{"id":89349,"date":"2015-02-26T10:48:54","date_gmt":"2015-02-26T16:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=89349"},"modified":"2015-02-26T10:48:54","modified_gmt":"2015-02-26T16:48:54","slug":"re-frame-your-education-experience-in-your-mind-to-open-new-job-horizons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=89349","title":{"rendered":"Re-frame your education & experience in your mind to open new job horizons!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Re-frame your education & experience in your mind to open new job horizons!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

by Lauren Bourdages<\/span><\/span><\/a>, Senior Assistant, INALJ Ontario<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"laurenbourdages\"<\/a>Something I\u2019ve thought a lot about ever since I realised I wanted to work in libraries is that there are a lot of people in this profession who are adamant that the library is the be all and end all of career paths for those holding LIT diplomas and MLIS degrees. I don\u2019t know why, and frankly I don\u2019t understand that attitude at all, or why people think that just because that\u2019s the choice they\u2019ve made for themselves, they have the right to try and force that opinion on others. After all the \u201cI\u201d in LIT and MLIS stands for INFORMATION not I.<\/p>\n

Yes most\/all of us probably ended up on this industry because we love libraries. And most of us probably started our education thinking that yes, we want to work in libraries. <\/b>The great thing about library and information programs though, is that they let you know pretty much right off the bat in some way that libraries aren\u2019t the only job place\u00a0option you have. As you go through your courses you may find yourself drawn more towards the research side of things, or the data side, or the records side, or the web programming side, all of those information streams that you may or may not end up doing in a library. Being drawn towards records management isn’t any different than being drawn towards academic librarianship.\u00a0 Or children\u2019s programming. People\u2019s interests change as they grow and learn, that\u2019s what makes us human, my experiences won\u2019t match someone else\u2019s so why should my career trajectory?<\/p>\n

Even if everyone did want to be an academic librarian, there are only so many academic librarian positions around. We as a collective whole need to keep thinking outside the box, a lot of us already do, but we need to keep doing it and to encourage others to do it, if we get enough people talking about themselves as information professionals first who\u2019ve chosen to work specifically in libraries we make the whole profession stronger. Look at Rachel Altman has taken a job as a Corporate Researcher, and still a librarian. My former field placement supervisor in the Prospect Research department of a University is\u00a0still a librarian. Kate Kosturski working for a vendor is still a librarian. What about Kim Dority, Nora Stoecker, or Marcy Phelps and the other independent information professionals out there? They\u2019re all librarians who have made the conscious choice of using their skills as information professionals outside of the library to do the much of the\u00a0same work librarians in libraries do.<\/p>\n

It frustrates me when people try to limit themselves or others, especially when it comes down to people throwing out statements like \u201cI can\u2019t do that, I\u2019m a librarian.\u201d; \u201cThat\u2019s NOT a job for a librarian.\u201d; or \u201cWhy would I think about doing that kind of work, I\u2019m a library professional?\u201d. I just personally can\u2019t think in such narrow, limited terms. That scope is too small and stifling for me. One of my absolute favourite job hunting books just happens to be on this very topic, it\u2019s a book I discovered in my second semester of the LIT program, and it is wholly responsible for shaping my view on this topic and on the options that are out there for any LIS pros interested\/willing to look for them. Rachel Singer Gordon\u2019s What\u2019s the alternative? Career Options for Librarians and Info Pros<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n

This is also a topic we talk about a lot around INALJ, because it keeps coming up again, and again. That\u2019s why I\u2019m writing this article this month, because I think we just need another reminder, to take the blinders off and see what we could be missing. So for a refresher, check out some of the past INALJ articles on this matter:<\/p>\n

So What CAN a Librarian Do Outside the Library?<\/span><\/span><\/a> by Kate Kosturski<\/p>\n

Exploring Alternative Library Careers via Linkedin<\/span><\/span><\/a> Groups by Joy Rodriguez<\/p>\n

How to Break Out of the Library Field & Feel Good About It<\/span><\/span><\/a> by Veda Darby Soberman<\/p>\n

Looking Outside the Box<\/span><\/span><\/a> by Stefanie Maclin<\/p>\n

Breaking Out: Non-Traditional Jobs for Library Technicians<\/span><\/span><\/a> by me! (I don\u2019t think I sound like a broken record for having talked about this already, I feel very strongly about this topic!)<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also all of those keywords and article links that are on the sidebar of every page of INALJ, right over there to the left of this. If you\u2019ve never looked before, give that a peek.<\/p>\n

So, don\u2019t limit yourself, and don\u2019t listen to anyone who tries to limit you.If we all had the same interests and same desires we would be living in a very dull world indeed. As information professionals, it\u2019s our ultimate goal to make information accessible to people, by trying to limit LIS pros options or narrowly define them, you\u2019re working completely against that goal.<\/b> Just some food for thought and my two cents on the matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Re-frame your education & experience in your mind to open new job horizons! by Lauren Bourdages, Senior Assistant, INALJ Ontario Something I\u2019ve thought a lot about ever since I realised I wanted to work in libraries is that there are a lot of people in this profession who are adamant that the library is the…<\/p>\n

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