by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario How I Jumped in with Both Feet Every library and information professional has that moment in their life where, with 100% certainty, they realise that the LIS industry really is where they belong. That moment happened for me in the midst of what was the most intense year…
by Aimee Graham, Head Editor, INALJ New York State Why I Volunteer (And Why You Should Too) My first encounter with INALJ came during a summer session in graduate school; I was going to be completing my MSIS at the end of the upcoming fall semester and needed to find a professional position before they handed…
by Stefanie Maclin, Catalog Specialist, EBSCO Information Services Looking Outside the Box Recently, I spoke on a panel to an Archives Management course at Simmons College on the topic of ‘Lone Arrangers’. At the time, I was working part-time as the Special Collections Librarian at Bunker Hill Community College Library and Learning Commons. Towards the…
by Brad McNally, Head Editor, INALJ Ohio Unique Library Programs: The Listening Dog I’ve seen this at many libraries, but I was lucky enough to work at a library where this program was already occurring on a regular basis. Although I have moved on from that library, I’m glad to say that their Listening Dog…
by Alexandra Janvey, Head Editor, INALJ Iowa Tips for Creating Your Online Portfolio An online portfolio is a great branding tool that every job seeker should have. It is a great way for candidates to differentiate themselves, offer insight into their personalities and showcase their talents. Here are three tips for creating a great online…
by Emily Guier, Head Editor, INALJ Wyoming If I Were in Charge of the World, or at Least the Children’s Department Since having my son, I’ve attended my fair share of library programming for babies and toddlers, and explored a number of different children’s areas in public libraries. It amazes me how public libraries are able…
by Matthew Tansek, Head Editor, INALJ Rhode Island Our Shelves Have Changed: A Look at the Evolving Home Library There are many articles floating around that would seem to suggest that the home library is going the way of the parlor or the coat room – a throwback to when people read books printed on…
by Elena Bubelich, Head Editor, INALJ Quebec My First Job after Graduation So, I have now my first real job at the library. Since August, I’ve been working in a private school library as an assistant. I’d like to share in this article my impressions about the job interview, about my place of employment, and…
by Duda Trickovic, Head Editor, INALJ New Brunswick and INALJ Prince Edward Island Using SlideShare to Market Yourself SlideShare, which was recently voted among the World’s Top 10 tools for education & e-learning is an online professional and educational community where anyone can share slides from presentations for free. SlideShare allows you to upload your presentation publicly or privately…
One of the reasons you most likely found INALJ.com was that you are a job hunter or you want to see what else is out there. It can be very isolating job hunting online, by yourself. Maybe you are unhappily employed and can’t tell anyone you are on the hunt. Maybe you don’t have a…
by Shayna Monnens, Head Editor, INALJ South Dakota Talking Up the Book Talks Yay! School is in session, and they are filled with kids eager and waiting to learn! Ok, might be a big of a stretch, but they are there and they are waiting. Waiting for something (or someone) awesome to come see them.…
by Gabrielle Spiers, Head Editor, INALJ Montana Tell Me about Yourself This is one of the most common interview questions out there. It is usually asked at the beginning of the interview and is an ice-breaker of sorts. However it can also be a question that trips people up. People can take this as an…
by R.C. Miessler, Head Editor, INALJ Indiana Celebrate Theological Libraries Month! When people ask me, “What do you want to do with your library degree?” laying out my vocational path of theological librarianship can be difficult to explain. After advising that I’m not going to be working in a church library or shelving Bibles all…
by Sarah Parramore, Head Editor, INALJ Middle East/Arabian Gulf Spotlight on Libraries – Maine, USA What is it? The Camden Public Library Where is it? Camden, Maine, USA Why should you visit? Such a cute, charming and quaint little library, right? Well, take a look at the back of this humble little building: Do you see…
by Lisa Iannucci, Assistant Editor, INALJ New Jersey Jimmy V Was Right In this economy, it’s easy to get bogged down in the negative jobs numbers they talk about on the news, easy to let yourself fall into a downward spiral, but I’ve learned first hand that it’s when you’re at your lowest, fate has…
by Diana La Femina, Head Editor, INALJ South Carolina Take a Risk and Follow Through Putting yourself out there is never a comfortable thing. However, wonderful things can happen when you take the risk. For example I’ve been searching for a volunteer position in New York City. You’d think this would be easy to find,…
by Lisa Huntsha, Head Editor, INALJ Sweden MOOCs on Your Resume You’ve heard of MOOCs, right? The acronym stands for Massive Open Online Courses. These are, as the name suggests, large online courses you can take for free, offered by some really great schools and professors. I’m currently taking Metadata: Organizing and Discovering Information by…
by Brad McNally, Head Editor, INALJ Ohio Beyond Basics in Job Searches Many job seekers do the same basic things – read job ads, submit resumes, and hope. When I was an undergraduate, I checked the newspaper each day for job postings and then the online job boards for postings in the general area. I…
by Nicole Usiondek, Head Editor, INALJ Michigan The Opposite of Job Search Fatigue Job search fatigue is very common. I experienced it while I was job hunting and I know several of my friends and coworkers also went through it when they were searching. When I landed my current position I was overjoyed – no…
by Alexis Rohlfing, Head Editor, INALJ New Hampshire Hack an App: Non-Job-Hunting Apps to Brighten Your Search These days, everyone seems to live on their smart phone– you can take your whole life on one tiny device, you can even manage your job apps and CV from your phone. There are scores of apps out…
