{"id":63274,"date":"2014-03-03T13:45:32","date_gmt":"2014-03-03T18:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=63274"},"modified":"2014-03-02T13:18:05","modified_gmt":"2014-03-02T18:18:05","slug":"dont-discount-library-assistant-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=63274","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Discount Library Assistant Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Nicolas Resteiner, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ Mississippi<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Discount Library Assistant Experience<\/span><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Nicolas<\/a>When I worked at my local library in high school, I was just a page. I shelved books for a couple\u00a0of years, went to college and came back home and worked as a movie theater manager before realizing\u00a0that I did not want to spend my life doing that. I got hired on as a page at the same library I worked at in\u00a0high school and got promoted a couple of months later to library assistant\/ after-school teen monitor\u00a0(the library is right next to a high school). It was in this position that I got a perspective of what goes on\u00a0in a library that being a page cannot give you.<\/p>\n

First of all, it gives you a chance to work closely with librarians and pick their brains to find out if\u00a0the profession is right for you. You get to see them go about their day-to-day business (if not actively\u00a0help them out) and learn the ins and outs of different parts of the job. Secondly, it gives you the chance\u00a0to show off for your superiors. When I was a page, I did not have a lot of room for impressing the people\u00a0above me. When I became a library assistant that changed. I frequently volunteered for special projects\u00a0and got to help out librarians with their duties and projects. Make your contact with the librarians work\u00a0for you! As an assistant, you get to show off more diverse skills and maybe make your superiors consider\u00a0you for a full-time position.<\/p>\n

Another set of benefits come into play when working the front desk. You get to learn to help\u00a0patrons find what they are looking for, how to conduct a reference interview, and how customer service\u00a0works in a library, something that many MLS holders that have never worked in a library may not be\u00a0quite up on. Though by and large the same as customer service in the private sector, when working a\u00a0library desk you are expected to multitask, to have a good deal of autonomy, and to know as much\u00a0about the library\u2019s services and collection as a librarian. In addition, you also gain experience working\u00a0with a library\u2019s systems (such as Polaris). While there are several different Integrated Library Systems\u00a0(ILS), they operate on the same principles. Knowing your way around an ILS can greatly minimize the\u00a0time that a library must spend on training.<\/p>\n

One of the more common ways to get hired as a librarian is to be a paraprofessional first and\u00a0hope to get hired as a librarian. This is because a parapro does almost the same things a librarian does.\u00a0While a library assistant does not have the same responsibilities as a parapro, you can still show off\u00a0skills, determination, and drive in that position. Many of the day-to-day skills that library school cannot\u00a0teach, such as ILS operation, acquiring a professional network, what to do when the toilet is\u00a0overflowing, and how to control rowdy teens who are disturbing other patrons, can be learned as a\u00a0library assistant. Any employer will appreciate these skills, especially since they come from real-world\u00a0experience and not from a book or a class. Every job is what you make of it, and if you play your cards\u00a0right, you can turn a job as a library assistant into a career as a librarian.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Nicolas Resteiner, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ Mississippi Don\u2019t Discount Library Assistant Experience   When I worked at my local library in high school, I was just a page. I shelved books for a couple\u00a0of years, went to college and came back home and worked as a movie theater manager before realizing\u00a0that I did not want to…<\/p>\n

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