Tell me about Library Science school and beyond

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Tell me about Library Science school and beyond

Lee Harvey Oswald: Mar 17, 2007; by exmarx

No, only one person is supposed to turn it in. I would have turned in a copy if I could. I'm paranoid and don't trust anyone.

# ? Oct 21, 2010 17:50

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# ? Jun 5, 2024 10:02

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

Just supposed to, or does the system actually prevent you from doing it?

# ? Oct 21, 2010 17:57

Piell: Sep 3, 2006; Grey Worm's Ken doll-like groin throbbed with the anticipatory pleasure that only a slightly warm and moist piece of lemoncake could offer; Young Orc

VideoTapir posted:

http://community.livejournal.com/library_mofo/1397631.html

Job hunting advice, from an actual hiring authority, not the vague, useless bullshit you see on sites where someone's getting paid by the word.

I don't have access to that, could you copy/paste it here?

# ? Oct 21, 2010 18:13

Aranan: May 21, 2007; Release the Kraken

VideoTapir posted:

Just supposed to, or does the system actually prevent you from doing it?

I think it depends on how the professor sets it up. It can be done so that only certain people (the group "leaders") can even see the upload option. If that's how Lee Harvey's prof did it, there's not much he can do.

By the way, gently caress Blackboard/Vista.

# ? Oct 21, 2010 18:41

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

Piell posted:

I don't have access to that, could you copy/paste it here?

quote:

Job Application Advice
Last year I went from middle management to being a library director. It's been fun and challenging and I've probably screwed up six things, but I know I haven't been mean or nasty. Right now I'm hiring people for a couple of entry-level jobs--clerk and page. I see a fair amount of angst here about job hunting, and in this economy it's especially tough and nerve-wracking. It's hard, it's really hard, and I know that.

But I just have to say this about that:

If the job ad says library experience preferred or required and you don't have any, your application won't make the first cut. We can get 150 applications for one lousy part-time job these days; we have to have some basis for cutting. Lack of experience or specified education is the first one.

About resumes: I hate the Objective. Your objective is that you want the job, I know that. Articulate that in your cover letter--tell me there about your love for books, reading, serving the public, whatever and why you are a strong candidate. I haven't used the objective in 18 years and it hasn't prevented me from getting interviewed. On the other hand I've seen tons of inarticulate, ridiculous, stilted objectives that reduce the presence of the resume dramatically. Your resume should communicate concrete, verifiable information that I can use to decide whether or not to interview you that is written concisely and intelligently. The resume and job application form should mirror each other pretty strongly.

Follow a standard format. I want to see your education up front and I want to see exactly where you went when and what you studied. GPA and honors are nice, but aren't likely to put any given resume in the keep pile. I want to know if your degree is in progress. I want to know where you've worked, what you did, and how long you did it. I want to discern a pattern. Someone who moved a lot and changed jobs or schools as a result makes sense. Someone who stayed home to raise a family makes sense--there's no shame there, but you may need to put that in your cover letter. Someone who was downsized is fine.

Don't misspell. Don't make simple grammatical errors. Do your very best to avoid typos and odd turns of phrase. Do not, above all, misuse punctuation marks. Most of us senior types are bright people who majored in English or History or a similarly persnickety field; we notice these things and they drive us crazy. The field is detail-oriented--your failure to follow basic grammar, spelling, or punctuation rules does not bode well for your skills on the job.

Do NOT try to sell yourself ahead of a regularly scheduled interview by calling me up or sending me an e-mail or dropping by my office. I am busy. I have to follow hiring rules set by the town I work for. In many places the hiring authority will only ever see the top 5-10 applicants out of an initial pool of 100 or more who have been winnowed by Human Resources professionals through one to five steps. In my old job it went like this: Application review, civil service exam, typing test, oral panel, and then, and only then an actual face-to-face interview with the hiring authority. The MLS positions had a it a little easier in that there were no civil service or typing tests required. It could easily take three months to work the process.

Dress well and conservatively for the interview, about one level higher than you'd expect to wear on the job. Men can't go wrong with khakis, oxford, tie and a jacket depending on the time of year. Women can't go wrong with a simple skirt or pants with a twinset or a blouse and jacket/sweater. A suit for a management position.

If you interview, and you think it goes well, but you don't get the job, please understand that several other people were interviewed and some decision had to be made. There may have been one or more in-house candidates who were more likely to do just that little bit better than you. It doesn't mean you weren't good or even not good enough, just that someone scored that eensy bit higher than you did. It's also true that our funding authorities often make us follow fairly stringent hiring processes that don't allow us to simply promote someone from within. In those circumstances we try very hard to offer a very fair process, but the inside person often just knows the setting and expectations enough to provide consistently better answers. And on the flip side, I was hired into a job once over an in-house candidate because she didn't pass the panel of outside librarians (i.e. she never made it to the interview round with the boss) and oh how she hated me! Two solid years of suffering on both our parts before she left for greener pastures.

