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Given the hours of work listed there that just sounds like some egregious typo than true stupidity?
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Oct 5, 2014 01:11
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Insane Totoro posted:Given the hours of work listed there that just sounds like some egregious typo than true stupidity? I don't think so. Those add up to 54 hours or so if you subtract an hour for lunch.
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Oct 5, 2014 01:32
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I assumed that the person would work different days as scheduled? So it wouldn't add up to over forty hours
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Oct 5, 2014 04:37
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mediadave posted:Well, I ended up taking the temporary job anyway and in hindsight I don't know why I was feeling so sick with stress about it, so I guess I'll be working at the Bodleian library! Woo! Admittedly in five months time I'll be frantically looking for another job, but at least then I'll be doing so from a different position. Well, That was the quickest promotion I've ever had! I took the first job I was offered - the temp job, until April. It is actually a lot better than I'd expected, the only real problem is the commute, which is a bastard (currently I'm commuting from London to Oxford). But where i'm working now is just so much more relaxed than my previous job in a law firm! It's amazing the difference, the physical stress you carry that you don't even notice that just dissapears when you don't have to worry about, for instance, getting into work five minutes late, or when you don't have your boss literally sitting directly behind you (potentially) looking over your shoulder all day. (I should say that a large part of that stress was due to the boss rather than job). Anyway, on the first day I come in for this job, literally first half an hour, my boss tells me there is another position open - basically the next one up, and it was closing that afternoon so I could apply for it if I wanted and if so should apply now. well, that wasnt something I'd been thinking of as i hadn't even started this job, but I checked the job description and there was nothing I really couldn't do, and the pay increase would be very helpful (I took a big paycut to take this job), so I chucked in a crappy application. Got an interview, had it today and mainly was worried about not embarrassing myself - and half an hour later was offered it. Though this is the first job I've had where I'm actually worried about not being up to snuff - I'm nowhere near competent in the job I've just started and i'll be moving up into the position above, in which I'll be supervising...the position I'm currently doing. I hope this is imposter syndrome and I'm not actually crap (I may well be crap). I also feel slightly guilty as I've spent the last few years moaning that it's hard to get into the academic sector because they only recruit from within, and I think I've been the benificiary of exactly that... mediadave fucked around with this message at 12:04 on Oct 11, 2014 |
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Oct 11, 2014 12:00
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Oh yes, I'm working as 'metadata assistant' on the university's resaearch archive - basically institutional repository, where the articles, papers, theses, data (coming soon), of the university is stored. With new open access requirements this is going to become a lot more important for UK universities. Only problem is that it's in an office on a bit further away from the main 'campus', so you don't really feel so much a part of the main university or library service, and it's also not what you'd call 'front line' library work. But I do still have my alternate saturday job in a reading room which, now term has started, is definietly front line.
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Oct 11, 2014 12:21
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Talking of which I am doing that saturday job AS I WRITE and it has been pretty frantic this morning(these few posts have taken ages to type in short spurts) - because it is start of term and the start of hordes of eager and confused young students, start of weekend deliveries from the external storage stacks, and the library is currently undermanned at least a couple of positions...and in its infinite wisdom that library/university has decided that library staff should staff the counter at the main entrance instead of porters/security, which means that not only are we further undermanned but we'll be dealing with even more tourists than normal.
