by Stephanie Leigh Taylor, Head Editor, INALJ British Columbia Why We Do What We Do the Way We Do It What draws a person towards a career as an information professional? Is it an obsessive need to have things in their right place, the satisfaction of everything formatted correctly, the thrill of a perfectly set-up…
by Lisa Huntsha, Head Editor, INALJ Sweden Finding your Niche in 3 For my first blog post, I thought I’d write to you about something that greatly affected my job hunt: finding my niche within the library/archives/museum field. First, I have a confession. I don’t have an MLS and I do have a full-time position…
by Alexandra Janvey, Head Editor, INALJ Iowa Developing a Healthy Job Search The job hunt these days is a long affair, one that is an emotional roller coaster full of discouragement, stress, and mood swings. However, there are ways to manage and reduce the negativity produced during this tough period. Developing a healthy job search…
by Courtney Baron, Head Editor, INALJ Georgia MOOCs to Watch I work at a university and the School of Art recently went through a national director search. We invited four candidates to present and meet and greet the faculty, staff, and students. Nearly all of them mentioned MOOCs as a serious trend in higher education…
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Rachael Altman, Head Editor, INALJ Alabama Meet Alex Perry: INALJ Alabama Assistant Editor & Legal Assistant at McArdle & Whitman and a freelance researcher/writer Rachael: Favorite Library you have been to? Alex: The Jefferson Market Library…
by Ryan Nitz, Head Editor, INALJ Alaska The 3 Ps of Federal Job Hunting Are you considering federal librarianship in your job search? Working for a federal agency is challenging in many ways, but correspondingly rewarding. Whether you’re primarily interested in the public service aspect, the opportunities to transfer and relocate, or the wide range…
by Kiersten Bryant, Head Editor, INALJ California 9 To Follow: Sharing and Expanding Knowledge with Learnist I recently discovered the website Learnist. It is a relatively new website that launched in May 2012. It is similar to Pinterest in that it provides a place to collect content from the World Wide Web and organize it…
by Rebecca Crago, Head Editor, INALJ Virginia Why, If You’re Willing to Relocate, You Should Consider the DC Metro Area It’s easy to get cynical when you hear the Library and Congress and Smithsonian are preparing for furloughs and a reduction of acquisitions over the coming fiscal year, but that doesn’t mean the job-creating grants…
by Genise Gorman, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas On What Candidates Should Wear I really enjoyed Emily Weak of Hiring Librarians article, As long as the candidate shows they have taken care over their appearance that day … it doesn’t matter what they wear. This appears to be one of the best blogs I’ve read this year. Thinking…
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Todd Simpson, Head Editor, INALJ New York City Cristela Garcia-Spitz …Digital Library Program Project Manager, UCSD Todd: Hi Cristela, it’s great to talk with you, thanks for taking some time out for INALJ. Can…
by Marlena Barber, Head Editor, INALJ Tennessee Tennessee Volunteer When beginning my studies in San Jose State University’s completely online MLIS program, I had no professional library experience. My experiences have been in editing, quality control, restaurant service, and working in television and film production. While all of my work experiences that I have had…
by Rebekah Kati, Head Editor, INALJ North Carolina Tips and Tricks for Job Seekers Panel Discussion The North Carolina Library Association hosted a “Tips and Tricks for Job Seekers” panel in late March. The panelists included Susie Corbett from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, Rusty Taylor from the Wake County Public School System, Lisa Ruth…
by Christina Wilson, Head Editor, INALJ Alberta Career Management Tip: Plan to Attend a Conference Library conference season is upon us! Whether employed or not, attending a library conference offers many opportunities for career management, from meeting senior hiring managers in other spheres through gathering information about targeted organizations to expanding your own personal network. …
by Courtney Butler, Head Editor, INALJ Idaho Open Minds Open Doors Recently there were some complaints on INALJ that some editors were posting too many “out of the box” jobs. The disregard for Head Editors’ time and efforts aside, I had a lot of trouble understanding why such a complaint would ever exist. In Support…
by Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas The Library Job Search: A Trip Upstream Recently I went kayaking on the Wakulla River in north Florida. The day was beautiful, and I was so optimistic. As I started paddling upstream, as the tide was going out and making it rather difficult, I was struck by just…
by Aingeal Stone, Head Editor, INALJ Northwest Territories Aingeal’s Hunt: first stop, Dalhousie University’s MIM Program This edition of my blog will be first in a series that will explore my search for a graduate program in which to enrol. Dalhousie’s Master of Information Management (MIM) program (http://www.dal.ca/academics/programs/graduate/information-management.html) is the program I have been leaning…
by Amanda May, Head Editor, INALJ North Dakota An RSS Brain Break As an information professional, my RSS feed includes blogs on collection development, information literacy, library management, reference work, etc. These topics are relevant and interesting to my profession, but there are only so many posts on metadata one can take, you know? Anyway,…
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Leigh Milligan, Head Editor, INALJ Wisconsin Lanora Melillo…Youth Services Librarian and Webmaster Lanora is my great librarian friend who I met through my MLIS classes at Drexel University. She has my goal job of…
by Nicole Usiondek, Head Editor, INALJ Michigan To Brand or not to Brand? Members of the librarian field are very familiar with the importance of having an online presence. During my library school orientation, and each and every class thereafter, the faculty stressed the importance of having an online presence and even the concept of…
by Yandee Vazquez, Head Editor, INALJ Texas Don’t Forget to Practice: Keep an eye on refreshing basic skills You’re looking at a job post and notice that among the preferred qualifications it includes that basic list of programs you’ve seen everywhere: Excel, Word, Powerpoint. The big three of Microsoft Office. Of course you know how…