I've sat on several all-day hiring panels in a variety of other towns and we all have wished from time to time that we could take an applicant aside afterward and given some coaching for the next job. We can see your potential, but you didn't deliver it to us in the oral panel. Think about doing some practice interviews. Your school career development office or alumnae office may be able to provide this service.

# ? Oct 21, 2010 18:53

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

Aranan posted:

I think it depends on how the professor sets it up. It can be done so that only certain people (the group "leaders") can even see the upload option. If that's how Lee Harvey's prof did it, there's not much he can do.

By the way, gently caress Blackboard/Vista.

Oh, good, so it's every bit the clusterfuck that D2L is.

Either removing options so every professor has to do things like giving assignments, arranging discussion forums, and accepting assignments similarly, or establishing departmental policies that require them to do so would be the single greatest improvement that could be made to course management software.

# ? Oct 21, 2010 18:55

Lee Harvey Oswald: Mar 17, 2007; by exmarx

I just got word that it won't count against us, thank Christ. But yeah, gently caress Blackboard, especially its digital drop box.

# ? Oct 22, 2010 00:02

RocknRollaAyatollah: Nov 26, 2008; Lipstick Apathy

Im a Sad Panda posted:

Are there any catalogers out there who wouldn't mind reviewing some records I did for one of my classes? There are 4 total and they are quite basic. The books were made up for my class so I can't check them anywhere else. I can send them in a PDF if someone has time. Thanks

Use this website http://www.oclc.org/bibformats/en/ and check everything. Just put as much information as possible and you should be good.

# ? Oct 23, 2010 01:57

Im a Sad Panda: Aug 30, 2006; When one little panda puts his furry little willy in another panda's ear, that makes me a very sad panda....

RocknRollaAyatollah posted:

Use this website http://www.oclc.org/bibformats/en/ and check everything. Just put as much information as possible and you should be good.

I did. I just wanted a second set of eyes to look over it. Thanks.

# ? Oct 23, 2010 04:07

manguero: Jul 5, 2009

So today I got a call from the public library offering me the job I interviewed for last week. :dance:

I didn't expect to hear anything for another week at least, based on what they said in the interview. It's a para position of course, and it's a floater, someone who fills in for people who are out at various branches (our system has 13). I chose this over a circ position because it will have me going different places (keeping things interesting and meeting people all over the system), and plus they will train me on how to work every department since I could be filling in for anyone. I think that training will be invaluable experience.

It's great because it's full-time, has paid leave, and benefits. That the job is in the career I want is icing on the cake (but most important of all of course). I think this will mean a huge change in my life.

I go tomorrow to do the new hire paperwork and a drug test. Very excited.

# ? Oct 26, 2010 00:24

Rabbit Hill: Mar 11, 2009; God knows what lives in me in place of me.; Grimey Drawer

Congratulations!

I started my first day at work as a cataloging assistant today. I think it will be the low-key, stress-free job I've been wanting to have for a while now. Well, stress-free once I learn this new ILS, new local practices, new procedures, switch my brain to DDC from LCC, and get my own key to the building.

# ? Oct 26, 2010 01:20

manguero: Jul 5, 2009

Rabbit Hill posted:

Congratulations!

I started my first day at work as a cataloging assistant today. I think it will be the low-key, stress-free job I've been wanting to have for a while now. Well, stress-free once I learn this new ILS, new local practices, new procedures, switch my brain to DDC from LCC, and get my own key to the building.

Congrats to you as well! It's great that you're getting your hands dirty with the technical side of things. I wish I could say that my job would include something similar, but really I can't complain. As for the early stress, yeah, that sounds like any job. Something I've learned in the past few months is that even seemingly simple jobs (e.g. retail) are overwhelming when you first start them. After you're acclimated they're easy as pie though (maybe less so in your job but still).

# ? Oct 26, 2010 02:54

Lee Harvey Oswald: Mar 17, 2007; by exmarx

Can anyone list any good strategies for finding entry level jobs for a student? I'm a distant education student, so I can go anywhere. I don't want to graduate without any paid experience, and I'm getting desperate.

# ? Oct 26, 2010 23:07

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

Lee Harvey Oswald posted:

Can anyone list any good strategies for finding entry level jobs for a student? I'm a distant education student, so I can go anywhere. I don't want to graduate without any paid experience, and I'm getting desperate.

