{"id":89729,"date":"2015-03-09T08:00:59","date_gmt":"2015-03-09T13:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=89729"},"modified":"2015-03-04T19:04:05","modified_gmt":"2015-03-05T01:04:05","slug":"i-can-do-that-volunteering-in-library-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=89729","title":{"rendered":"I can do that! Volunteering in Library Land"},"content":{"rendered":"

I can do that! Volunteering in Library Land<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

by Mary-Michelle Moore<\/a>, Senior Editor<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\"MaryMichelleMoore\"<\/a>One of the tried and true pieces of library job hunting advice is to get experience in a library \u2013 any experience. <\/b>\u00a0If you can\u2019t find a job, volunteer. \u00a0The problem with just going to volunteer in a library is the types of positions available to volunteers in your local library are not going to prepare you for librarian level tasks. \u00a0Instead of volunteering as a shelver or other basic library work, you may want to volunteer at in your local library association; at nearby national or local events; find a subdivision meeting; or find a project you want to contribute to and contact project coordinators directly. \u00a0The type of experience you will have working at this level and on these types of projects is the same type of work established librarians are doing. You will be contributing to the profession.<\/b> Taking this approach to volunteering means not only will you be making connections and networking, but you will also be giving back to the wider library community.<\/p>\n

In person at your state or local library association<\/b><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t already know your state library association\u2019s web address, look it up! \u00a0Most state associations will have subdivisions dedicated to academic, public, school or special libraries. \u00a0And many (especially in larger states) will have interest groups within these subdivisions dedicated to different aspects of library work. \u00a0If you\u2019re not sure which group is right for you, see what kind of programming they offer \u2013 do they have a spring workshop? See if you can attend, or at least read what type of work and programming they are currently involved in. \u00a0This will allow you to see which area would be a good fit for your skills and interests. \u00a0You can also find the local chapter of a larger library association. \u00a0For example, the Special Libraries Association (SLA)<\/a> has many area chapters that are very active, are welcoming to newcomers and provide many opportunities for professional development.<\/p>\n

Once you have an idea of what group you want to join, be fearless. \u00a0Attend a business or planning meeting for their group. \u00a0If they ask for officers, volunteer to take part \u2013 in many places the same handful of people have been volunteering for a while, they may want some fresh ideas. \u00a0If you\u2019re not sure if you want a position to yourself, ask if you can be a co-secretary, or co-chair for the committee. \u00a0Volunteering for an officer position right away does two things: <\/b><\/p>\n

1) It will give you an extra push to get involved and stay involved with the group<\/p>\n

2) It will give you the opportunity n to interact with others on the committee<\/p>\n

Online\/Distance Volunteering<\/b><\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t make in-person sessions work with your schedule, consider volunteering online. \u00a0INALJ<\/a> is always looking for more volunteers, but so are small nonprofits that need help with social media or user experience; open source ILS projects and many others. \u00a0Some committees through the national and local library associations will allow members to participate virtually since they know not everyone has the funds for travel. \u00a0What are you excited about?<\/b> You can find a project that needs help and volunteer. \u00a0This will give you a body of work you can point to on your resume and will help you get familiar with some names in the field.<\/p>\n

Volunteering to gain experience is a great way to get to know your fellow librarians and future colleagues, but be strategic about where and how you decide to volunteer. Find a project that you\u2019re interested in pursuing–a project that you\u2019ll be excited to talk about at networking events and interviews and that will help to compliment or fill gaps in your current skill set. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I can do that! Volunteering in Library Land by Mary-Michelle Moore, Senior Editor One of the tried and true pieces of library job hunting advice is to get experience in a library \u2013 any experience. \u00a0If you can\u2019t find a job, volunteer. \u00a0The problem with just going to volunteer in a library is the types…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":59864,"comment_status":"closed","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":[231,69,3592,629,426,816,10,3860,16,266,3915,6792,3979,6371,4212,59,111,410],"class_list":["post-89729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-ala","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-california","tag-dc","tag-illinois","tag-inalj","tag-job-hunt","tag-job-hunting","tag-job-search","tag-libraries","tag-library-organizations","tag-mary-michelle-moore","tag-senior-editor","tag-skills","tag-sla","tag-tips","tag-volunteering"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/MaryMichelleMoore.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-nlf","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89729","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\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=89729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/59864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=89729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=89729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=89729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}