by Raymond Pun, reference and research services librarian in New York University Shanghai Working Abroad As a Librarian: Challenges and Opportunities Ahead Thinking about working abroad? There are growing opportunities to work abroad as a librarian or information specialist these days. However, when you consider working abroad as an adventure, there will be tons of unexpected challenges…
by Holly Boyer, Senior Editor, INALJ ALA NMRT can help you find a job and succeed in your career The American Library Association New Members Round Table wants you to succeed. They want you to be successful so much, they’re willing, able, and really excited to help you along the way. How, you ask? By…
by Valarie Swayze, Senior Editor, INALJ Plan Your Mission & Conquer Your Goals Setting goals and accomplishing them is a powerful experience, and one that can motivate you to being better every day. The first step to purposeful goal-setting is writing a personal mission statement. If life is a journey, a mission statement would be…
by Josh Rimmer, Senior Editor, INALJ Missouri, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Kentucky, Louisiana Preparation, Preparation, Preparation, and…….Preparation. Preparing for a job interview is probably the least exciting of tasks to perform, but it should pay off in the long run, if you are diligent. When I think back to my first interview, I remember the mental…
by Stephanie Noell, Senior Assistant, INALJ Texas Testing the Regional Conference Waters Regional library conferences are a great way to get involved in professional organizations. You can present a paper, volunteer for the conference, organize a meet up for your listserv/ committee/gaming group (Call of Cthulhu anyone?), or just go to listen to great talks…
by Amelia Zavala Vander Heide ,Senior Editor, INALJ Massachusetts, Maryland, and Virtual Work Bumps, Bruises, and Blunders: Dealing with Embarrassing Moments at Work and on the Job Hunt We have all been there. You say or do the wrong thing in the wrong moment. You accidentally slip, fall, or let that swear word sneak out. That…
by Marian Mays, Senior Editor, INALJ UK, Nunavut, Yukon, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island Just Say No If you’re anything like me, saying no can be difficult. However, taking on too many projects and responsibilities can be harmful to our personal health and well-being. Once, when job shadowing a librarian, I witnessed something amazing. A…
by Clayton Hayes, Senior Assistant, INALJ North Dakota The Job Search is like Online Dating To me, the process of searching for a job is like online dating. Think about it: you search online for something that seems attractive. You delve a little bit deeper to see what kind of person they are, to see who they…
by Claire Schmieder, Senior Editor previously published 5/23/13 3 Off-the-Beaten-Paths to Librarianship Librarians have so many amazing skills, all of which are transferrable into any number of careers. If you’re having trouble finding a traditional library job, maybe it’s time to start searching for less conventional, but equally as rewarding, positions. Here is a tree-tops…
by Kate Kosturski, Senior Editor, INALJ Ontario and INALJ Quebec Change Does Not and Will Not Suck You may have noticed that we went through a few changes here at INALJ last month – state page editors replaced by senior editors, and what on earth are these new senior assistant jobs? This was a subtle change,…
by Amy Steinbauer, Senior Assistant, INALJ California Supporting Your Friends Through Their Library Job Search Congrats- you have a job! Bonus points if you are actually working in the field that you wanted to! I am one of those lucky ones. I have a library job, which (mostly) I love. I get to feel that bittersweet glee when…
by Rebecca Kluberdanz, Senior Editor, INALJ Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Wyoming What I Learned from Working in a Special Library I’m sure everyone has an image in their head of their ideal job. Honestly, the job I have right doesn’t fit that image but I’m loving it anyway! I currently work in what I would consider a special…
by Angie Solis, Senior Assistant, INALJ Missouri Acing the job interview: Post-interview tips (pt 4 of 4) I hope that throughout this series you have learned at least one thing to help you through the interview process. Since we started on this journey we have talked about pre-interview prep, personal and professional interview prep and surviving the interview.…