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Oct 11, 2014 12:38
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This is what we call business as usual. Yeah everything is going to be hectic and things will go wrong somehow. It's a library... It's a large bureaucratic organization. Especially with how paraprofessional staff are deployed... Just don't be the guy that's in a panic and losing his cool. Calm down, get the job done, and even when things go wrong be the person that looks for a solution rather than acts helpless. And how to not look helpless.... Also since you're new you get to use the line "Oh, I'm new here, so how have you tackled Thing X in the past?" This doesn't make you look stupid as it makes you look like you're being respectful and just want to know how things are done specifically in that organization. And the classic line of "Are there existing best practices in libraries for Thing X?" Meaning you are asking in a way that puts the onus on the person you're asking whether or not they know if there's documentation somewhere. Librarians love documentation. And they like people who ask for it! Also you avoid looking stupid. And you're not an imposter. Everyone starts somewhere. Milk being new as long as you can and ask all the dumb questions you have now and get it out of your system. You're only as competent as you believe you are and you're only as competent as you're willing to explore how to get it done in a way for your specific organization. Use your research skills... Interact. Interview. Document. Oh and protip on being calm... I have this written on my desk. "Calm down. It's just books. Nobody's dying." Insane Totoro fucked around with this message at 13:14 on Oct 11, 2014 |
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Oct 11, 2014 13:09
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Insane Totoro posted:
I literally have to tell someone this at least once a week. Perspective seems to be a difficult thing for librarians to grasp. Yes, okay, we're important. But we're not important enough to stress about.
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Oct 11, 2014 17:24
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Insane Totoro posted:And the classic line of "Are there existing best practices in libraries for Thing X?" Meaning you are asking in a way that puts the onus on the person you're asking whether or not they know if there's documentation somewhere. Librarians love documentation. And they like people who ask for it! Also you avoid looking stupid. Seriously, I started my first job in a large public library system last year (previous job was at the smaller of two branches), and everyone loves to answer questions, show documentation, and find answers to your questions. They're librarians.
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Oct 11, 2014 18:04
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a friendly penguin posted:I literally have to tell someone this at least once a week. Perspective seems to be a difficult thing for librarians to grasp. Yes, okay, we're important. But we're not important enough to stress about. I agree with this wholeheartedly. Stuff worth stressing about : the city is cutting the library's budget in half and staff are going to be fired, there's someone with a gun in the library making violent threats, the children's department is literally on fire, there's someone having a heart attack and needs immediate assistance, the remote hosting company has gone out of business and the entire catalog is gone without anyone knowing how to get a recovery copy. Stuff not worth stressing about : patrons talking loudly, books being checked out, books coming back messy, computers running slowly, parents wanting lists of AR books, patrons speaking bruskly or rudely (gently caress em, who cares? It's their problem, not yours, if you were professional and courteous), a line at the reference desk when all the reference staff are helping other patrons, patrons asking weird questions, patrons who want to tell you their life story, the library's app isn't working because the patron doesn't know how to use it and you need to teach them... And the key to dealing with it, even that first batch of stuff? Not freaking out about it, and treating it like its a problem to be solved, not a crisis that you need to be consoled over. Frequent deep breaths, and a glass of wine after work are also recommended.
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Oct 11, 2014 18:13
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Protip: even the bargain basement Portuguese imports of Port wine are really really good for the money.
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Oct 11, 2014 18:18
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Insane Totoro posted:And the classic line of "Are there existing best practices in libraries for Thing X?" Meaning you are asking in a way that puts the onus on the person you're asking whether or not they know if there's documentation somewhere. Librarians love documentation. And they like people who ask for it! Also you avoid looking stupid. Christ....this reminds me of my poo poo job from which I got fired. I did this, and my requests were repeatedly ignored, so that when I went against my boss's unwritten, unstated preferences, it could be cited as a reason to fire me.
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Oct 11, 2014 19:36
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Just a quick reminder to all the potential librarians and current librarians: CONTROL YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA 1. Lock down your Facebook/Twitter/whatever. Nobody wants to see evidence of a potential drunken escapade. Make a LinkedIn and make it really detailed. This gives you an Internet presence that is clearly defined as "professional." 2. Yes, having a library blog is one way to get attention, but make it about library work and what you like to read or something innocuous. I'm not saying to censor yourself but to be aware that there are certain controversial issues that HR doesn't want to hear about in the workplace.... 3. ... so ask yourself "If a library's HR department read this would they get annoyed?" If the answer is YES, do not post it pnline. No matter how trendy it is. 4. If you can't help yourself from posting dumb stuff, make a social media account that's anonymous and in no way linked back to your real name. There are actually young people in HR now who know how to be Internet detectives. 5. Stay on message. If you want to deliberately put yourself out there as a good potential hire/promotion material, don't post about your cat/chinchilla/whatever but actually put out ideas and participate in interesting discussions. Ask yourself "Does this make me look like a good librarian?" VideoTapir posted:Christ....this reminds me of my poo poo job from which I got fired. I did this, and my requests were repeatedly ignored, so that when I went against my boss's unwritten, unstated preferences, it could be cited as a reason to fire me. What a place to not work for. 