by Yandee Vazquez, Head Editor, INALJ Texas Deep Vein Thrombosis and the Workplace This is a bit of a public service announcement on a topic that is rarely mentioned but can be pertinent to us: Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). This is a condition where a clot forms in a deep vein in the body, generally the…
by Tiffany Newton, Head Editor, INALJ Missouri How to Prepare (Now) for Your Future Dream Job So you have a professional goal or a dream job. The only problem is that you’re not qualified at this time for that job. Either you want to be a library director at a small public library or an…
by Jennifer Crutchfield, Head Editor, INALJ Connecticut Resume Building While Searching for a Job Building your resume doesn’t have to be put aside because you can’t find a job at the moment. Use your free time wisely and refine your skills as an information professional. Here are a few tips that I have found helpful…
by Ryan Nitz, Head Editor, INALJ Alaska The Power of Organization I recently attended a meeting of FLIP, the Future Library and Information Professionals at the University of Alaska Anchorage, to visit and share with the group about what I do as a contributor here on INALJ. It was a great experience and a lot…
by Amanda May, Head Editor, INALJ North Dakota 5 Cataloging Resources for Your Librarian Toolbox There are a multitude of cataloging resources available for free on the Internet. Here are five of my favorites: Cataloguer’s Toolbox – Cataloguer’s Toolbox is a large collection of cataloging resources. The resources are arranged by a particular cataloging activity, such…
by Shelley Macon, Head Editor, INALJ Florida Did You Know That? (The Library Edition) I have had a terrible case of writers block this month. I had no idea what to write about. So, as any good librarian would do, I turned to research for help. I figured if I dug around the internet enough…
by Nena Schvaneveldt, Head Editor, INALJ Utah What Makes You a Librarian? I had no dilemma about calling myself a librarian when I was the only one around with The Master’s and not working in a library. It’s when I was a library assistant that it got complicated. On one hand, I had the degree.…
by Courtney Baron, Head Editor, INALJ Georgia Negotiating Your Job Offer So you just got offered your dream library job. Congratulations! Once you recover from the excitement, it’s time to review the offer and make sure your bases are covered. Don’t accept the offer right off the bat – ask when they need an answer.…
by Stephanie Leigh Taylor, Head Editor, INALJ British Columbia What Not to Do While Job Searching Everybody has a piece of advice that they like to trot out when somebody they know is searching for a job, likely because they feel it’s how they got their job. I’m no better, and have been known to…
by Courtney Butler, Head Editor, INALJ Idaho Networking Nerves I know there have been a huge number of articles on the web (including on INALJ) that contain testimonials as to why it is, in fact, worthwhile to go to conferences and other continuing education type events. Spoiler alert: this is another one of those articles.…
by Rebekah Kati, Head Editor, INALJ North Carolina “Do You Have Any Questions?”: Four Areas of Focus I dread the “do you have any questions” part of the interview. It can be difficult to know what to ask, especially if you are interviewing for an area of librarianship that is new to you. I’ve found…
by Amanda Viana, Head Editor, INALJ Massachusetts Services vs. Service: What Keeps Patrons Coming Back for More? I recently had the pleasure of attending a customer service workshop hosted by the wonderful Sarah Sogigian and Deb Hoadley of the Massachusetts Library System. “Services, Smiles, and Support: How the Experience You Provide Creates Support for the…
by Leigh Milligan, Head Editor, INALJ Wisconsin Banned Books Week – our top 5 (pt 1) One of my favorite weeks of the year to promote libraries is Banned Books Week. Banned Books Week is the annual celebration of the Freedom to Read. Libraries and bookstores all over the world bring attention to the problem…
by Paul Marks, Head Editor, INALJ Virginia MLIS: The First Few Weeks This month, I moved to Pittsburgh, got a job, a pet, three houseplants, and the dozens of books I’ll need for my first MILS classes. The anxiety that had been built in anticipation was wiped away once the ducks were in their colloquial…
by Claire Schmieder, Head Editor, INALJ New Jersey “Mother Knows Best” Isn’t Just a Song in a Disney Movie, AKA One Reason Why Your Support System Matters Over Labor Day weekend, my mom and I caught up with a long-overdue phone call. She asked, “So, what’s going on with you?” I started talking…and talking…and talking……
by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario Constructing a Job Posting Infographic One of the many LIS industry blogs that I follow is the Hiring Librarians blog. A common complaint of Hiring Librarians’ readers is that not every job posting comes with a salary range. That concern, along with the INALJ desire for more postings…
by Mychal R. Ludwig, Head Editor, INALJ New Mexico Top 10 Alternative Library Borrowing Collections After having many a Buzzfeed list thrust upon my Facebook newsfeed, I decided I would respond by creating my own Letterman-style LIS top ten list. So here it is folks, my top ten alternative borrowing collections in libraries (in no…
by Jill Olsen, Head Editor, INALJ Nevada Acing the Interview Question, “Tell Me about Yourself” I don’t know about you, but I used to be unsure of how to answer the interview question, “Tell me about yourself.” Now I’m happy to say I know exactly how to answer that question. First, let me say that this…
by Kate Kosturski, Head Editor, INALJ NYC That Other Big Green Monster: Burnout This has not been a good past few weeks. Since my last blog post, my other team member left our company to go back to school, which means I had been covering both her territory and mine through the end of summer…
by Scottie Kapel, Head Editor, INALJ Oregon Confessions of a First-Time Program Planner I am currently in the midst of planning my first program at my first library job, and so far the process has raised more questions than it has answered. For that reason, this article will be the first in a two-part series. Today,…