by Gabrielle Spiers, Senior Assistant, INALJ Montana previously published 8/21/13 4 Back to Basic Tips for Job Seekers Recently, I got the chance to read through resumes and cover letters – the experience prompted reiterating these tips. I realize that a lot of these are really basic, and I feel like they shouldn’t have to…
by Elinor Crosby, former Head Editor, INALJ Nova Scotia and PEI previously published 12/9/13 But I Can’t Move For A Job! What happens if you graduate from your Masters or Technician program and intend to stay in the city or town you went to school in? For some of us that is the only financially…
by Kate Kosturski, Senior Editor previously published 12/27/13 The Doctor Is In….the Library! For the last INALJ blog post of 2013, I decided to embrace the merry of the season (though not that Elf on the Shelf thing), and switch to something lighthearted about libraries…. 23 November 1963 was a momentous date for Britons, and…
by Kiersten Bryant, former Head Editor, INALJ California previously published 10/30/13 How Does This Networking Thing Work? I will be attending a library conference soon and have been looking for advice on how to network at these events. I currently work in the apparel industry in a position that is in no way related to…
by Ashley Crace, former Head Editor, INALJ West Virginia previously published 8/20/13 From Flight Attendant to Librarian: Making Your Non-Library Work Experience Work for You I worked as a flight attendant for five years. During this time, I earned a Master’s degree in Library and Information Studies. I volunteered, interned, and polished my skills. But,…
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Claire Schmieder, Senior Editor previously published 5/6/13 This interview is from 2013 Nancy Kranich…Former ALA President and Rutgers University–Lecturer, School of Communication and Information and Special Projects Librarian Claire: Your career path has been…
by R.C. Miessler, former Head Editor, INALJ Indiana previously published 6/4/13 Ego Tripping at the Gates of the Library Job Hunt It’s been said a thousand ways in a myriad of contexts, but finding a library job right now is tough. This isn’t new news to any of us looking right now. What’s tough to…
by Rebekah Kati, Senior Assistant, INALJ North Carolina previously published 11/19/13 4 Higher Education Blogs That You Should Be Reading I love to read blogs written by professionals and thinkers outside the library world in order to gain a different perspective of issues important to librarians and higher education in general. Below are four higher…
by Emma Pinault, Senior Editor, INALJ Florida, INALJ Idaho, INALJ Indiana, INALJ Iowa, INALJ Kansas, INALJ Georgia, INALJ Hawaii Consider the Public Library Many of us, in college and in library school, fell in love with the academic library. It might have been a little intimidating to an undergraduate freshman, at first, but a good university…
by Sara Dixon, Former Head Editor, INALJ Kansas So Long INALJ and Thanks for All the Fish! In February of 2013, I was desperate to get out of cubicle world and land my first post-MLIS librarian position. I had used INALJ while it was still a PDF digest that Naomi would email to countless addresses. And when she…
by Jennifer Reisch, Senior Assistant, INALJ NYC Jill Abramson Hates Censorship (and So Do I!) I recently had the opportunity to hear Jill Abramson, former executive editor of the New York Times, speak at the Chautauqua Institution. Her talk was on the ethics of privacy, and I was struck many times throughout her presentation on the similarities between librarians…
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 Brad McNally, former Head Editor, INALJ Ohio previously published 8/12/13 3 Things to Remember about Gaming in the Library I won’t lie: I love gaming. Luckily, many patrons in my library seem to as well (it helps that they are teens). Not everyone working in libraries feels the same about gaming in general, and…
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 Joy Rodriguez, former Head Editor, INALJ Delaware previously published 8/1/13 Exploring Alternative Library Careers via Linkedin Groups Joining groups on Linkedin is a great way to expand your professional network and keep track of the latest information in the LIS world. Several articles have been written on how to manage and network via LinkedIn…
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…