{"id":54745,"date":"2014-07-23T09:18:04","date_gmt":"2014-07-23T14:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=54745"},"modified":"2014-07-23T09:18:11","modified_gmt":"2014-07-23T14:18:11","slug":"connect-with-the-library-world-when-you-dont-work-in-a-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=54745","title":{"rendered":"Connect with the Library World When You Don\u2019t Work in a Library"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Ruth Lincoln, former Head Editor, INALJ Washington, DC<\/a><\/em>
\npreviously published 12\/17\/13<\/em><\/p>\n

Connect with the Library World When You Don\u2019t Work in a Library<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

\"ruth.lincoln\"<\/a>Look inside any organization, university, or business, and you\u2019ll probably find a few people with an MLS. They might be called \u201cKnowledge Manager\u201d, \u201cInformation Architect\u201d, or any number of titles (see the INALJ left sidebar for more suggestions!).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never held the official \u201clibrarian\u201d title, but my current and previous jobs all greatly utilized the knowledge and skills I gleaned during my MLS education. I always enjoy connecting with other librarians and sharing our experiences. While I love my work, those relationships are sometimes missing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Librarians (no matter the official title) are a really friendly bunch. Reaching out beyond my normal work circle has been great to meet some great people, get inspired, and lend my own advice. Here are some ways you can connect with the library world even when you work in a \u201cnon-traditional\u201d library role or organization.<\/p>\n


\nRead<\/b><\/p>\n

Stay abreast of what people are talking about in the library world. Even if you don\u2019t work in a library, you can still \u201cspeak the language\u201d and know the hot topics. There\u2019s no shortage of blogs and articles to keep you busy, but I always scan ALA Direct<\/a> headlines and read the stories that interest me most.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Volunteer<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve connected with some terrific people since volunteering with INALJ. We\u2019re a mix of students and recent-ish graduates, and it\u2019s been so helpful to share experiences and solicit advice from people who understand your scenario. And we\u2019re always looking for new volunteers<\/a>!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Your local library is always looking for volunteers. It\u2019s the perfect place to gain practical experience and work alongside librarians with diverse histories and experiences..<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Join an Association<\/b><\/p>\n

Check out your local library association and attend some events. It might seem daunting to see where you fit in, but you will find your place. Talk to the directors, reach out via email, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. and you\u2019ll find there are great people to connect with or know of others who can help.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re an ALA<\/a> member, the New Members Round Table (NMRT<\/a>) is a terrific (and cheap) way to meet recent graduates and learn about the ALA organization and where you might fit in. Plus, it\u2019s super easy to join a committee as soon as you join. \u00a0\u00a0Or try SLA<\/a> and their local divisions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Ruth Lincoln, former Head Editor, INALJ Washington, DC previously published 12\/17\/13 Connect with the Library World When You Don\u2019t Work in a Library Look inside any organization, university, or business, and you\u2019ll probably find a few people with an MLS. They might be called \u201cKnowledge Manager\u201d, \u201cInformation Architect\u201d, or any number of titles (see…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":58800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[69,3592,3637,4557,4720],"class_list":["post-54745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-inalj-washington-dc","tag-non-library-jobs","tag-ruth-lincoln"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/ruth.lincoln.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-eeZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=54745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/58800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=54745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=54745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=54745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}