by Courtney Baron, Head Editor, INALJ Georgia 5 Things I’ve Learned as a INALJ Head Editor I’ve served as the Head Editor of Georgia since the state pages went live early last year, so I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve learned. 1) It’s hard to get a library job. You probably know…
by Holly Boyer, Head Editor, INALJ Virginia Coming to ALA Midwinter? Here are some tips that might help ALA’s Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia is coming up later this month. If you haven’t been before, the Midwinter conference is an excellent introduction to ALA’s conferences. It’s smaller than Annual which means it’s a little easier to…
by Ruth Lincoln, Head Editor, INALJ DC Sleep Better – Work Smarter Does it ever feel your to-do list grows exponentially? Between work, school, volunteering, job hunting, professional development, families, and maybe a personal life, I know we all wish there were more hours in a day. BuzzFeed explains it well as the #1 “Shocking…
by Alexandra Janvey, Head Editor, INALJ Iowa 15 Online Sources for Images accessCeramics (http://accessceramics.org/) – A growing collection of contemporary ceramic images by recognized artists that is designed to enhance ceramics education worldwide. It is designed for use by artists, art educators, scholars, and the general public and fills a void in contemporary ceramics digital…
by Brad McNally, Head Editor, INALJ Ohio The importance of confidence in a job search (or, how I changed my job search by changing my outlook) I’ve been to many interviews and talked to a large number of potential employers during the last job search I completed. I noticed a strong change at one point…
by Amanda May, former head editor, INALJ North Dakota Free Online Reference Resources for Librarians When sitting at the reference desk, I try my best to direct patrons to the library’s resources, but sometimes, I find an online resource that may best fulfill their needs. These are some of my favorites. Merriam-Webster is one of…
by Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas Resolutions It’s that time of year again. Time to reflect on the last twelve months and consider what seemingly small, and yet attainable improvements we can make over the next twelve months. I used to not make New Year’s Resolutions, I think because it was too easy to…
by Rebecca Vogler, Head Editor, INALJ Nevada Volunteering in Local Government In the summer of 2010, as I was getting close to finishing my undergraduate program and begin my exciting journey into the world of library science that following January, I was given a bit of advice that I believe has helped me tremendously ever…
by Diana La Femina, Head Editor, INALJ South Carolina Being Thankful This should probably have been November’s blog, but it still holds true. Actually, I think I may have already written about this, but even if I have it definitely needs to be repeated. If you’re like me (and most people, I assume) then it’s…
by Nena Schvaneveldt, former Head Editor, INALJ Utah What I Learned From the Year of Scary Things It’s the end of the year/ beginning of a new one, which can only mean reflective lists. I’ve had a year of facing some pretty terrifying things. I know I’m feeling reflective, so here’s a list of scary…
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Kiersten Bryant, former Head Editor, INALJ California Silvia K. Spiva – Senior Manager of Customer Service and Social Media and Success Story Kiersten: How did you find your current job? Silvia: As part of…
by Rebekah Kati, Head Editor, INALJ North Carolina Be Your Own Best Advocate: in the job search and beyond I had a lot of trouble advocating for myself during my job search. I’m a pretty quiet, modest person and I hated illuminating my accomplishments and contributions to projects in cover letters and interviews. I always…
by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario 15 Days to OLA In the summer I applied to be part of the askON Text Reference Pilot project because I wanted to get some direct experience in providing reference services. For those of you who aren’t familiar with askON, 28 public and college libraries in the Province…
by Shelley Macon, former Head Editor, INALJ Florida A Year at INALJ A year ago I was scrolling through facebook and noticed a shout out for volunteers to be state editors of INALJ. And truthfully, I noticed it, but I just kept right on scrolling and didn’t give it another thought. Then I went on…
by Ryan Nitz, Head Editor, INALJ Alaska 3 Articles on Job Searching During the Holiday Season We’re all so busy during the holiday season, it can be tempting to take some time off from the job hunt to relax, catch up with friends and family, or simply to keep up with all the craziness. No…
by Claire Schmieder, Head Editor, INALJ NJ 5 Things I’d Like to Learn in 2014 I am really bad at making, and then following through with, New Year’s resolutions. If I do make them, I start feeling like there is all sorts of pressure on me to get started, so I start hiding from my…
by Nicole Usiondek, former INALJ Michigan Head Editor Volunteering for INALJ I’m sure many of you are wondering what it is like to volunteer for I Need a Library Job. I can tell you it is an experience that I am so grateful for and have not regretted once. As a Head Editor I spend…
by Rachael Altman, Head Editor, INALJ Illinois Meet Loranne Nasir, Member Support & Social Media Librarian at LibraryThing Loranne Nasir earned her M.L.I.S. from the iSchool at Syracuse University in 2013. She recently joined the team at LibraryThing in Portland, Maine. She previously attended University of Chicago where she earned a B.A. in English Language…
by Beth Gemella, INALJ California Assistant Another Take on Temping Temporary jobs are good for making money while you are looking for a permanent job, but another way to view them is as paid training for your future positions. Here are a few ideas to get the most out of your temporary position. Take advantage…
by Sarah Roark Schott, Head Editor, INALJ Arizona An Ideas List (in 6) for your New Year For many of us the thought of beginning a new year looking for a new library job is daunting. Instead of a list of tips to get healthy, I thought I would come up with a list of…