by Ashley Mancill, Senior Assistant, INALJ Alabama Credit Thieves: How to Protect Your Work and Ideas Most professionals over the course of their careers will likely have the unpleasant and aggravating experience of someone else taking credit for their work or ideas. Sometimes it is as simple as a supervisor not being aware of an employee’s accomplishments, especially if…
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions By Kasia Piasecka, Senior Assistant, INALJ Rhode Island Meet Natalie Coolen, Head of Circulation at Rodgers Memorial Library! Kasia: What is one thing you absolutely love about your library and/or your role there? Natalie: From…
July was our best month ever! 7 million page views total! What a great month! The big news is July was our busiest month ever, by a lot! In addition our busiest day EVER was 29,449 views on 7/29, and our busiest week Ever had 126,580 views, and our busiest month EVER at INALJ.com with 544,821 views! We also hit…
by Rebekah Kati, Head Editor, INALJ North Carolina How to Ace the Academic Library Database Presentation Typically, when candidates are invited to the second round of interviews for an academic library position, they are asked to give a presentation. For reference and instruction positions, this presentation is often a demonstration of a database to undergraduate students in an introductory…
by Suzanne Schultz Pick, Head Editor, INALJ UK Celebrate Summer in the UK Libraries Summer holiday is officially here, and what better time to find events for students during the break? Here are a list of events and happenings at a selection of libraries in England and Scotland for the month of August. If your local branch isn’t…
by Veda Darby Soberman, former Head Editor, INALJ Hawaii previously published 12/16/13 Cold Feet About Cold Calling Cold calls have long been used by businesses to sell their services or products. We all dread those telemarketing calls, and junk emails, and we easily hang up or press delete to avoid the sales pitches, but cold…
by Naomi House, MLIS Why I Quit My Library Job and Why I No Longer Want One I have worked in libraries for the last ten years but as of December 2013 I have been working only outside of libraries doing my other job, renovating and selling old houses, and forming a new partnership. I have…
by Aimee Graham, former Head Editor, INALJ Georgia Parting Words from a Parting Editor My journey began with INALJ in the summer of 2012. I was in a whirlwind, trying to complete my Masters of Science in Information Science from the University at Albany, SUNY within one year, and juggling work, family, four summer classes…
by Amanda May, former Head Editor, INALJ North Dakota previously published 10/21/13 5 Free Reader’s Advisory Resources There are many free reader’s advisory resources available on the Internet. Here are five of my favorites: Based on the Book – This resource is made available through the Mid-Continent Public Library. This page is a compilation of…
by Amanda Viana, Head Editor, INALJ Massachusetts previously published 5/13/13 4 Reference tools that save my life (on a daily basis) (editor’s note: Astrid is no longer available- add in the comments your nominees for #4) Diigo: There are quite a few social bookmarking sites out there, but Diigo has been my professional go-to site…
by Ruth Lincoln, Senior Assistant, INALJ DC Step-up your job hunt with more steps “Job hunting” bears little resemblance to the “hunting” of our primal ancestors. We both may forage for the biggest prize (cavemen: meat and fish; recent library grad: a tenure-track position with benefits), but the librarian’s hunt burns fewer calories. All that…
by Leigh Milligan, Head Editor, INALJ Wisconsin previously published 9/12/13 What I Learned From a Traumatic Experience: How to Store Important Documents Around 9 PM on July 26, 2013, I suffered from the most traumatic experience of my life. My apartment was destroyed in a fire that destroyed 48 other apartments along with my own.…
by Julie Watson, former Head Editor, INALJ Pennsylvania previously published 8/19/13 Unmotivated? Discouraged? Click Here Staying positive during the job search can be challenging, especially if you are not currently employed. When times get tough, I find inspiration in quotes. Sometimes I’ll pick a one for the week and use it like a mantra. Anytime…