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Oct 15, 2014 22:13
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Yeah seriously that is no joke. I've learned the hard way (i.e. totally and rightfully fired) over a social media posting. Though funnily enough another came back in an amusing way and actually got me a job offer. I had to decline that one ultimately, but I did learn a valuable lesson about Federal government policies and background checks.
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Oct 15, 2014 23:33
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I have just recently started working full-time at the library, and I am continually baffled by how computer illiterate a lot of people are. People don't seem to grasp the most basic, fundamental concepts, such as the difference between surfing the web and looking at things on your computer, or what it actually means to send an email, or how to switch between browser windows. It is literally on the level of magical thinking -- "If I click this button, it does this thing; to get to where I want to go, I do it in this specific sequence, and it makes a thing happen." If something goes wrong, like they forget their password or the site updates, suddenly they panic and call one of us to help them. Also, it is really annoying when they bring up some baloney website they were trying to get to or form they were trying to fill in, and expect us to know off the top of our heads how to do this thing that they've always done. Why are people so bad at computers?? It's not that difficult! Someone needs to teach people the basic concepts -- the mindset of how to solve problems on the computer, rather than just letting folks cruise by on rote memorization. Because it really is baffling and often very time-consuming.
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Oct 19, 2014 06:36
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Generally the people who have trouble with computers are those who didn't grow up with computers in the house. Lots of poorer households still don't have a home computer, so even people in the generation of "digital natives" can be pretty computer-illiterate. The best solution to your problem would be to get a computer into every home, but there's not enough political will to do that, so the next best thing is probably to convince your bosses to set up a free computer class at your library.
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Oct 19, 2014 06:43
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Insane Totoro posted:
I'd like to note, relevant to your post, that it was my book reviews on Amazon that sealed the deal on me getting that job.
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Oct 19, 2014 06:43
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Pththya-lyi posted:Generally the people who have trouble with computers are those who didn't grow up with computers in the house. Lots of poorer households still don't have a home computer, so even people in the generation of "digital natives" can be pretty computer-illiterate. The best solution to your problem would be to get a computer into every home, but there's not enough political will to do that, so the next best thing is probably to convince your bosses to set up a free computer class at your library. Yeah, that would be nice.  I guess I was just letting off some steam. I really do want to help people, but often I feel so constrained by the fact that my time is limited -- people are waiting in line at the desk, and there's like 3 or 4 people who flag me down when I go to help just the first person. If I only had the time to sit down with a few of them and just start straight from the very basic concepts, I'd be able to teach them skills that they could use to figure everything out themselves.
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Oct 19, 2014 06:48
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Replace "computer illiteracy" with any other illiteracy and you still have the same problem: YOU have limited time and how do you maximize your time to help as many people as possible? 1. If a lot of people have the same exact problem (pushing butan on keyboard), it might be a good idea to start a formal class that people can take at the library. 2. If you don't have time to start up a class, find a place that does and stock the information at your front desk so people can go there to learn how to do it. For example, our local community college has computer classes for the tech illiterate, especially the octogenarian set. 3. If it's something that you can do for the patron but it is taking up a lot of time in a situation where there are many people needing help, offer to set up a personalized appointment with that user so they can have a solid one on one lesson from you. 4. Stock up on customer services lines that allow you to disengage from one person and help others. This isn't you getting rid of them, this is you actually being polite and offering to do more when you have time. "I'd love to help you, just give me one second as I help these two other people. Then I'll give you my undivided attention!" "Hmm, this is a really complicated problem... Oh, we offer this class on PROBLEMX and this is how you can register!" etc. etc. etc. VideoTapir posted:I'd like to note, relevant to your post, that it was my book reviews on Amazon that sealed the deal on me getting that job. 
