by Courtney Baron, Head Editor, INALJ Georgia Negotiating Your Job Offer So you just got offered your dream library job. Congratulations! Once you recover from the excitement, it’s time to review the offer and make sure your bases are covered. Don’t accept the offer right off the bat – ask when they need an answer.…
by Stephanie Leigh Taylor, Head Editor, INALJ British Columbia What Not to Do While Job Searching Everybody has a piece of advice that they like to trot out when somebody they know is searching for a job, likely because they feel it’s how they got their job. I’m no better, and have been known to…
by Courtney Butler, Head Editor, INALJ Idaho Networking Nerves I know there have been a huge number of articles on the web (including on INALJ) that contain testimonials as to why it is, in fact, worthwhile to go to conferences and other continuing education type events. Spoiler alert: this is another one of those articles.…
by Rebekah Kati, Head Editor, INALJ North Carolina “Do You Have Any Questions?”: Four Areas of Focus I dread the “do you have any questions” part of the interview. It can be difficult to know what to ask, especially if you are interviewing for an area of librarianship that is new to you. I’ve found…
by Amanda Viana, Head Editor, INALJ Massachusetts Services vs. Service: What Keeps Patrons Coming Back for More? I recently had the pleasure of attending a customer service workshop hosted by the wonderful Sarah Sogigian and Deb Hoadley of the Massachusetts Library System. “Services, Smiles, and Support: How the Experience You Provide Creates Support for the…
by Leigh Milligan, Head Editor, INALJ Wisconsin Banned Books Week – our top 5 (pt 1) One of my favorite weeks of the year to promote libraries is Banned Books Week. Banned Books Week is the annual celebration of the Freedom to Read. Libraries and bookstores all over the world bring attention to the problem…
by Paul Marks, Head Editor, INALJ Virginia MLIS: The First Few Weeks This month, I moved to Pittsburgh, got a job, a pet, three houseplants, and the dozens of books I’ll need for my first MILS classes. The anxiety that had been built in anticipation was wiped away once the ducks were in their colloquial…
by Claire Schmieder, Head Editor, INALJ New Jersey “Mother Knows Best” Isn’t Just a Song in a Disney Movie, AKA One Reason Why Your Support System Matters Over Labor Day weekend, my mom and I caught up with a long-overdue phone call. She asked, “So, what’s going on with you?” I started talking…and talking…and talking……
by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario Constructing a Job Posting Infographic One of the many LIS industry blogs that I follow is the Hiring Librarians blog. A common complaint of Hiring Librarians’ readers is that not every job posting comes with a salary range. That concern, along with the INALJ desire for more postings…
by Mychal R. Ludwig, Head Editor, INALJ New Mexico Top 10 Alternative Library Borrowing Collections After having many a Buzzfeed list thrust upon my Facebook newsfeed, I decided I would respond by creating my own Letterman-style LIS top ten list. So here it is folks, my top ten alternative borrowing collections in libraries (in no…
by Jill Olsen, Head Editor, INALJ Nevada Acing the Interview Question, “Tell Me about Yourself” I don’t know about you, but I used to be unsure of how to answer the interview question, “Tell me about yourself.” Now I’m happy to say I know exactly how to answer that question. First, let me say that this…
by Kate Kosturski, Head Editor, INALJ NYC That Other Big Green Monster: Burnout This has not been a good past few weeks. Since my last blog post, my other team member left our company to go back to school, which means I had been covering both her territory and mine through the end of summer…
by Scottie Kapel, Head Editor, INALJ Oregon Confessions of a First-Time Program Planner I am currently in the midst of planning my first program at my first library job, and so far the process has raised more questions than it has answered. For that reason, this article will be the first in a two-part series. Today,…
by Sarah Porter, Head Editor, INALJ California Supplemental Questions: Pros & Cons Currently, I am procrastinating answering supplemental questions on a job application, by writing a blog about supplemental questions. If you are anything like me, then you are probably procrastinating by reading this blog when you should be answering supplemental questions. After reading this,…
by Elinor Crosby, Head Editor, INALJ Nova Scotia Favorite Fantasy Series (YA and Adult) Yesterday afternoon during an information desk shift, I had the chance to talk with a patron who is currently writing a book of children’s poetry. He had the interesting observation that when writing for children, one had to not just try…
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 end of…
by Sarah Deringer, Head Editor, INALJ Mississippi Inspire Collaboration: A Quick and Easy Guide for Super Busy School Librarians I finished my first of two practicum experiences yesterday for this semester; this practicum was a 10-day experience at a southern Indiana elementary school, where I saw first-hand the pressures that school librarians face on a…
by Tiffany Newton, Head Editor, INALJ Missouri Learn a Second Language and Improve Your Marketability! I took 3 years of Spanish in high school, and 2 years in college, I even went to Mexico for a week, but sadly, I cannot understand most native Spanish speakers. They just speak too fast and their words get…
by Julie Watson, Head Editor, INALJ Pennsylvania Stop Focusing on your Career! (Soft Skills = Success) This is the fifth in a series of articles on soft skills. Ladies (especially), listen up: Are you anxious for that big breakthrough promotion or that dream job offer? Do you worry that you don’t know what you’re doing…
by Aimee Graham, Head Editor, INALJ New York State What to Do, What to Do: Finding the Library That Fits You When you peruse the job vacancies posted on INALJ (or any job board), you can clearly see that the title of “librarian” can be found in a variety of entities: public, academic, corporate, legal…the…