You and everyone else, buddy.

Things that seemed to yield me more responses in my immediately-pre-and-post-graduation search:

Don't just look the same places all your classmates are looking. Any job near your school, or in an area where there are a lot of library students (for instance, Phoenix) is going to be flooded with competition. That said, if your school has a mailing list, use it.

Look directly at libraries and other institutions you think might be hiring for ANYTHING relevant.

There are a bunch of student programs in the Federal government and at a bunch of university libraries. Many will be posted on mailing lists. Some will be on USAjobs. Most will only be found at the agency websites.

If there's some real shithole town that wouldn't be too big a move for you, you'll probably have better luck there. You will probably need to check the library, city, or county website directly, many jobs aren't posted elsewhere.

LISjobs's listings of regional library associations are more useful than LISjobs itself.

Indeed and Craigslist are your friends. You can boolean search Craigslist by importing RSS feeds into a feed reader which has boolean searching (Google Reader does, not sure what else). Generate all the feeds you need with Crazedlist.

# ? Oct 27, 2010 02:53

Rabbit Hill: Mar 11, 2009; God knows what lives in me in place of me.; Grimey Drawer

VideoTapir posted:

Look directly at libraries and other institutions you think might be hiring for ANYTHING relevant.

This is how I found my job. I don't think it was advertised on any of the big library job sites, but I looked at the University's employment opportunities website and saw it advertised.

# ? Oct 27, 2010 23:18

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

My undergraduate university doesn't advertise except on their site, nor does any library in that state, since I've been looking.

# ? Oct 28, 2010 00:04

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

The library system where I'm volunteering (Mohave County, Arizona) has a few temporary and a few permanent positions open. Bullhead, Kingman, Lake Havasu, and Valle Vista. Pay is laughable.

http://legacy.co.mohave.az.us/csvcs/jobsmc/job_info.asp

# ? Oct 28, 2010 02:15

Lee Harvey Oswald: Mar 17, 2007; by exmarx

VideoTapir posted:

Pay is laughable.
http://legacy.co.mohave.az.us/csvcs/jobsmc/job_info.asp

*is every library opening*

Indeed.com seems to be a good resource. I'll finish my cover letter tomorrow and send some applications. I'm going for primarily full-time library assistant jobs since many of those only require a high school degree, and I couldn't afford to live on my own on a part-time salary.

# ? Oct 28, 2010 02:27

Doc Faustus: Sep 6, 2005; Philippe is such an angry eater

VideoTapir posted:

Pay is laughable.

http://legacy.co.mohave.az.us/csvcs/jobsmc/job_info.asp

I made more than that as a seasonal temp at a helpdesk :psyduck:

# ? Oct 28, 2010 02:38

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

Welcome to rural America. No jobs, but there's desperation to spare.

It isn't as bad as it looks...it is not expensive to live here. But it looks really bad.

# ? Oct 28, 2010 03:24

Lee Harvey Oswald: Mar 17, 2007; by exmarx

Since I've been applying to entry level jobs out of state, I've begun wondering if out of state applicants are even considered. I've heard some companies throw out applications from out of state, but are libraries more willing to hire out of state talent, especially for jobs in the 20-30k salary range?

# ? Oct 29, 2010 01:33

nesbit37: Dec 12, 2003; Emperor of Rome
(500 BC - 500 AD)

It is going to depend on the place and what they are looking for. If its a pretty basic position with lots of local applicants that are qualified they will probably look at them first. If its something a little more specialized they will look out of state as well. They want the best person for the job, the problem comes when there are multiple best people for the job. If it makes you feel better, I was hired in Philadelphia last year while I was living in Milwaukee.

# ? Oct 29, 2010 02:27

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

Lee Harvey Oswald posted:

Since I've been applying to entry level jobs out of state, I've begun wondering if out of state applicants are even considered. I've heard some companies throw out applications from out of state, but are libraries more willing to hire out of state talent, especially for jobs in the 20-30k salary range?

At a lot of places, yes. The question is will they pay you to move, or to go there to interview.

If they're those assholes who don't do any prescreening or phone interviews and instead want to interview 20 or 30 people for one position, don't bother going unless they're paying. gently caress those guys.

The branch librarian in Kingman was hired from out of state. They didn't pay for her move...they said "they might." Then she moved and they didn't. I mean WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO NOW BITCH?

VideoTapir fucked around with this message at 02:36 on Oct 29, 2010

# ? Oct 29, 2010 02:31

MsJoelBoxer: Aug 31, 2004; Your judicial opinions hypnotize me.