by Emily Guier, Head Editor, INALJ Wyoming Job Hunting Over the Holidays It seems like job postings have really slowed down over the past few weeks, at least in Wyoming. I would expect hiring takes a backseat during this busy season, which can be difficult for job seekers. Rather than becoming disheartened in one’s search, I…
by Sandra Hoyer, Head Editor, INALJ Washington New Year’s Resolutions: LIS Edition It’s that time of the year again. The time to look back on all the year’s events and truly think about what you might want the New Year to bring. Join me as these fellow LIS professionals think about what’s to come in 2014.…
by Yandee Vazquez, Head Editor, INALJ Texas Cleaning House: Preparing for a New Year 2014 is right around the corner, and with the parties and well-wishes come the slew of New Year’s resolutions. “Next year I’ll do ‘this’ better or ‘I’ll finally finish ‘that’ project.” I can be a little backwards, so what I like…
by Renee Holden, Head Editor, INALJ Nebraska Deck the Shelves This Holiday Season! I am a collection development librarian in a public library that also specializes in reader’s advisory for my library. Around the holidays, I get a lot of patrons that are looking for some books to get themselves in the holiday spirit. I…
by Sarah Deringer, Head Editor, INALJ Mississippi Spirit of Giving: 16 Charities to Consider Are you in the Spirit of giving this holiday season? Or do you not know what you should get your Library and Information friends this Christmas? Consider making a donation to a charity which has a mission of providing information and…
by Gabrielle Spiers, Head Editor, INALJ Montana London & Paris: 3 Libraries I Plan on Visiting This Holiday Season My parents live near Paris, France and my brother lives in London which means that I usually get to spend Christmas and New Year in one of those cities. This year I get to spend time…
by Ashley Mancill, Head Editor, INALJ Alabama Network at the Holiday Party Hop Andy Williams calls it the most wonderful time of the year, but just because it’s the holiday season doesn’t mean you should put off your job search until January. Although it may seem as if the only companies hiring during December are…
by Elinor Crosby, Head Editor, INALJ Nova Scotia Surviving Christmas For a variety reasons, I don’t celebrate Christmas. We didn’t celebrate it when I was growing up, so I have no Christmas traditions or even any emotional attachment to Christmas at all. Christmas mainly makes me feel awkward, which in turn makes me just want…
by Michele Frasier-Robinson, Head Editor, INALJ Oklahoma Internet Resources for Education As an academic librarian, one of my responsibilities is creating and maintaining subject research guides for multiple disciplines. Part of this task requires locating quality Internet resources to add to each guide. Thus, I am always on the hunt for accurate and reliable Internet…
by Diana La Femina, Head Editor, INALJ South Carolina Your Biggest Weakness in 4 The point of an interview is to sell yourself. That should be the goal of every answer you give. You’re the best person for this position, the only choice, and this is why. But how do you answer the dreaded weakness…
by Yandee Vazquez, Head Editor, INALJ Texas Post-Thanksgiving: A Reflection on What I’m Thankful For With Thanksgiving behind us and the holidays ahead, I wanted to take some time to reflect and thank those that have helped smooth the path of my library science education, job search, and job. Sometimes I forget to acknowledge how…
by Rebecca Tischler, Head Editor, INALJ Tennessee Public Libraries: The Compromise I recently read an article on the MacLean’s website called, “Thanks for the Tip, I’ll Get It on Amazon,” by Brian Bethune, which explained that even though bookstores are having problems with sales, people still come into the stores to browse, or to ask…
by Julie Watson, INALJ Pennsylvania Head Editor How to Be Happy Student loan debt. A tight job market. Rejection letters. Uncertainty. Stress. Worry. Fed-up. Frustrated. Happy? No, “happy” is not a word often associated with job-seekers. Do you dream of the day when you land your dream job (or let’s face it, any job)? That…
Should You List your Disability on your Cover Letter or Resume? by Roselle Pendergast, Head Editor, INALJ Minnesota As a person who does not feel disabled despite being deafened in one ear and wearing a cochlear implant in the other, I’ve never listed my disability in the cover letter or on my resume. Regardless, I…
by Aimee Graham, Head Editor, INALJ New York State How Soon Is Too Soon? Putting Yourself Back on the Job Market After I completed my MSIS from the University at Albany I was eager to take any position with “librarian” or a relevant term in the title; I was starting at the bottom of the…
by Leigh Milligan, Head Editor, INALJ Wisconsin 5 Tips on Combating the Big Bad Stress Monster With the holidays coming up, it sure can be the most wonderful time of the year, but also, the most stressful time of the year. The hustle-bustle of gift buying, event planning, cooking holiday meals can all contribute to…
by Fallon Zschiegner-Bleich, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas Go Ahead, Be a Little Bossy If you had told me a year ago that I would not only be doing metadata in my non-library job but that I would WANT to do metadata…well, I would have laughed in your face. Yet, in the three months since I’ve…
by Brad McNally, Head Editor, INALJ Ohio Unique Library Programs: Stuffed Animal Sleepover Before I worked in my current position in higher education institution, I was working in the children’s department of a public library. I think one of the coolest programs we ever were able to pull off was the Stuffed Animal Sleepover Story…
by Courtney Butler, Head Editor, INALJ Idaho Avoiding Managerial Mistakes with Cooperation and Consistency I am in a supervisory position for the first time in my professional career, and it is interesting being on the other side. We have all had bosses and supervisors that were belittling, incompetent, unrealistic, or just plain unpleasant to work…
by Mary-Michelle Moore, Head Editor, INALJ Vermont 5 Things I’m Grateful For (Librarian Edition) It’s the end of the year – which means that it’s time to start reflecting on what has happened this past year and to start making plans for the upcoming one. It’s also the season to take reflection on what I’m…