by Emily Guier, Head Editor, INALJ Wyoming Confessions of a well-educated stay-at-home mom Confession: I’m a library and information professional who has never actually been a library and information professional. Coming out of undergrad, I knew I wanted to get my MLIS, but since I was geographically limited—my husband was getting his JD at the…
by Alexis Rohlfing, Head Editor, INALJ New Hampshire Skills in Need: Why coding and technical skills can benefit your job hunt When you’re looking for a library or information professional job, whether you’re new to the field or just changing directions, you’ll find you need something to make you stand out. In the rapidly changing…
by Alexandra Janvey, Head Editor, INALJ Iowa Networking Gets a Bad Rap The dreaded word, networking, was once the bane of my existence. And mostly because—get ready—I convinced myself it was. Like many other library school students, I had been repeatedly advised on how important networking was for an efficient job search. “It has long…
by Lauren Arnsman, Head Editor, INALJ Puerto Rico So you need to write a cover letter… One of the most frustrating aspects of job hunting, for me, is writing the cover letter. When I first started job hunting about six months before my graduation date, cover letters were no big thang. Cut to over 100…
by Africa Hands, Head Editor, INALJ Kentucky Let’s really get LinkedIn If you’re like many people, you received an invitation to join LinkedIn years ago when it first launched and just ignored the invite. Then you received another invitation a couple months or years later, and thought, “What the heck, I’ll join.” So you “joined”…
by Genise Gorman, Head Editor, INALJ Arkansas Tips for Court Library Job Seekers This was a very interesting as well as informative publication put out by the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL). It offers various tips for those seeking jobs as Court Librarians. Many of the tips given here are valuable for other areas…
by Rebecca Crago, Head Editor, INALJ Virginia Perspectives on Internships and Volunteering from a Sole-Staffer I am scheduled to speak at MARAC (Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference) coming up in Erie, PA (my hometown!) on April 25-27, regarding volunteer efficacy from the standpoint of a small institution. And boy, as a solo-librarian and archivist who manages…
by Amanda May, Head Editor, INALJ North Dakota Getting Organized for your Job Search When I was searching for my current work position, I remember feeling overwhelmed. I had applied for quite a few positions, so it was really hard to keep track of everything. I felt like I was drowning in paperwork! I knew…
by Yandee Vazquez, Head Editor, INALJ Texas Continuing Education: It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it helps I clearly remember one of the many job rejections I received because of the fact that they were kind enough to let me know. The librarian was extremely nice and, since I’d actually gotten someone on the…
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Melanie Masserant, Head Editor, INALJ NYC Jen Cwiok …AMNH Digital Projects Manager Melanie: Can you tell us about your current job and how you found it? Jen: I am currently the Digital Projects Manager…
by Renee Holden, Head Editor, INALJ Nebraska Things That Make Me Smile in Public Libraries I have read so many articles and have heard so many stories about the declining budgets and difficult times of public libraries. I have heard from so many people that question the need for public libraries since everything can be…
by Tiffany Newton, Head Editor, INALJ Missouri Location, Location, Location Do you like horseback riding on thousand-acre ranches? Do you like living in the city so every night can be filled with different events, or do you like sitting on your front porch at night listening to the crickets? Do you like the beach? What…
by Nena Schvaneveldt, Head Editor, INALJ Utah Keep your head up Easier said than done, right? This job market is terrible. I know I went to library school at a time when a local library was holding open recruitment for librarians and you needed only three-quarters of your Master’s done to apply. Now those postings…
by Emily Guier, Head Editor, INALJ Wyoming On Being Versatile As information professionals, we often engage in conversations justifying our existence or questioning if we have a future in a world with Google. On both sides of the argument, we discuss our versatility. After all, information is everywhere. Being versatile professionals, there are exciting new…
by Ryan Nitz, Head Editor, INALJ Alaska Alaska Resources Library & Information Services (ARLIS) Hi there. My name is Ryan and I’m the INALJ Head Editor for Alaska. As you may know if you’ve checked out the INALJ Alaska page, I am a Library Administrator for the Bureau of Land Management in Anchorage. In this…
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas An Interview with Mary Kuipers …Adult Services Librarian Mary is the kind of librarian I want to be: helpful, always cheerful, and in love with her job. She…
This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Dawn Thompson, Head Editor, INALJ Ohio Peter Szabo …Music Librarian Dawn: How did you find your job at the Music Librarian at Ohio Wesleyan University? Peter: The Music Library Association’s web site (http://www.musiclibraryassoc.org/). They have…
by Amanda Marie Yetter, Head Editor, INALJ Maryland LinkedUp to LinkedIn Welcome to 2013 where networking is important, but you have to break down the hidden wall of the Internet to get a job interview, deal with Web crawlers before you can be hired, and have to use keywords in context (KWIC) to have your…
by Fallon Bleich, Head Editor, INALJ Oklahoma Why You Should Attend Conferences As a job searcher and library student, one of the most valuable resources I’ve managed to gain and utilize is conferences. While they can be overwhelming, I think they have helped build my confidence in my job skills and have taught me the…
by Mychal Ludwig, Head Editor, INALJ New Mexico New Mexico State Librarian Certification updated 6/25/13 18-2-8 Certification of librarians. The state librarian is hereby authorized to issue certificates to librarians. He shall have authority to prescribe and hold examinations, or require submission of credentials to establish the qualifications of those seeking certificates as librarians, and…
by Marlena Barber, Head Editor, INALJ Tennessee How I Organize My Job Search As a new graduate, I have been applying for fellowships and academic positions. These positions go through what can be a long review process with the institutions’ hiring committees. An interview can come at any time, whether sooner or later, so I…
by Courtney Butler, Head Editor, INALJ Idaho Phasing Out Formats For my first entry I’d like to talk about books. In particular, I’d like to talk about the idea that printed materials are becoming outdated and should be phased out in the face of burgeoning technology. I’ll start out by saying that e-books and all…
by Sean O’Brien, Head Editor, INALJ Colorado 5 Ways to Get Library Job Experience (When You Don’t Have a Library Job) So, you want to be a librarian! You’re acing all of your classes, networking with your classmates and professors, and browsing job listings in order to get a feel for what’s out there. You’re…
by Claire Schmieder, Head Editor, INALJ New Jersey How to Embrace Being an Emerging Professional So, you’ve got that brand-new degree. Hooray! Except…how are you going to use it? I know, because I am one, that being an emerging professional can be just a little scary and frustrating. That old catch-22 kicks in: you can’t…
by Pam Ameigh, former Head Editor, INALJ New York State New York, the state Several weeks has flown by! I’m delighted that Naomi shared the opportunity with me to be a state page editor, and I’m thankful to all the volunteers and visitors helping me improve every day. New York is a pretty…