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Oct 20, 2014 16:14
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DrSunshine posted:If I only had the time to sit down with a few of them and just start straight from the very basic concepts, I'd be able to teach them skills that they could use to figure everything out themselves. This is what I've done, and it's proven incredibly popular. It was thankfully not too difficult to sell my boss on the need for a one on one course, rather than a big classroom setting, because you often get a lot of folks at different skill levels who all have different problems, and who pick up on things at different rates. Sometimes folks get it right away and you can move on, others need to have you go over something four or five times, and the one on one really facilitates this. Making it sign up in advance, rather than drop in, has helped my retention rates also -- people feel duty bound to show up. Of course, this depends on desk coverage, staff availability, etc. but if you're teaching a class, it's obvious that you're working, and no one can accuse you of not going above and beyond. Plus over all you're helping to reduce the number of questions that the staff will have to deal with later, as well as helping the individual succeed in "Today's Digital World", which is a net positive all around. And it's great PR, as people will chat with their friends about that nice person at the library who helped me... the number of older people who I get compliments from for helping out their pals... I completely agree with you, though, that the idea of "digital natives" is a pretty silly thing. Not only are the skills acquirable, making the very concept of someone being born into computer usage kind of a false narrative, but a good number of people aren't for various socioeconomic reasons, and presuming that they are does them a great disservice.
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Oct 20, 2014 17:19
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Oh yeah that. Somehow everyone has this magical unlimited money pot to get Kindles and to buy books themselves and libraries are obsolete ETC ETC ETC EVERYONE KNOWS HOW TO USE COMPUTERS. The worst part is that librarians themselves drink that kool aid. Anyone who thinks young people (with money) know how to use computers should teach a freshman seminar on libraries and research. Anyone who thinks young people (without money) know how to use computers should volunteer at an inner city library for two weeks.
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Oct 20, 2014 18:34
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If your formative years were in the late 90s to early 2000s and you used computers during that time, you are the "digital native" that everyone's wringing their hands over. There were enough of them during that period for people to notice, and things were difficult enough that you actually had to learn things to use computers. The trend has been to make things easier and easier, more flexible and more ad-hoc, more plug-and-play. There isn't the learning curve that there used to be, but the skills you do learn are less transferable between applications and between different levels of the user experience. Sure you have people who can or can't type, or who are or are not familiar with the most basic conventions of touch screen interfaces. But beyond that, the consumer IT industry is so focused on making things easy that, while that does lower the hurdles for non-digital-natives, the level of proficiency that people expected is just never going to arrive.
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Oct 20, 2014 18:41
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Pulling up the command prompt in Windows = WIZARD LIBRARIAN Insane Totoro fucked around with this message at 19:07 on Oct 20, 2014 |
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Oct 20, 2014 19:04
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A few months ago while helping a patron, I watched him open up Internet Explorer, type "Google" into the Bing search box in the corner to get to Google, then use Google to search for "Amazon.com". He was in his mid-20s, fairly well dressed, had a credit card was was using to get a book off of Amazon, etc. These infernal machines!  
