by Sara Dixon, former Head Editor, INALJ Kansas previously published 5/21/13 & 6/16/14 Making the Case to Attend ALA Annual Conference…to Yourself If you are like me, you have been weighing the pros and cons of attending the ALA Annual Conference. ALA says, “Expand your network. Build your knowledge. Improve your profession.” Why, yes, ALA, I would…
Bringing Humanity into Libraries by Angela Piccola, Senior Editor Libraries function as a common ground to nurture knowledge and foster community. The idea of the library being a brick and mortar storage house for books has shifted in the new digital age. What more can we do as a profession other than to provide answers…
Knowledge is power: an Ideal Library Community Center by Angela Piccola, Senior Editor Libraries often expand programming to best serve the community. Libraries have to be receptive to the needs of patrons and adapt accordingly to maintain relevancy within the community. During difficult times, such as a recession, the unemployment rate goes up causing many…
5 Strategies for Dealing with Problem Behavior by Ruth Harries, Senior Assistant, INALJ Kansas I’ve worked in public services for the past seven years, and my experience has been that the majority of transactions with patrons are emotionally neutral. Truly memorable experiences with patrons – whether good or bad – are rarer, but they…
5 Resources to Produce Great Library Displays by Angela Piccola, Senior Editor I love searching through Pinterest for ideas on little known holidays and events to really boost our circulation numbers. Displays in general are a great way to introduce new ideas to your patrons. I think finding a way to creatively present an…
by Angela Piccola, Senior Editor New Year of Professional Development: 7 Great Sites to Use Each year we have new opportunities to improve and grow as information professionals. Free resources to engage and further our knowledge skillsets are available in several different online formats. There are some set to the standard classroom and module…
by Emma Pinault, Senior Editor, INALJ Florida, INALJ Idaho, INALJ Indiana, INALJ Iowa, INALJ Kansas, INALJ Georgia, INALJ Hawaii Connecting with potential library users A long-standing and frustrating question for libraries everywhere is how to draw in potential library users. Often, many of the people in a community who would benefit greatly from library services are…
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 Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas Test Your Library Trivia Knowledge One of my favorite programs that we do at my library is Trivia Thursdays. It’s one of the very few programs we have for the adult crowd, and it’s starting to gain a following. Since we do not have evening hours at the library, and since…
by Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas previously published 9/25/13 4 Things to Do When the Job Wave Wanes Lately, it’s been a bit slow on the Kansas page. I’ve noticed that jobs seem to come in waves – sometimes they to pour in, and then it tapers down to slight sprinkling. So what’s there…
by Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas Library Marketing to a Non-Digital Population If you’ve been following my blog posts here at INALJ, you probably know that I’m working at a rural library in Kansas. I love my job and I want people to love the library as much as I do. I’ve been working to promote children,…
by Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas Great Resources for Developing Services to Teens! At my small library, I felt that the teen population was getting largely overlooked. Unfortunately, the sad truth is it’s because no one had much time to devote to the group. I think this has often been the case in smaller libraries.…
by Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas Resolutions It’s that time of year again. Time to reflect on the last twelve months and consider what seemingly small, and yet attainable improvements we can make over the next twelve months. I used to not make New Year’s Resolutions, I think because it was too easy to…
by Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas Why Every Profession Needs a Librarian or Information Professional **I do not usually take to ranting, especially online. This month, I make an exception.** This last week, as I was trying to change over my license and tags back to Kansas from Florida, I had what I imagine…
by Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas Local vs. National Conferences Last weekend, I attended the Kansas Library Association Annual Conference, my first conference as a gainfully employed public librarian. And. It. Was. Awesome. It was great to meet so many librarians in situations similar to mine. I found out that my “small” town library…
by Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas Keeping an Open Mind on the Job Hunt A common theme around INALJ is to think outside the box when it comes to library and information professional jobs. This usually encourages you to consider jobs outside the library field that still utilize your information professional skills acquired via…
by Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas Prepping for the Job Interview For this blog post, I want to share some ways that I prepare for job interviews. I’m told that I prepare too much sometimes, but I just feel more comfortable the more that I prepare. The one thing I try to remember, and…
by Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas Location, Location, Relocation? My Journey. Sometime last year, I read a short article about relocating to a city in order to find a job in a specific area. I remember thinking this was kind of backwards. Job first, relocation second. I had always planned on relocating when I…
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…
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 Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas Job Search Taking Longer than Expected? Volunteer To Gain Experience! When I got done with library school almost 2 years ago, I wanted a library job, but I put off really focusing on the job search. I had a job throughout school that would continue to support me…
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…