Alyxandra Bryndzia …Success Story

This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions

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Naomi House’s interview with success story Alyxandra.

alyxandrabNaomi:  How did you find your current job?
Alyxandra:  I found my current position by searching LSSI. I found out about LSSI through the INALJ digest.

Naomi:  Favorite library you have been to?
Alyxandra:  Hmm. I’ll be honest I haven’t seen a lot of great libraries that are out there but one that comes to mind is actually not a functioning library at all. It is the Library of Celsus in Ephesus, Turkey. It is an ancient roman ruin but I enjoyed it not only for it’s history (I am a History major after all) but it was so surreal being there and imagining the people that walked through its doors.

Naomi:  Favorite book?
Alyxandra:  The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. This book is my favorite because I felt every emotion throughout the book; I laughed, I cried, I was angry, I was scared, I cried again. And I cried because things were sad but also because they were happy. I would recommend this book to anyone regardless of the genre you enjoy because it has something for everyone and you never know what life lessons you may take away when you finish the book.

Naomi:  Favorite thing about libraries/ library technology?
Alyxandra:  Everything is changing all the time. I love that libraries aren’t the same as they were 15 years ago. We’re already seeing highly digital collections and service options, I can’t imagine what libraries will look like in the next 15 years but I’m excited to find out.

Naomi:  Any websites or feeds or blogs we should be following?
Alyxandra:  The ones I would visit on a daily basis are: INALJ (obviously), libgig.com, lisjobs.com (although they don’t update every day), UCLA School of Information Job Postings, Indeed.com, and SimplyHired.com. The last two are very much like Monster or CareerBuilder but they actually pull up good library jobs and not too many sponsored results.

Naomi:  Best piece of job hunting advice?
Alyxandra:  Don’t give up! You have to put in hundreds of applications before you even get called for 1 interview and you may find that nothing comes of it. Check the job listings every day and apply for anything you meet the minimum requirements for. What’s the worst that can happen? You get a no thanks and you’re in the same place you are now, at least you put yourself out there.

I recently graduated with my MSLS from Clarion University of Pennsylvania in December 2012. Previously I graduated with my B.A. in History from Cal Poly Pomona, which is also where I got my first library experience. I worked as a student worker for the reference department staffing the research help desk. After graduation I moved on to a position as library assistant for West Coast University. Now that I completed my degree it’s time to move on to bigger and better things. I will be a branch manager for the Riverside County Library System (LSSI). When I’m not working I love to catch up on my TV shows (there’s a lot of them) and running. I’ve competed in a few 5ks and in August I will be doing my first 10k. Gotta start training!