from…
by Naomi House, MLIS Why SLA is a ‘Must’ Membership for Me SLA or Special Libraries Association is an organization I really believe in. I like to call it the “Specialized” Libraries Association, because that is what it truly is; it is an organization for LIS professionals in any field who specialize in something. Divisions…
by Naomi House, MLIS Free Advice (Literally) for New Librarians INALJ along with many other jobs blogs out there, is full of great advice for new and transitioning professionals. Go to conferences! Tailor your resumés and cover letters each time! Take professional development classes! Network! Join associations! Actively participate IN associations! Volunteer! Take on an…
by Gabrielle Spiers, Head Editor, INALJ Montana Learning how to be a good manager I must admit that managing others was never something that I particularly wanted to do but as sometimes happens in life it is something that I have been doing for quite awhile now. Like many other things it is something that I think you…
by Emily Guier, Head Editor, INALJ Wyoming Interview Basics for First Time Job Hunters As the school year winds up, I’ve been thinking a lot about teenagers job hunting for a summer job or internship and approaching the dreaded interview for the first time. A lot of advice I would give a first-time job hunter are…
by Nicolas Resteiner, Head Editor, INALJ Mississippi What is Library School All About? (Written by Someone Still in School) I recently saw a forum posting that made me pause and think about what most students expect from library school. The poster in question lamented that he only went for a library degree because it “seemed more marketable than…
by Alexis Rohlfing, Head Editor, INALJ New Hampshire A Quest: One Productivity App to Rule them All There must be something in the air in June and July that attacks the productivity apps that I love. Many people scrambled to find a new feed reader last year when Google Reader shuttered, myself among them. I had a similar…
Stephanie Noell, Head Editor, INALJ Texas Lessons from Previous Paradigm Shifts Information professionals tend to be very passionate individuals. We thrive on providing access to information and pointing users to the best possible resources. This enthusiasm can guide us through lengthy, enriching careers filled with paradigm shifts at every level. In an effort to grasp what…
Rebecca Kluberdanz, Head Editor, INALJ New York State Why Didn’t I Get the Job and What Should I Do Next? For me, and I am sure many others, the most frustrating thing about the job search is not hearing why I didn’t get the job or even an interview! Is it my experience level? Is it…
by Rebecca Vogler, Head Editor, INALJ Ohio Creating Research Guides for Events or Special Occasions In academia, research guides, like LibGuides, are often used to help students find resources in a particular subject area or class topic. Many will list databases, textbooks, e-journals, websites, and reference works. They are an amazing resource, especially for those who are…
by Clayton Hayes, Head Editor, INALJ North Dakota Is Homestuck the future of the digitally-native publication? Several months ago I got into a discussion on reddit about the online comic/story/cult known as Homestuck. For those of you unfamiliar, Homestuck is a label-defying piece of online storytelling created by Andrew Hussie. Started in 2009 as a single page, Hussie…
by Grey Maixner, Head Editor, INALJ Vermont Slide into Your New Job: How to Ace the Presentation One of the most challenging aspects for someone interviewing for an academic librarianship position is the presentation. I have yet to come across someone who hasn’t had to give one, and nearly all of my colleagues, coming straight out…
6 million page views total / 500,000+ in May alone What a great month! The big news is we reached over 6 million page views on INALJ.com and we broke 500,000 page views in a single month for the first time ever! In addition it was the best month at INALJ.com for all other stats! Our busiest day EVER was 23,771 views on 5/27, and our…
by Heidi Greathouse, Head Editor, INALJ Utah Developing Relationships in Life—How can this benefit in the workplace? In the past couple of months since I moved here to Portales, I have had to say goodbye to a lot of people, but also meet new ones. I have been thinking of how important it is to have relationships…
by Suzanne Schultz Pick, Head Editor, INALJ UK Applying for public library jobs in the U.K. – What to expect There are lots of fellow librarians on social networks such as Twitter, and Facebook. Plenty of librarians can give you insight on what hiring libraries may be looking for in a new employee. I asked public librarians on…
by Rachael Altman, Head Editor, INALJ Illinois previously published 11/7/13 The Embedded Librarian: Never Underestimate the Power of Human Connection I recently attended the Special Libraries Association Education Division (SLA DEDU) webinar, “Embedded Librarianship” presented by David Shumaker, faculty member at the School of Library and Information Science at the Catholic University of America and…
by Ashley Mancill, Head Editor, INALJ Alabama previously published 9/19/13 Knowledge Is Power: Awesome Websites for Learning Library Skills I became interested in library work shortly after leaving the fast-paced and closely related field of publishing. Although I was confident that my work experience was relevant and that I had quite a few transferable skills,…
by Brad McNally, former Head Editor, INALJ Ohio You Are More Than Your Job This post may seem a bit out of place on a job-seeking website, but it is just as important as any interview advice that may come up in my mind. Beyond that, this understanding can help you become a better candidate…
by Kate Kosturski, Head Editor, INALJ Rhode Island and Volunteer Coordinator Music as Motivator – Rock Out To Rock On With Your Bad Self “Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel.…
Charissa Brammer, Head Editor, INALJ Maine Goldilocks Jobs: don’t wait for ‘just right’ to apply As a new professional, it can be difficult to find a job that matches your knowledge and experience exactly. Personally, I have a tendency to always look for that Goldilocks job position: the one that will fit everything that I have…
by Fallon Bleich, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas Why You Should Apply for the ALA Emerging Leader Program Last year, I was luckily chosen to participate in the ALA Emerging Leader program. It was a great experience and has really supercharged my career both within and outside of ALA. The following is a list of the…
by Sarah Roark Schott, Head Editor, INALJ Arizona Leaving Archives for Corporate Work, and Loving It There have been a few posts here at INALJ about leaving the Library profession. Veda Darby Soberman, Head Editor of the Hawaii page wrote about it in July last year, and Naomi House, Head of INALJ, wrote a short piece…
by Mandi Goodsett Using LinkedIn to Jumpstart Your Job Search Until my job search really got going, I had a LinkedIn profile but it was pretty barren and pathetic. Does that sound familiar to you? If so, you might want to consider taking another look at your profile and instead of letting this resource sit…
by Naomi House, MLIS Attitude Will Get You Hired (or Fired) I have two basic rules for all my volunteers: 1) do the work assigned and be honest about it and 2) be constructive, have a good attitude and treat each other with respect The first is pretty easy to understand and follow, and we…
by Lauren Arnsman, Head Editor, INALJ Puerto Rico previously published 4/4/13 Free your wardrobe and the rest will follow! I have a confession: I hate wearing suits. This is one of the things that makes me most anxious about interviews (well, that list is pretty long, truthfully). Anytime I have an interview I go back…