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Oct 20, 2014 20:29
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Someone just posted this Slate article on my Facebook: http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/10/20/adobe_s_digital_editions_e_book_software_and_library_patron_privacy.html Probably because they saw libraries and thought of me, not because they actually read it and care about their own privacy. But it managed to get me pretty passionate, which is just weird. So the article talks about the news that just came out that Adobe, whose software is the only way to read downloaded ebooks through most public library's offerings due to DRM, is collecting data from all patrons who use the service and sending it through unencrypted channels. There's been an outcry and blah, blah, blah. The article posits one of two solutions for libraries since the dilemma is between two of our biggest forces: patron wants (ie downloable content) and our values (ie privacy). Either we all need to go the route of Colorado and make our own downloadable systems for econtent (takes a ton of staff time and a ton of money also, those are limited to indie books and not the big publishers that everyone wants) or for us to negotiate with the vendors and absolutely refuse to use their product unless they comply with library definition privacy standards (highly unlikely for companies that are essentially holding all the cards in the deal). Not that my reaction solves the problem either, but it makes me want to redesign the MLS degree. I know, I know. Everyone wants to do that, and it isn't a new concept to have the MLS be more about information science than it is about library science. But seriously, if we could get the drat programs to require students to learn the insides of our databases not just on a theoretical level, but also on a practical "lets-build-our-own" level instead of making sure that we know how printed indices work, that would go a looooong way toward libraries being able to make our own content systems. I work in a mid-sized public library but in our main branch alone, we have 5 librarians in adult services. We only have 4 IT professionals for the entire 9 branch system. If all of the librarians had the necessary skills for design and development and we worked with our IT departments, we could seriously make poo poo happen. And then, since we're sharing institutions, we could make this model work for the smaller library systems throughout our state and even the country. And then we could cut out all of these third parties who we are allowing to take over our space. As we move away from traditional books and physical media, we are no longer the experts. We keep letting in more and more people who do not share the values or expertise that we do and therefore they're loving it up. We'll be pushed out and no one will care and it will all fall down around us in flames... or something. TL;DR - Anyway, this is just a long-winded way of me asking for the best program for me to learn how to develop content sharing systems and the like. Because I am fully willing to admit that I did not take advantage of the more Information Science-y classes in my master's degree when I had the chance. But I want to change that. Is there a program I could enroll in? Do I need to start at a bachelor's CS degree and work my way up? Certification programs? fake edit: Also, wow, I sound like a goddamn nutjob.
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Oct 21, 2014 17:51
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a friendly penguin posted:...Either we all need to go the route of Colorado and make our own downloadable systems for econtent (takes a ton of staff time and a ton of money also, those are limited to indie books and not the big publishers that everyone wants) or for us to negotiate with the vendors and absolutely refuse to use their product unless they comply with library definition privacy standards (highly unlikely for companies that are essentially holding all the cards in the deal). As you said, rights management is our Achilles Heel. As long as we don't have the rights, we don't have power. Where we do have rights, we can do amazing things. Check out the Digital Public Library of America (http://dp.la). I think DPLA is also a good model to look at for building skills. Yeah they have programmers, but they're real success is building an information architecture that glues together records from hundreds of separate instances of DSpace, Omeka, bepress, etc. Your skill as a librarian should be in structuring information and making it as available as possible, whether that's on your website, on DPLA, or even Google. Seriously, why isn't my local library's copy of a book one of the first search results when I search for the title? I think it's enough to know your way around code and DSpace, Omeka, etc enough to know what's possible and when someone is blowing smoke up your rear end. Then glue that together with figuring out what your users need. This book is a great intro to information architecture http://www.amazon.com/Information-Architecture-World-Wide-Web/dp/0596000359
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Oct 22, 2014 03:10
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Our university is moving the special collections out of the beautiful old medieval library they've been stored in till now, to great new storage/reading rooms nearby. Predictably some academics are up in arms about this. Apparently we're cheapening the library, selling the library out to tourists, depriving future students of the chance to work in such rarifying conditions and so on. Except of course the new reading rooms are actually beautiful - wood panneled and everything! - the old library will still be a reading room open to students, tourists won't have any more access that they do now (currently occasional guided tours pass by the end of the library so they can glance down into it) and you know, medieval libraries that get freezing in the winter and roasting in the summer aren't actually the best place to keep old books, despite the asthetic fit. I think the main reason these academics are annoyed is that they'll be losing their privellaged access to their special little corner. (Of course the library was open to all readers previously, but it was a bit more hassle to get into it and was probably a bit intimidating.) mediadave fucked around with this message at 15:41 on Oct 25, 2014 |
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Oct 25, 2014 13:57
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There's a particular strain of academic that hates change of any kind for any reason. There are some complaints, and some complainers, you learn to ignore.
