{"id":4084,"date":"2012-09-07T08:35:03","date_gmt":"2012-09-07T12:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=4084"},"modified":"2012-11-13T18:05:11","modified_gmt":"2012-11-13T23:05:11","slug":"mary-mcgregor-in-six","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=4084","title":{"rendered":"Mary McGregor …In Six"},"content":{"rendered":"

My interview with success story, Mary<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Naomi: <\/strong>How did you find your current job?
\nMary: <\/strong>Authentic networking: I joined the New York City School Library Association<\/a> during my last semester of library school. I went to the meetings and I participated. I spoke with school librarians and administrators. When someone from the Library Services team asked me to send her a resume in case something came up in spite of the ongoing New York City hiring freeze, I followed up within a couple of days. That resume made it into the hands of a school looking for a full-time media specialist for the first time, and I was interviewed before the position was ever posted. They went through a tedious process and interviewed a lot of people because of hiring restrictions, so I think that demonstrating a real interest in NYC school libraries beforehand certainly helped me.<\/p>\n

I say \u201cauthentic networking\u201d because I became a part of a professional network that I really wanted to learn from and to which I hoped to contribute. That makes a better impression on people than reaching out to them with the strongest motive being that you want to make sure they know you\u2019re available if they could recommend you for a position.<\/p>\n

Naomi: <\/strong>Favorite library you have been to?
\nMary: <\/strong>Aesthetically, the Stephen A. Schwarzman building<\/a> (aka the main building of the New York Public Library) really can\u2019t be beat, and the Reading Room got me through a lot of paper-writing in grad school. However, the softest spot in my heart is for the unremarkable-looking Greenpoint branch <\/a>of Brooklyn Public Library. It was my neighborhood branch for five years, and I became a volunteer and Friends member there. Those librarians work their tails off and do a lot for a very special and unique neighborhood. It was there that I met the librarians that inspired me to leave my marketing job and go to library school!<\/p>\n

Naomi: <\/strong>Favorite book?
\nMary: <\/strong>It\u2019s tough to pick one. I can always re-read The Little Prince<\/em> by Antoine Saint-Exupery and feel moved. However, I also think everyone should read What is the What<\/em> by Dave Eggers.<\/p>\n

Naomi: <\/strong>Favorite thing about libraries\/ library technology?
\nMary: <\/strong>The best thing about libraries and technology is the power to connect people. Becoming a life-long learner depends on your own curiosity being fostered and satisfied, and libraries and digital technology make that easier than ever. I hold library cards to all three systems in New York City, and I love that they all have free, amazing resources available to me 24\/7 online. They helped me study for my certification exams, create pathfinders, do research on my own family history, and plan the fifth-grade lesson on website evaluation that helped me land my job.<\/p>\n

Naomi: <\/strong>Any websites or feeds or blogs we should be following?
\nMary: <\/strong>Any school librarians or aspiring school librarians should check out The Unquiet Librarian, written by Buffy Hamilton (http:\/\/theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com\/<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Social librarians in NYC should check out The Desk Set (http:\/\/thedeskset.org\/<\/a>).<\/p>\n

All NYC librarians and library-lovers should check out Urban Librarians Unite (http:\/\/urbanlibrariansunite.org\/<\/a>).<\/p>\n

For a regular dose of Dead Poets Societ<\/em>y-style inspiration, I turn to one of my professors from Syracuse University, Dave Lankes\u2019 \u201cVirtual Dave\u2026 Real Blog\u201d (http:\/\/quartz.syr.edu\/blog\/<\/a>). If you get a chance to see him speak, do it. He will get you amped up to go out there and change the world starting in your own library.<\/p>\n

Here is my own ever-growing Twitter List of librarians I follow and learn from:
\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/bkbiblio<\/a><\/p>\n

I also have a blog that I am trying to dust off and get going again (http:\/\/bkbiblio.wordpress.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Naomi: <\/strong>Best piece of job hunting advice?
\nMary: <\/strong>Be yourself and actively participate in a network that will mean something to you not only during, but also well after your job search. Make real connections that make a difference for others as well as for you and that will support you as a professional.<\/p>\n

I am originally from a tiny little hamlet in Central (upstate) New York and got a Communications and Marketing degree from Syracuse University. I have bounced around New York City over the past decade, but it was in Brooklyn that I volunteered at a local public library. Within a few months, I realized that librarians are the greatest and I wanted to do that, too. After nine years in ad agencies and marketing departments, I returned to Syracuse University for my MLIS and School Media Certification. I am on the cusp of beginning my very first position as a Library Media Specialist in a public elementary school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My interview with success story, Mary Naomi: How did you find your current job? Mary: Authentic networking: I joined the New York City School Library Association during my last semester of library school. I went to the meetings and I participated. I spoke with school librarians and administrators. When someone from the Library Services team…<\/p>\n

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