by Joy Rodriguez, Head Editor, INALJ Delaware Casting a Wide Net in your Job Search I recently accepted a position as a temporary part-time medical librarian at a local hospital even though I don’t have a health sciences or medical background. My focus in library school was on digital libraries and information organization and when…
by Amanda Viana, Head Editor, INALJ Massachusetts Leveraging the power of your state One of the things successful librarians do is get to know their community. They find a way to become imbedded in community events and get to know the characteristics that make their communities unique. Whether it’s finding the most popular town event…
Sarah Parramore, Head Editor, INALJ Middle East/Arabian Gulf Get Your Passport Ready, It’s Time To Make Connections Maybe you’ve made the commitment to start looking for international library jobs. Your soul searching is complete, your expectations are realistic and now you’re ready for the next step. Sure, you can start peppering your CV to any…
A day to reflect on all whom we have lost and those who remain. A weekend to really try and appreciate who and what we have. And time enough to do something small that will help you change yourself or others. For me, even in this economy I know I am blessed, so when I…
by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario How I try to compete with Masters holding Librarians as a Library Technician As someone actively looking for a full time position, preferably in a library related to education in some way, I’ve noticed something about the current job market in our industry. It’s not a new piece…
by Rebekah Kati, Head Editor, INALJ North Carolina Don’t stress about professional emails: 3 tips for success My first librarian job was also my first full time job. I was excited to start – but also terrified that I would do something wrong! One of the things that I was most anxious about was sending…
by Ryan Nitz, Head Editor, INALJ Alaska eSociety: a new undergraduate program of study My alma mater, The University of Arizona, has introduced a new undergraduate program of study (major or minor) that could be of interest to those planning for a career in libraries and information centers. The program, called eSociety, will live in…
by Yandee Vazquez, Head Editor, INALJ Texas Disaster Preparedness! Job Search Edition Alright, this may seem a little silly, but it is a topic that has been on my mind with the coming of the 2013 hurricane season (June 1st). Many people stock up on a few essentials food, water, and flashlights but few think…
by Nicole Usiondek, Head Editor, INALJ Michigan Broadening Your Job Search Horizons As many in the library field are aware, you have to be flexible in terms of job location if you would like to increase your chances for finding employment. I was recently in this situation. I was looking for a full time librarian…
by Sarah Parramore, Head Editor, INALJ Middle East/Arabian Gulf Going International: Is It Right For You? Been on the hunt long? Perhaps you’re fresh out of grad school and eager to share your knowledge with the world, or maybe you’ve been on the search for well over a year. It could be, you’ve been…
by Sean O’Brien, Head Editor, INALJ Colorado Comfort is Your Nemesis I was watching a Star Trek movie the other day. Not the new one, with Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, but an older one, with Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes, and even Tom Hardy back when he weighed less than I do. Captain Picard…
Last night when I insisted my chances of winning the lottery, Powerball to be specific, were pretty good (I had a feeling), my husband reminded me it isn’t safe to build castles in the clouds. I didn’t win but I still disagree 🙂 Even without the massive influx of cash (donations can be made anytime,…
Simply ask them what their favorite book is. It is like asking their favorite child. Or, as Neil Gaiman put it, “picking five favorite books is like picking the five body parts you’d most like not to lose.” But I keep it as one of my In Six questions in no small part due to…
by Duda Trickovic, Head Editor, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick How to organize your job search using Google drive and CutePDF There are two things I use for organizing my job search. One is Google drive and the other is Cute PDF. I am already using gmail for my mail. With your g-mail account…
by Genise Gorman, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas Free Webinars: Another Useful Tool To Enhance Job Searching Skills Many job seekers are familiar with social networking sites, job sites, and simply searching Google to find information on the tools they may need to secure a job in today’s economy. These are all great resources, and offer…
by Mary-Michelle Moore, Head Editor, INALJ Vermont 3 Great Podcasts for Library News As much as we love our blogs and social media, sometimes it’s better to have something to listen to on the commute or at the gym to help meet our “I learned something today” requirement. Here’s a list of three great podcasts…
by Matthew Tansek, Head Editor, INALJ Rhode Island What to do while you’re looking for a library job… As many of you browsing this blog are aware, finding a good LIS job can be quite difficult and time consuming. Recent grads struggle to find low level positions, and those that are employed often are on…
by Sarah Deringer, Head Editor, INALJ Mississippi The 4 Ps to Pleasing Your Potential Employer For the past three months, I served on a search committee for a children’s minister at my church. Through this experience, I have learned many new insights into what it takes to get the job. The top four areas I…
by Renee Holden, Head Editor, INALJ Nebraska See You Next Year, Tax Day April 15…Tax Day. As a public librarian, there is very little that strikes fear into the hearts of public librarians everywhere like Tax Day. On April 15 every year public libraries are filled with those last minute tax procrastinators and those filers…
by Caitlin Moen, Head Editor, INALJ Louisiana ALA Conference Tips Some websites to check out with tips for all you out there planning on attending the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago (or any other large professional conference!): http://ala13.ala.org/resources-for-first-timers http://libraryadventures.com/2011/10/31/10tips/ http://freerangelibrarian.com/2010/06/19/ala-conference-survival-tips-35-conferences-later/ http://pcsweeney.com/2012/06/05/how-to-be-awesome-at-going-to-library-conferences/ http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2013/01/ala-conferences-some-tips-for-newbies/ I am a total introvert and I find I have a better time…
by Shelley Macon, Head Editor, INALJ Florida Tips For a Library Conference Newbie Raise your hand if you have never been to a library conference…… Me either. To tell you the truth, the idea of going to a conference is a little scary and intimidating. So, I did what any good librarian would do. I…
by Stephanie Leigh Taylor, Head Editor, INALJ British Columbia Why We Do What We Do the Way We Do It What draws a person towards a career as an information professional? Is it an obsessive need to have things in their right place, the satisfaction of everything formatted correctly, the thrill of a perfectly set-up…
by Lisa Huntsha, Head Editor, INALJ Sweden Finding your Niche in 3 For my first blog post, I thought I’d write to you about something that greatly affected my job hunt: finding my niche within the library/archives/museum field. First, I have a confession. I don’t have an MLS and I do have a full-time position…
by Alexandra Janvey, Head Editor, INALJ Iowa Developing a Healthy Job Search The job hunt these days is a long affair, one that is an emotional roller coaster full of discouragement, stress, and mood swings. However, there are ways to manage and reduce the negativity produced during this tough period. Developing a healthy job search…
by Courtney Baron, Head Editor, INALJ Georgia MOOCs to Watch I work at a university and the School of Art recently went through a national director search. We invited four candidates to present and meet and greet the faculty, staff, and students. Nearly all of them mentioned MOOCs as a serious trend in higher education…