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Oct 25, 2014 15:23
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I was at an outreach conference this week and one attendee called Library Administration "where good ideas go to die." Besides being told "no" outright, the other admin response I hate is "we tried that x years ago, and it didn't work then, so...no." And almost invariably, when the idea was tried years ago, it was attempted in a half-assed way by some uncreative lump of a librarian who didn't have a clue how to do it.
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Oct 25, 2014 20:55
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Rabbit Hill posted:And almost invariably, when the idea was tried years ago, it was attempted in a half-assed way by some uncreative lump of a librarian who didn't have a clue how to do it. The corollary to this is a librarian wants to change things but expresses it to admin in a way that makes no sense to them and therefore makes no headway. Contrary to popular belief, administrators are very open to change. They love to make a splash and to talk up how much they're changing the world and making things better for the DIGITAL CENTURY, preparing ARE STUDENTS, etc. But you have to answer the following questions in your presentation... 1. Is it good marketing for the institution? 2. How does it advances relations with the patron and will it make the library look like it's advancing? 3. Does it sound good in a press release? 4. How much exactly will it cost and why do you not have exact details on that? 5. Explain how it doesn't actually step on anyone's toes OR how can you make it sound like it doesn't?
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Oct 27, 2014 20:46
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Rabbit Hill posted:I was at an outreach conference this week and one attendee called Library Administration "where good ideas go to die." In my experience, if a change requires consensus from several librarians, then yeah, this is a pretty good assessment. Not because they hate ideas, but because Library Admin has limited time to meet, and optional policy changes are far, far lower on the docket than everything else related to sustaining current operations, so stuff like that just kinda sits in limbo. On the other hand, I've found that it's not that hard to get change that requires approval from just one person, so long as you present it competently, explaining what problems it fixes, why we should spend resources to fix that problem, why this solution is the best one, how long it will take to implement, etc. Insane Totoro posted:The corollary to this is a librarian wants to change things but expresses it to admin in a way that makes no sense to them and therefore makes no headway. Contrary to popular belief, administrators are very open to change. They love to make a splash and to talk up how much they're changing the world and making things better for the DIGITAL CENTURY, preparing ARE STUDENTS, etc. But you have to answer the following questions in your presentation... This is also true.
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Oct 27, 2014 21:04
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Insane Totoro posted:The corollary to this is a librarian wants to change things but expresses it to admin in a way that makes no sense to them and therefore makes no headway. Contrary to popular belief, administrators are very open to change. They love to make a splash and to talk up how much they're changing the world and making things better for the DIGITAL CENTURY, preparing ARE STUDENTS, etc. But you have to answer the following questions in your presentation... Maybe administrators in general, but not the one in this building. Take your questions, for example -- I'm on our (brand-new) marketing committee and we have proposed programming that we could answer -- 1. Yes. 2. Advertises new features or services that will make patrons' lives easier when using the library 3. Yes. 4. Nothing. 5. Steps on no toes, in fact, does the opposite and highlights different departments -- and still got turned down because....well, because. As one of my coworkers puts it, the admin in question "comes from a place of No."
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Oct 27, 2014 21:15
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So, any advice on getting a librarian job in Canada?
