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Naomi House’s interview with success story Heather.
Naomi: How did you find your current job?
Heather: On the ALA Joblist. Sadly, I was not on Twitter to benefit from INALJ when I was job hunting.
Naomi: Favorite library you have been to?
Heather: For the sheer awe of it, the Old Library at the Trinity College in Dublin, where the Book of Kells is on display. The Long Room is the most stunning physical library space I’ve experienced.
Naomi: Favorite book?
Heather: I don’t typically have favorites, but one book has been an exception for several years now – Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.
Naomi: Favorite thing about libraries/ library technology?
Heather: I love the culture of life-long learning. I still don’t know what kind of librarian I’ll be in ten years, but I know it will be challenging, fulfilling work that pushes me to learn every day.
Naomi: Any websites or feeds or blogs we should be following?
Heather: Since I’m in academic library, I rely on the Chronicle of Higher Education to keep me informed about current events and issues are effecting our institution and higher ed in general. Twitter is my main source of topic-specific news – I love it. My best advice is to find people who are doing what you do or want to do and follow them.
Naomi: Best piece of job hunting advice?
Heather: Network, network, network. It can sometimes feel icky to market yourself, but it’s more about making personal connections with your future colleagues and building strong relationships. Librarians are a generous and knowledgeable group of people, so make good use of it! Accept help when you need it and offer help when someone else is in need.
Heather Coates has been the Digital Scholarship and Data Management Librarian at the IUPUI University Library since 2011. Prior to joining University Library, she worked at the Indiana University Medical Library and as a research coordinator for clinical and behavioral psychology research teams in the IU Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry. These experiences prepared her to enter the exciting arena of data services, extending library support of academic research to all stages of the research life cycle. Her interests include data curation, assessment and evaluation, evidence-based library and information practice, and the use of network analysis to evaluate scholarly communication processes.