Two weeks until my final portfolio for the MLIS program is due and then I think another 3-4 after that until I find out if I passed. I have a feeling that the next 6 weeks are going to be the slowest of my life.

People keep asking what I'm going to do next, but I like working for the library's journal (editorial assistant) and I'm happy where I live. Frankly, I just want the experience of just working and not working/going to school full time for a while.

MsJoelBoxer fucked around with this message at 14:59 on Oct 29, 2010

# ? Oct 29, 2010 14:57

nesbit37: Dec 12, 2003; Emperor of Rome
(500 BC - 500 AD)

This may not be exactly the best place for this, but I am looking for commentary/opinions and I didn't want to create a new thread.

I just finished up an experimental project for work (archives). I had to do something ridiculous, so I ended up with a musical finding aid. Useful? Enjoyable? Terrible? Does it raise larger questions? Just a gimmick? What do you think?

blog post on the project:

http://processandpreserve.wordpress.com/2010/11/03/greenewaltmfa/

The musical finding aid itself:

http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/g/0867Musical.html

edit:

I know this is super last minute since the apps are due tomorrow (11/5), but we are also hiring for a project archivist. I know we have gotten dozens of apps so far, but might be worth a shot if you need work, have archives experience, and especially if you live near Philly:

http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=1580

nesbit37 fucked around with this message at 11:16 on Nov 4, 2010

# ? Nov 4, 2010 11:13

Snowy: Oct 6, 2010; A man whose blood
Is very snow-broth;
One who never feels
The wanton stings and
Motions of the sense

I'm going for a museum library interview in a few days..

Snowy fucked around with this message at 05:37 on Apr 14, 2012

# ? Nov 9, 2010 03:28

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

Snowblood posted:

I'm going for a museum library interview in a few days, and I'm trying to figure out what the most appropriate outfit would be. This is a pretty major opportunity for me so I don't want to botch it.

Is a suit appropriate? In my LIS program even well dressed/more formal guys don't get dressier than a sport coat and tie, so I'm afraid to go in looking like a banker but I want to take it seriously at the same time.

Go there beforehand, and see what the staff are wearing. If they're in T-shirt and jeans, wear a dress shirt and slacks. If they're in dress shirt and slacks, wear the suit.

# ? Nov 9, 2010 03:40

manguero: Jul 5, 2009

VideoTapir posted:

Go there beforehand, and see what the staff are wearing. If they're in T-shirt and jeans, wear a dress shirt and slacks. If they're in dress shirt and slacks, wear the suit.

Oh my god, this has to be one of the best interview tips ever! I'm filing this one away, thanks!

Today was my first day at the new job (paraprofessional floating to different branches to fill in for people who are out). Pretty boring stuff, as it consisted of reading a lot of policy and stuff like that, but I think I like my supervisor. And I'm excited to actually get to work. :dance:

edit: Good luck Snowblood!

# ? Nov 9, 2010 03:52

Fame Throwa: Nov 3, 2007; Time to make all the decisions!

I interviewed for a position at the public library 2 weeks ago and they still haven't called me or anything, even to say that I didn't get the job. Are things just that inefficient there or should I just give up on them? Either way its loving stupid.

# ? Nov 9, 2010 04:54

RocknRollaAyatollah: Nov 26, 2008; Lipstick Apathy

In case any of you aren't following politics, Florida just elected Rick Scott as its governor. Rick Scott came into office on the promises of firing 5% of the state workforce, working to abolish the corporate tax, and reducing the recently reduced property tax. Florida's only source of revenue outside of the corporate tax and one of the lowest property taxes in the nation is sales taxes. The state legislature also now holds a Republican majority not seen since Reconstruction that is already promising to be the most conservative the state has had in 40 years. The legislature was already very conservative by the way, one of the most conservative in the country. This all adds up to the state infrastructure most likely being demolished within a year. The public sector was already struggling but this will plunge it to new lows. I fully expect to lose my job within the next year or two and most of my friends and coworkers are getting ready for the same. My home county is apparently pushing to privatize the county library system too but the librarians don't want anything of it because they know libraries can't, and shouldn't, make a profit. Libraries are not going to come out of this very well, if at all in some areas.

If you're looking at library jobs in Florida that aren't for a private library, look elsewhere. Even university jobs are going to be rough with the cuts people are talking about. No one as it is has gotten a raise in 3-4 years and most of our benefit packages are going to be reduced, if not done away with in some cases.

RocknRollaAyatollah fucked around with this message at 05:14 on Nov 9, 2010

# ? Nov 9, 2010 05:09

Tad Naff: Jul 8, 2004; _{I told you you'd be sorry buying an emoticon, but no, you were hung over. Well look at you now. It's not catching on at all!}

Good news: We're hiring. Bad news: We're in Canada. But I thought I'd throw that in. Chin up, folks.

