Naomi: How did you find your current job? Tanya: I set an Indeed.com job alert for “Prospect Researcher” and it popped into my inbox one day.
Naomi: Favorite library you have been to? Tanya: It’s still my hometown library, the Pasadena Main Branch Library. The walls are mahogany-paneled, the study rooms have that old-timey 1930s look, the main hall echoes when you talk. It feels majestic.
Naomi: Favorite book? Tanya:Geek Love by Katherine Dunn. I read it in college and it helped me realize being weird is an asset.
Naomi: Favorite thing about libraries/ library technology? Tanya: I like how there is always some creative way to get information into people’s hands. The possibilities are endless. Where I was volunteering, at the Los Angeles County Arboretum Library, we were developing online exhibits, including interactive ones that you could use with a smartphone while walking the grounds. We didn’t have a lot of money, but we had the ideas.
Naomi: Any websites or feeds or blogs we should be following? Tanya: If you are interested in Prospect Research and want to work in California, then definitely follow the CARA website and Facebook page. There are always conferences, networking, and even mentoring opportunities.
Naomi: Best piece of job hunting advice? Tanya: Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for wanting a decent job at a decent wage. Many will urge you to not be picky, to take whatever you can get, etc. Yes, yes I know the economy is bad and the library job market is rough. But people do still land decent (I’m not saying utopic) jobs and so can you if you believe you are just as worthy as anyone else.
I guess you can say I was always in the information field. In my first job out of school I was a nosey reporter for a newspaper in Pasadena. Then I fell into Development work, where I soon specialized in research, database development, and informatics. I obtained my MLIS from San Jose State in 2011, and I just started my new job as the Director of Research and Prospect Management at the University of Redlands. As hobbies, I enjoy stand-up comedy, politics, and playing Sherlock Holmes by using deductive reasoning techniques to solve mysteries. I’m hopeless, I know.