by Ashley Crace, Head Editor, INALJ West Virginia The Thank You Note You have perfected your resume, crafted an awesome cover letter, and practiced many interview questions. It is easy to let the thank you note slide when you finally complete your job interview. The thank you note is important for several reasons. First, it is…
by Kathleen Kosiec Diary of a Recent Grad March-May I only applied for about 10 positions over three months. After all, I was finishing my final semester at grad school. I tell myself after I turn in my last project, I will step it up. In the meantime, I need to finish an information architecture redesign…
by Duda Trickovic, Head Editor, INALJ New Brunswick and INALJ Prince Edward Island Body Language During Interviews Going for an interview requires a lot of preparation. The better you are prepared the more relaxed you will be. Apart from verbal communication during the interview it is important to remember that we all communicate not just…
Fallon Zschiegner-Bleich, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas My Bucket List of Libraries-Global Edition Last month, I wrote about my bucket list of libraries that I want to visit in the U.S. This month, I’ll tackle my ever growing list of international libraries I want to visit. Granted, most of these are probably not going to ever…
by Caitlin Moen, Head Editor, INALJ Louisiana Don’t Feed the Drama Monster So you’re job hunting. Maybe you’re working, maybe you’re unemployed. Either way, beyond the stress of job hunting itself, I would bet that you have additional stress from a current job, professional development, activities you’re involved in, and family stuff. I would also…
by Adrith Bedore Bicchieri, Head Editor, INALJ Maryland Three Things I Can’t Do Without I will freely admit that right now stress has me by the tail, instead of me having stress by the tail. In addition to my job search going into the fourteenth inning, my husband is now deployed and I’m home alone…
by Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas Keeping an Open Mind on the Job Hunt A common theme around INALJ is to think outside the box when it comes to library and information professional jobs. This usually encourages you to consider jobs outside the library field that still utilize your information professional skills acquired via…
by Brad McNally, Head Editor, INALJ Ohio Designing (and Maintaining) an ePortfolio Online presence is an interesting thing for job seekers. On one hand, the easier it is to find out information about a candidate, the more a potential employer might feel confident that the hire is a good decision. On the other, a poorly…
by Christina Wilson, Head Editor, INALJ Alberta The Case for Community-Led Librarianship In a recent presentation by John Pateman, CEO, Thunder Bay Public Library, I learned how public libraries are positioned to become more relevant by adapting community development approaches to library service. Along with his colleague, Ken Williment, Halifax Public Library, Pateman has authored…
by R.C. Miessler, Head Editor, INALJ Indiana Musings on Vocational Anxiety As I sit at the computer, the patio door open, sipping bourbon, listening to the polyglot cries of insects and animals at dusk, and trying to deal with a looming deadline and job application fatigue, I think about the future. I think about my…
. . . . . by Elena Bubelich, Head Editor, INALJ Quebec Make a Tutorial Video as a Demonstration of Your Professional Skills In this article, I want to share my most recent passion, which is helping me to keep courage during my job search as a new library professional with not much experience. Every day,…
by Diana La Femina, Head Editor, INALJ South Carolina Asking for the Support You Need Every month I need to write a blog post with advice to you, and every month I’m faced with the same problem: I don’t feel I’m qualified to be giving advice. Oh, I can tell cautionary tales (“don’t do what…
. . by Matthew Tansek, Head Editor, INALJ Rhode Island Considerations for an MLIS Abroad Looking for a more exotic local to complete your library and information science degree, but worried that you may not be able to get a job back here in the states? Have no fear, I’m going to give you all…
. . by Veda Darby Soberman, Head Editor, INALJ Hawaii Anxiety-Free Interview Wardrobe in 20 Pieces or Less Dressing for an interview can be a challenge. I enjoy fashion, and I usually know how to put together a great outfit, but something about dressing for a job interview can throw me for a loop. I…
Hi Everyone, Just wanted you to know I have asked some friends and encourage others to join in and share their best advice to new MLS students on topics ranging from networking and job hunting to anything they might think is relevant. Check #mlsadvice on Twitter and follow – click through – RT and add…
. . by Renee Holden, Head Editor, INALJ Nebraska Great Summer’s End Reads We often have patrons frequent the reference desk around this time of year who are looking for some great books to read before the summer ends. Here are my top five books to enjoy before the summer passes us by and fall…
by Brad McNally, Head Editor, INALJ Ohio 3 Things to Consider after Receiving a Job Offer For those that are unemployed and looking for a job in information sciences (or any field), the answer to that question might be “accept as soon as possible.” For those that are currently employed and looking, the answer may…
by Alexis Rohlfing, Head Editor, INALJ New Hampshire Should I Stay, or Should I Go Now? Two weeks ago I found myself in the odd position of having to decide if I really wanted a mini-promotion. This is a situation that I’m sure others have run into: you’re not working as an information professional, but…
by Alexandra Janvey, Head Editor, INALJ Iowa 3 Job Search Lessons from Baking Organization The first step to baking like a professional is being well organized. Things run much smoother and faster when all the ingredients and equipment you need are laid out on the kitchen counter before you even start to bake. Ensuring you…
by Sean O’Brien, Head Editor, INALJ Colorado The Other Side of the Desk: From an Interviewer’s Perspective The fall semester is here, which means I have just finished yet another round of student worker interviews. I’ve been doing this for a little while now, and I’ve interviewed quite a few candidates. Some interviews have gone…