by Lisa Iannucci, Senior Assistant, INALJ New Jersey Be Proactive About Pest Prevention It’s no secret that pests of all types are an issue in libraries, archives and cultural institutions; cockroaches, ants, termites, bedbugs and assorted rodents can take up residence in the unlikeliest locations. Even the cleanest, most organized establishment can have issues with…
by Billy Hinshaw, former Assistant, INALJ Minnesota previously published 12/18/13 So You Want to Be a Law Librarian? Law librarianship is a great career avenue for those who either a) are library professionals interested in legal work, or b) are former attorneys or legal professionals seeking an alternate career. Regardless of background, law librarians use…
by Ruth Lincoln, former Head Editor, INALJ Washington, DC previously published 12/17/13 Connect with the Library World When You Don’t Work in a Library Look inside any organization, university, or business, and you’ll probably find a few people with an MLS. They might be called “Knowledge Manager”, “Information Architect”, or any number of titles (see…
by Christina Wilson, Head Editor of INALJ Alberta and INALJ Manitoba Meet Clive Maishment of The Alberta Library (TAL) I’d like to introduce readers to one of Alberta’s outstanding library organizations and its visionary and effective leader. Formed in 1997, The Alberta Library (TAL) is a consortium of 49 member libraries serving over 300 locations in Alberta. It was established…
By Harold Rougeux, INALJ Alaska Assistant What I’ve gained from working as a temp librarian After what seemed like an endless string of applications and interviews, I finally had a solid job offer on the table. It had come kind of unexpectedly. I had just finished doing a short online presentation as part of the…
by Angie Solis, Head Editor, INALJ Missouri Acing the job interview – Surviving the Interview (Part 3 of 4) In Part one and two we discussed pre-interview prep and personal and professional interview prep. Both these articles were written to get you to this day. The BIG day! INTERVIEW DAY! So now that we’ve made it here…
by Naomi House, MLIS, INALJ Founder and Editor Strategizing for the Job Hunt In October 2013 I was not only furloughed but also lost my job in the great and tremendously wasteful federal government shutdown. I wrote an article Furloughed & Job Hunting: why strategizing 1st is the key to success, with advice about what…
by Adrith Bedore Bicchieri, former head editor, INALJ Maryland previously published 8/9/13 When a Sprint Becomes an Ultramarathon: Tips for an Extended Job Search The end of July marked one year of job searching for me, an anniversary I’d rather not have celebrated. A job search of any length longer than you had cared,…
by Sandra Hoyer, former Head Editor, INALJ Washington. previously published 12/5/13 10 Library-Themed Businesses I’d Love to Frequent Some Day Here are 10 library-inspired places that I would love to visit. The Library in Rome, Italy. – Run by a library aficionada, this off the beaten path bar offers a cozy spot for both wine and…
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Mary-Michelle Moore, Head Editor, INALJ California Cairie R…. Lambda Archives & INALJ Success Story Mary-Michelle: How did you find your current job? Cairie: On the INALJ California page. My most current position at Lambda Archives was…
by Claire Schmieder, now Senior Editor, and formerly Head Editor, INALJ New Jersey previously published 12/4/13 Patience, Grasshopper It’s official – after an eleven-month job search, I have accepted a position with the Alice Paul Institute. You’re looking at their new Program Associate, folks, and I am so, so excited about the work I’ll be…
Marian Mays, Senior Editor, INALJ How to Survive Your MLS Distance Program: 6 Tips from a Recent Grad The transition to full-time online classes can be extremely tough, especially for new students. Online classes can make you feel isolated, require more personal diligence, and can be a time management nightmare. Plus, MLS programs don’t always offer students…
by Jess Bruckner, Assistant Editor, INALJ Virginia The Condition in Which You Leave Your Library Position If you’re leaving a library position, the condition in which you leave your job has an impact. Before you move on, you should make a mental checklist of things that need to be done so the new person is on track…
by Fallon Bleich, Senior Assistant for and former Head Editor of, INALJ Arkansas previously published 3/18/13 4 Sites That Every Librarian Should Know and Show I’m a giant techie and love discovering new sites and sharing them. As a librarian in training, it is even more fun to share the findings with patrons. Below are…