# ? Nov 9, 2010 05:20

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

Anything entry-level?

# ? Nov 9, 2010 05:30

Tad Naff: Jul 8, 2004; _{I told you you'd be sorry buying an emoticon, but no, you were hung over. Well look at you now. It's not catching on at all!}

VideoTapir posted:

Anything entry-level?

Not right now, sorry. There's this RSS-less page you can check once in a while though: http://www.library.ubc.ca/careers/

From time to time I get an email that announces a job that's about to be posted, so we can give our buddies a head start on the application I guess. I'll just start passing them on here 'cause you're all my goon buddies, or something.

# ? Nov 9, 2010 05:35

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

Getting off the job search topic for a moment, I've got a library school story I don't think I've told here.

Summer 2009, I was taking a corporate libraries class. The instructor gave a long description of the Goldman Sachs library. He went on and on about how opulent it was, how nice the furniture was, how great their location was, how big their budget was, how much the management valued the library (a problem for a lot of corporate libraries...then the library gets cut, then the organization ends up with a fuckton of redundant journal subscriptions and people not having what they need and...) and how well-compensated his former student who worked there was.

Then he asked the class "Show of hands, who would want to work for Goldman Sachs?"

Not one hand out of ~30 went up. Not one.

I've never been so proud.

# ? Nov 9, 2010 09:38

RocknRollaAyatollah: Nov 26, 2008; Lipstick Apathy

FeloniousDrunk posted:

Good news: We're hiring. Bad news: We're in Canada. But I thought I'd throw that in. Chin up, folks.

To be honest, I would be all over something like that but I'm probably going to ride unemployment and go back to school full time when I get laid off as a big gently caress you to Scott. How much does a job like that pay? Is it comparable to in the US?

# ? Nov 9, 2010 12:16

Lee Harvey Oswald: Mar 17, 2007; by exmarx

I'd rather work in Canada than the US. I'd assume their funding is more consistent, and you wouldn't have to worry about far right radicals like Rick Scott coming into office and wrecking everything.

Does anyone have any experience with the Student Temporary Employment Program? I just applied for a job as an archives assistant through that program, and am wondering how competitive those jobs are.

Lee Harvey Oswald fucked around with this message at 15:12 on Nov 9, 2010

# ? Nov 9, 2010 15:08

Tad Naff: Jul 8, 2004; _{I told you you'd be sorry buying an emoticon, but no, you were hung over. Well look at you now. It's not catching on at all!}

RocknRollaAyatollah posted:

To be honest, I would be all over something like that but I'm probably going to ride unemployment and go back to school full time when I get laid off as a big gently caress you to Scott. How much does a job like that pay? Is it comparable to in the US?

As a rough guess, probably in the 80K range to start plus a generous benefits package. Not entirely sure though as I'm just IT for the library, not actually a librarian (...yet). And of course the famous socialist medicine.

EDIT:

An even higher-qualification position just announced, Assessment Projects Librarian.

Tad Naff fucked around with this message at 20:15 on Nov 9, 2010

# ? Nov 9, 2010 16:11

Snowy: Oct 6, 2010; A man whose blood
Is very snow-broth;
One who never feels
The wanton stings and
Motions of the sense

Thanks for the attire advice, VideoTapir, and thanks manguero for the good luck wishes.

I went with the suit and I really think that was the right move. I just hope I was well enough prepared for the interview to impress them. I'm usually a pretty confident person but it's easy to choke a little with a few interviewers going back and forth. We'll see!

# ? Nov 11, 2010 00:45

Huckleduck: May 20, 2007; giving you the hucklebuck

So, anyone here with specialist librarian experience? Is it cush? Is it the good life? Is it a complete fantasy?

I'm asking specifically about legal librarians. I have the relevant academic experience (BS in Informatics, BA in History, JD from T1 in progress) and some relevant work experience (coding databases for public health projects).

I've read the thread; noob librarians are advised to be geographically flexible. Does this in any way imply that there are international opportunities for MLIS super-stars?

Best of luck to all those applying to jobs. Don't give up hope! :negative:

# ? Nov 16, 2010 03:26

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# ? Jun 5, 2024 10:02

RocknRollaAyatollah: Nov 26, 2008; Lipstick Apathy

For those out there that are having problems finding a job, things will get better. Though the market is bad now, the economy failing has only shown people the importance of libraries and their continuing role within society. I think if the economy hadn't tanked, we would still be seeing the same problems or worse.

# ? Nov 17, 2010 13:24

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