Tag Archive for articles

The Joy of Active Participation

by Elinor Crosby, Head Editor, INALJ Nova Scotia The Joy of Active Participation How do you participate in your community? Are you a member of your local, state/provincial, or national library and information professional organization? Do you attend meet and greets, fundraisers, or conferences? Do you keep in touch with your fellow alumni? During my…

Four Free Useful Tech Tools

by Rebekah Kati, Head Editor, INALJ North Carolina Four Free Useful Tech Tools I’ve downloaded many tech tools and apps over the years, but rarely use them.  I seem to forget that I have them during the times that they would be the most useful.  However, there are a few tools and apps that I…

Teen Programming – The Biggest Gamble in the Library

by Shayna Monnens, Head Editor, INALJ South Dakota Teen Programming – The Biggest Gamble in the Library As everyone in the library/reading world knows, teen literature is the hottest thing since the invention of the sandwich. Every day it seems to be the best and hottest new YA release has come out, and everyone is…

Professional Organizations: Beyond ALA

by Mary-Michelle Moore, Head Editor, INALJ Vermont Professional Organizations: Beyond ALA  This is part three of a three part series on professional organizations. Part one was published on June 14, and part two was published on June 21. While ALA is the largest and best known of professional library associations, did you know that there…

6 Tips for a Great Phone Interview

Ruth Lincoln, Head Editor, INALJ Washington, DC 6 Tips for a Great Phone Interview Phone interviews are often a first stop on the road to your next library job. They’re a chance for the organization to screen applicants and narrow its choices. As much as we text and email, it’s easy to forget once-simple tasks…

ALA’s Emerging Leaders program

by Caitlin Moen, Head Editor, INALJ Louisiana ALA’s Emerging Leaders program In 2007, American Library Association president Leslie Burger established the Emerging Leaders program, where librarians new to the profession could apply to participate in networking, problem solving and project completion, and ultimately work toward leadership positions within ALA.  Each year there are about 50…

A Midsummer’s Resolution

by Alexis Rohlfing, Head Editor, INALJ New Hampshire A Midsummer’s Resolution Resolutions are something we usually associate with New Year’s: new year, new goals, a way to restart some aspect of our lives. By the time we hit midsummer, those resolutions are usually in the rearview mirror — we’ve abandoned the gym membership, the new…

15 restaurant recommendations for eating your way through ALA Chicago

by Rachael Altman, Head Editor, INALJ Alabama 15 restaurant recommendations for eating your way through ALA Chicago “Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight Handler; Stormy, husky, brawling, City of the Big Shoulders.” – “Chicago” by Carl Sandburg Chicago. Chi-Town. The Windy City. Whatever you…

So You’re Going to Your First Big Conference!

by Adrith Bedore Bicchieri, Head Editor, INALJ Maryland So You’re Going to Your First Big Conference! Are you getting ready to attend ALA’s Annual Conference tomorrow? My suitcase is already packed. If you are attending your first conference, be it ALA or any other organization, I want to share some helpful resources and personal suggestions…

Interviewing Tips for Introverts

by Amanda May, Head Editor, INALJ North Dakota Interviewing Tips for Introverts As an introvert, I dread the interview process.  It feels awkward to sit in front of new people and talk about my accomplishments.  Honestly, it feels like I am just bragging about myself.  Many times, people would tell me to be more outgoing. …

Kate Goes Conferencing, Part 2: Tips and Tricks

by Kate Kosturski, Head Editor, INALJ New York State Kate Goes Conferencing, Part 2: Tips and Tricks In my last blog post, I talked about stretching out of your conference comfort zone and attending non-librarian conferences.   Now that you have a list of conferences in your toolbox, and you’re getting ready to attend your first…

Preparing for a Video Interview

by Nicole Usiondek, Head Editor, INALJ Michigan Preparing for a Video Interview As I mentioned in my last post, I recently participated in a job interview conducted with Skype. I am going to share with you the steps I took to ensure that the interview was successful and not wrought with technical difficulties or other…

