Tag Archive for Lauren Bourdages

Top 25 INALJ Articles of 2014

by Naomi House, MLIS Top 25 INALJ Articles of 2014 We are very lucky at INALJ to have some amazing bloggers and guest bloggers.  In 2014 these were the most widely read articles/blog posts.  At the very end of this posting you will find the top 125 blog posts for 2014 along with their page…

The Importance of increasing Professional Involvement/Engagement among Library Support Staff

by Lauren Bourdages, Senior Assistant, INALJ Ontario The Importance of increasing Professional Involvement/Engagement among Library Support Staff So I started a new job in August. I now work in a University Library where I divide my time equally between the user services desk (our circulation and reference service point) and processing books and articles to be put on…

Good Questions to ask Interviewers

by Lauren Bourdages, Senior Assistant, INALJ Ontario Good Questions to ask Interviewers Some of you probably already know that I recently ended my job search by getting hired. I’m now in my first full time position in the industry as a Reserves and User Services Associate at the library of one of my alma maters. I’m super…

An open letter to my fellow job hunters for when you get discouraged

by Lauren Bourdages, Senior Assistant, INALJ Ontario previously published 6/25/13 Lauren has since found a job!!! An open letter to my fellow job hunters for when you get discouraged If you’re like me, sometimes you start internally freaking out because here you are in your mid-to-late-twenties-to-early-to-mid-thirties and you’ve got all of this education but here…

Online vs. F2F Programs: Why Employers Need to Stop Stereotyping Grads Based on Their School

by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario Online vs. F2F Programs: Why Employers Need to Stop Stereotyping Grads Based on Their School Lately I have seen a trend in the Hiring Librarians survey responses, a handful of hiring managers have, recently, stated in one way or another that they have a bias against students who have completed their library education…

So you’ve been laid off, what now?

by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario So you’ve been laid off, what now? On February 4 2014 my, now former manager called me into her office at around 11am, it was a Tuesday, so this was normal, we had a regular 1-on-1 scheduled every Tuesday. Because it was normal I wasn’t mentally prepared for what…

Reflecting on my first Library Conference experience – #OLASC14 (Tips for: networking, resumes, and cover letters)

by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario Reflecting on my first Library Conference experience – #OLASC14 Tips for: networking, resumes, and cover letters My original conference plans that I talked about in my last post turned out to be overly ambitious on my part. After writing that post I ended up going in a completely different…

So You’re Thinking about being a Head Editor…

by Nena Schvaneveldt, Lauren Bourdages, and Kate Kosturski So You’re Thinking about being a Head Editor… About a year ago, a plucky group of people said yes to a new venture – being head editors on states pages on INALJ. Some are staying, some are going, leaving openings for future Head Editors. If you’re thinking…

15 Days to OLA

by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario 15 Days to OLA  In the summer I applied to be part of the askON Text Reference Pilot project because I wanted to get some direct experience in providing reference services. For those of you who aren’t familiar with askON, 28 public and college libraries in the Province…

Extreme Resume Makeover: Library Technician Edition

by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario Extreme Resume Makeover: Library Technician Edition As a job seeker, one thing I inevitably spend a lot of time doing is reading career advice blogs and one take away from them is new advice and tips for resume writing. I enjoy writing, and I think, hope, that I…

How I Jumped in with Both Feet

by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario How I Jumped in with Both Feet Every library and information professional has that moment in their life where, with 100% certainty, they realise that the LIS industry really is where they belong. That moment happened for me in the midst of what was the most intense year…

Constructing a Job Posting Infographic

by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario Constructing a Job Posting Infographic One of the many LIS industry blogs that I follow is the Hiring Librarians blog. A common complaint of Hiring Librarians’ readers is that not every job posting comes with a salary range. That concern, along with the INALJ desire for more postings…

Breaking Out: Non-Traditional Jobs for Library Technicians

. . . by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario Breaking Out: Non-Traditional Jobs for Library Technicians There’s a lot of talk out there about non-traditional LIS jobs for librarians. For example: 61 Non-Librarian Jobs for LIS Grads The ALA’s Non-Traditional Jobs for Librarians page The Where We’re Going: Non-Traditional Careers for LIS Graduates slideshare…

Talking about Technicians – with Michael David Reansbury

This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario Talking about Technicians – with Michael David Reansbury I got in touch with Michael David Reansbury, the current President of the Ontario Association of Library Technicians (OALT/ABO) and…

Professional Associations for Canadian LIS Professionals

by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario Professional Associations for Canadian LIS Professionals Professional Associations (PAs) are something we’ve all heard about, if only in that we’ve heard about the American Library Association (ALA) because of the fact that all MLIS programs in North America have to be accredited by them. PAs aren’t just about…

Building the Dream: You are Your Best Teaching Tool

by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario Building the Dream: You are Your Best Teaching Tool Earlier this week a friend of mine who is a Teacher in New Zealand found a job posting for a Teacher-Librarian position that she asked me to help her put together her application package for. That got me thinking,…