by R.C. Miessler, Head Editor, INALJ Indiana My On-campus Interview Various things running through my head on the week of an all-day, on-campus librarian interview: Is this real? While I have experience being interviewed (as well as interviewing), this will be my first full-blown on-campus interview for a job. It’s kind of nerve-wracking. I kind…
by Jennifer Crutchfield, Head Editor, INALJ Connecticut Finding and Explaining Your Strengths Finding your strengths and knowing how to explain them can be an excellent resource in finding a new job. It may seem like a simple idea, but I find that during hard times, it is easy to forget what you’re good at and…
by Karly Szczepkowski Taking the Road Less Traveled I was always drawn to the non-traditional aspects of our profession. For me, it was never about working in a building with the letter L on it or in a position with L in the job title. No, for me, it was about using those L skills:…
by Adrith Bedore Bicchieri, Head Editor, INALJ Nevada Keeping Current: Low-Cost Professional Development Opportunities in May May is a busy month for many people. If you find yourself with an extra hour, you may be interested in one or more of these free webinars: Extending Access to E-books for Public Libraries: New Strategies, hosted by…
by Fallon Bleich, Head Editor, INALJ Oklahoma On Thinking Outside the Box Now, obviously, as librarians, we all love books and libraries, but many of us also get very specific with our career paths. I can’t tell you how many fellow MLIS students start their intro posts in each class with “I’m getting this degree…
by Ashley Crace, Head Editor, INALJ West Virginia The “Do You Have Any Questions?” Question A common piece of interview advice is to prepare questions for the inevitable moment when the interviewer asks, “Do you have any questions for us?”. Asking questions sounds good in theory, yet it becomes more difficult in practice. As an…
by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario Professional Associations for Canadian LIS Professionals Professional Associations (PAs) are something we’ve all heard about, if only in that we’ve heard about the American Library Association (ALA) because of the fact that all MLIS programs in North America have to be accredited by them. PAs aren’t just about…
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Joy Rodriguez, Head Editor, INALJ Delaware Changing Library Career Tracks After Graduation, Britt Foster . . . Solo Librarian When she graduated from library school in 2011, Britt Foster planned on working as a…
by Shayna Monnens, Head Editor, INALJ South Dakota Library 101: The Missing Course that You Wish You Could Have Taken When we go to library school, we learn all kinds of different techniques. How to provide reader advisory, how to do original cataloging, database creation, and reference work are all topics that are covered in…
by Melanie Masserant, Head Editor, INALJ NYC Desk Yoga: Job searching & stretching (Simple stretches to sooth the seated body) How many hours are you seated at your desk every day on average? The total of hours spent searching, online networking, and resume tailoring is a modern-day desk sentence for job seekers. Since our bodies…
by Sean O’Brien, Head Editor, INALJ Colorado 5 Basic Tips for Doing Well in the Interview So you got the interview! Congratulations! But now, you realize, you still have to get through the scariest part; the interview. But hey, don’t worry, we’re here this month to give you a few basic tips that will help…
by Emily Guier, Head Editor, INALJ Wyoming Library Superstar Dream Jobs Often, I’ll see a news story about a cool space and know that a librarian is the unsung superstar. That’s right, I said superstar. The following is a list of some dream jobs: 1) GM Heritage Center, http://www.gmheritagecenter.com/about-gm-heritage-center/. I heard about this archive on…
by Mychal Ludwig, Head Editor, INALJ New Mexico Looking Towards the New Mexico Library Association Conference: April 17-19, 2013 Here in Albuquerque New Mexico, it’s the first day (pre-conference sessions) of the annual New Mexico Library Association Conference. I thought I’d share some of the interesting sessions and talks that I plan on attending, over…
by Africa Hands, Head Editor, INALJ Kentucky Opt In Guess what friends? It may not seem like it, but you are in charge of your career, personal development, and advancement. The career website Careerealism has a tagline, Because Every Job is Temporary. Sure it’s somewhat disconcerting, but these days it’s true. You can’t rely on…
by Elena Bubelich, Head Editor, INALJ Quebec How to build a custom RSS (to help you to save time during your job search) Everyone knows how long it could be to search in or to check a multitude of sites offering information about jobs. For example, almost every day I check near 30 sites with…
by Caitlin Moen, Head Editor, INALJ Louisiana The Buddy System Job hunting is exhausting. Job hunting is life-consuming. Job hunting can eat up your entire identity until you cannot think or talk about anything else. And here’s a hint: your friends and family will get sick of hearing about that awesome job you hope will…
by Duda Trickovic, Head Editor, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick New look at the list of references When you are looking for job, list of references is a standard part of the hiring process. It is almost impossible to get a job if you don’t have a good reference. As I was conducting my…
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Rachael Altman, Head Editor, INALJ Alabama Meet Rachel Chenault: INALJ Alabama Assistant Editor and Reference & Instruction Librarian at South University Rachael A: Favorite Library you have been to? Rachel C: The Erie County…
by Veda Darby Soberman, Head Editor, INALJ Hawaii e-Portfolio Primer So, you’ve entered the job hunt armed with a basic arsenal of a well-crafted cover letter, polished resume and stellar references. Don’t think you are fully prepared yet. One more weapon which is making its way from auxiliary to essential is the e-Portfolio. An e-Portfolio…
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Kiersten Bryant, Head Editor, INALJ California Sharon Miller…Mechanic’s Institute Library Director Sharon Miller is the Director of the Mechanic’s Institute Library, a historic membership-based library in the heart of San Francisco, founded in 1854…