In downtown Chicago for #ALA13? Take advice from this Chicagoan

by Holly Lipschultz, Head Editor, INALJ Illinois  In downtown Chicago for #ALA13? Take advice from this Chicagoan I moved to downtown Chicago 3 years ago, and since then, I’ve learned a lot about navigating Chicago, and what kind of free things there are to do. I’m focusing on the most common issues and concerns I’ve…

The Yangambi Research Station Library

by Mychal R. Ludwig, Head Editor, INALJ New Mexico The Yangambi Research Station Library Belgian Colonial Congo (1908 – 1960) The Congo region that is now home to the African nation known as the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC) became Belgium’s only colony on the African continent after its national assembly voted to take control…

Professional Organizations: Diversity in ALA

by Mary-Michelle Moore, Head Editor, INALJ Vermont Professional Organizations: Diversity in ALA This is part two of a three part series on professional organizations. Part one was published on June 14, and part three will be available on June 28. Librarians serve many different groups and interests – within the ALA there are several divisions…

INALJ Summer Reads – you’ll love these books!

by Julie Watson, Head Editor, INALJ Pennsylvania INALJ Summer Reads – you’ll love these books! I asked some of my favorite librarians, who also happen to be INALJ volunteers, what books they are recommending this summer. Here’s what they had to say (and my recommendation as well):     Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy…

My Librarian Origin Story

by Amanda Viana, Head Editor, INALJ Massachusetts My Librarian Origin Story Something I’ve discovered over the past five years or so is that every librarian has an origin story. They range wildly from the most deliberate to the almost accidental, and each of them is as unique as we are. I’ve just taken two major…

Informational Interviewing: A Unique Way to Learn …

by Leigh Milligan, Head Editor, INALJ Pennsylvania and former Head Editor of INALJ Wisconsin Informational Interviewing: A Unique Way to Learn about Libraries and Network at the Same Time One technique in networking and job-hunting that I have been interested in as of late is informational interviewing.  I read a blog post on INALJ last…

How to Negotiate a Raise

by Rebecca Crago, Head Editor, INALJ Virginia How to Negotiate a Raise Employed job seekers may be looking for the next best thing not because they don’t like their job, but because it doesn’t pay enough. While it can take months to complete the hiring process and even years to find that next job, if…

Librarians Have Skills: Celebrating Librarianship on Spotify

by Claire Schmieder, Head Editor, INALJ New Jersey (Shameless Self-Promotion, Take One) Librarians Have Skills: Celebrating Librarianship on Spotify You are awesome, yes? Yes! You have theme songs, yes? Yes! Then…let’s play! I’ve created a Spotify playlist that celebrates our hard work, our tenacity, our creativity…I could go on (ad infinitum), but I won’t. Instead,…

Common interview questions

by Duda Trickovic, Head Editor, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick Common interview questions I found this great web site with the 50 MostCommonInterviewQuestions. Lately I’ve been to quite a few interviews and each time before the interview I would go over these questions.  Almost 90% of questions I’ve got asked on the interview are…

School Librarians Not Done Learning

by Sarah Deringer, Head Editor, INALJ Mississippi School Librarians Not Done Learning: 5 Professional Development Resources In the LIS 644 class I currently attend, an assignment brought to my attention the various professional development resources available to school librarians. As a future school librarian, I believe that learning is a continual process that involves applying…

Professional Organizations: Divisions of the ALA

by Mary-Michelle Moore, Head Editor, INALJ Vermont Professional Organizations: Divisions of the ALA This is part one of a three part series on professional organizations. Part two will be available on June 21, and part three on June 28. The American Library Association is the largest and most inclusive professional organization in our field and…

Take Some Time from the Reference Desk…and Laugh!

by Renee Holden, Head Editor, INALJ Nebraska Take Some Time from the Reference Desk…and Laugh! I work in a public library and sometimes it can be a sea of questions and problems.  I try at least once a month to make sure that I check out YouTube for some really hilarious videos that have been…