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Nov 5, 2014 12:30
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Subscribe/check up on the following for job postings: INALJ (I Need A Library Job) - Go here, bookmark whatever. Some provincial pages are run better than others (The persons behind Saskatchewan are right on top of things, not sure how they do it. Meanwhile other pages suffer a terrible lack of updates - either because no job postings or lazy editors). The Partnership Job Board - You can set up email alerts by registering. Most (90%?) librarian job postings will end up on here. The Canadian Library Association also has this handy list. You may also want to consider joining just as a way to keep tabs on the library/librarian community. Consider individual provincial and other associations as well, here's a list. A little more information on what exactly you're looking for, where you're from, and what your qualifications are might be a little more helpful in regards to helping you out. I can't tell if you're asking for job posting info (above), experience to have, resume advise, interview advise, or whatever. Generally, based on my friends' experience (mostly recent Western graduates), it's a lot of cover-letter writing and resume submitting. Some went for months submitting hundreds of applications and very infrequently getting responses. However, their hard work eventually pays off (most of my former colleagues are now employed) Experience definitely helps - if you're still in school, try your best to get a co-op/internship. If you live in Ontario and have no experience, don't expect to get a job there; the saturation of applicants and stubborn Western/UofT grads who refuse to move away from home is staggering. It's never too late to consider branching out from libraries into other information-related fields. Your skills are transferable to a variety of organizations. klockwerk fucked around with this message at 18:34 on Nov 5, 2014 |
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Nov 5, 2014 18:26
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klockwerk posted:If you live in Ontario and have no experience, don't expect to get a job there; the saturation of applicants and stubborn Western/UofT grads who refuse to move away from home is staggering. This is true of most cities that have library schools; if not entire regions.
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Nov 5, 2014 20:06
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I'm one class and two incompletes shy of finishing my MLS at a well-respected, public midwestern university. I have plenty of professional experience accumulated along the way, too -- it will have taken me about six years of part-time work to get my degree, but I worked as a special collections library assistant, reference librarian, and doing cataloging throughout this entire period. My question is about employment. I'm desperate to get out of the midwest. Will I be best off applying to jobs from afar, in say, Boston, NYC, LA, Seattle, etc., and then go through the hiring process? Or should I save some money and relocate to a chosen city, with the intent on working at finding a job 'locally'?
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Nov 21, 2014 03:16
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That depends on how long you can afford to have low paying or non paying jobs where you relocate to. I can say that I would not do that if you were considering philadelphia. There are tons of cultural institutions here, and I know many people that can't break in for full time work and usually, if they have anything, is at best 1 to 2 year project positions. You can make that work but it can be a stressful life. A good friend and former colleague of mine has been filling 4 different part time jobs at cultural institutions that rotate around on a project basis for years now. Be careful with what you might be getting yourself into by up and moving with nothing secure in place.
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Nov 21, 2014 04:38
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Wait, nesbit37, are we both SE PA librarigoons?Bitchkrieg posted:I'm one class and two incompletes shy of finishing my MLS at a well-respected, public midwestern university. I have plenty of professional experience accumulated along the way, too -- it will have taken me about six years of part-time work to get my degree, but I worked as a special collections library assistant, reference librarian, and doing cataloging throughout this entire period. Step 1: Get degree. Step 2: Find some form of way to sustain self while looking for FT professional position (move in with your mom if you have to, share an apartment with some goons while working at Dairy Queen, etc) Step 3: Apply, apply, apply to every goddamn LIS job. Your part time job will be filling out applications. Step 4: Get interviews. Step 5: Get job offer in writing. Step 6: Only then pack up and move (and incur all the expenses in doing so). Step 7: Acquire drinking habit Step 8: Congratulations, you're a professional librarian!
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Nov 21, 2014 15:14
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Insane Totoro posted:Wait, nesbit37, are we both SE PA librarigoons? Looks like it since I work at an institution in Philadelphia.
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Nov 21, 2014 15:50
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Insane Totoro posted:Wait, nesbit37, are we both SE PA librarigoons? I've got steps 2 and 7. Still questioning leaving my current field for one that seems much less secure.
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Nov 21, 2014 18:08
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