|
remigious posted:That makes sense. I'm hoping they will let me use them as a reference in the future, so I don't want to leave them high and dry. Leave them a box of donuts? That helps.
|
#
?
Mar 16, 2017 20:09
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 2, 2024 22:18 |
|
|
There was a "fun" exchange about salary and expectations on a librarian listserv I'm on a few days ago. The position was at a more rural library in a poorer area, but wanted an an MLS, started at $15/hour, at 30 hours/week. I thought this was the most salient response: quote:I am a September 2016 Grad of XXXXX College in the LIS program. I’m still looking for Library work. Regarding this mention of “pay” - It would be interesting to say that for the last 3 years, I have been working PT weekends, in the bowels at XXXXXXX College on the mid-night shift; not in the Library, but in housekeeping to make ends meet, while I got my MLS. I currently make $16.00 an hour, mopping floors, and cleaning toilets, with full medical, dental, vision coverage and NYS retirement. (A position that requires nothing more than a High School education and a heartbeat) Although I do understand what [Library Director] is saying [about the poverty of the area and their budget struggles], coming from my perspective, its perplexing to justify $15.00 starting pay for someone with a Master’s degree, when a janitor can make $16.00 an hour with full benefits and [state] retirement. Librarianship, everyone!
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2017 19:43
|
|
|
So why didn't he take the job?
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2017 20:11
|
|
|
Insane Totoro posted:So why didn't he take the job? It's about a 100 mile commute, so he didn't even apply.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2017 20:51
|
|
|
I did a personality test as part of an MBA track class and I found it very interesting that I scored extremely high for compatibility with library specific admin/leadership but fairly low for actual librarianship. I am not sure exactly how to reconcile those two things or if they are of interest to anyone else.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2017 21:03
|
|
|
Toph Bei Fong posted:It's about a 100 mile commute, so he didn't even apply. No, I meant why didn't he apply. Not how long his commute was. (maybe I'm too cynical and disillusioned)
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2017 01:30
|
|
|
Fumaofthelake posted:I did a personality test as part of an MBA track class and I found it very interesting that I scored extremely high for compatibility with library specific admin/leadership but fairly low for actual librarianship. Sorry missed this post on my phone... Actual question: what makes a person specifically suited for library administration work? Is it similar to other skill sets for other administration jobs?
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2017 01:32
|
|
|
Insane Totoro posted:Actual question: what makes a person specifically suited for library administration work? A high tolerance for navigating the simultaneous demands of fossils who think cathode ray tubes are suspicious and unreliable newfangled machines and of kids who only grudgingly tolerate anything that isn't a touch screen, going by my experience with administrators.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2017 03:36
|
|
|
A good librarian job - Start with a few cups of tea, let your hair down, then get stuck into the scotch. https://youtu.be/aFYutqdY6f4
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2017 12:26
|
|
|
Schmetterling posted:A good librarian job - Start with a few cups of tea, let your hair down, then get stuck into the scotch. Thank you. This was the perfect post-ACRL pick me up.
|
|
#
?
Mar 27, 2017 22:01
|
|
|
I hate public libraries sometimes. Until today, I was feeling pretty confident about my six-month probation evaluation coming up in two weeks. The boss had pointed out things I needed to work on and start doing, and I did. Today she and our staff development lady pulled me aside for a meeting to tell me that they have some notable reservations about signing off on me. They love that I'm smart, patient, hard-working, and reliable (in their words) - they love that I'm always finding something productive to do and my response when they ask if I can do something is always yes I'll get on that right away. But... I'm not "connecting" with people. I smile and nod and restate their questions and listen and whatnot as I get them their answer. But few of them walk away feeling a connection with me, and our mission statement is To Connect And Inspire. And this is a serious problem in my boss's eyes. In her words, I shouldn't feel carefree about my upcoming evaluation.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2017 01:25
|
|
|
It's almost like you're perfect and they just want to cover themselves and bring in another cheap probation period worker.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2017 01:29
|
|
|
I hope not, but I wouldn't be terribly surprised. Management here is woefully out of touch with what we customer service and reference grunts do and what our patrons actually want. Turnover's been bad enough already and morale is not good. I'm frugal enough that it won't be the end of the world if I get fired, thank God, but I really really hope I still have a job a couple weeks from now.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2017 01:57
|
|
|
Fumaofthelake posted:It's almost like you're perfect and they just want to cover themselves and bring in another cheap probation period worker. Yeah, this. That's a load of horseshit. If you're doing your job well, that's all that counts. Are you "connecting" them with the information they require? Did they point out anything earlier that you might have missed? Because that's the most inane reason for not bringing someone onto staff that I've heard in a long time, and I got my MLS when all anyone wanted to talk about was how Second Life was going to be the future of education.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2017 01:58
|
|
|
Toph Bei Fong posted:That's a load of horseshit. If you're doing your job well, that's all that counts. Are you "connecting" them with the information they require? The main things they stressed were that I would often say "I'm sorry, we can't do that, but we CAN do X" for the implication of saying no, and that I don't leave people "satisfied" like shaking hands with them or them having a big smile on their face after meeting with me. I rarely send them away empty-handed, usually only if it's a book we don't have and can't order through ILL or they decline to for whatever reason. Questions I don't know the answer to, I defer to coworkers. Apparently I'm not holding their hand and always going the extra mile when showing people how to print or scan or "you need to type in 'yahoo.com' at the top of the screen if you want to access your yahoo mail" each of the fifty times a day it comes up. My boss even said she really appreciates how reliable I am, that if she tells me to do something I will loving do it as soon as my schedule allows. She said, quote, "You do everything the customer service manual says to do, running down that checklist in your head, but you're not putting it all together."
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2017 02:18
|
|
|
They wrote the loving manual so if you're doing everything in it what's the problem?
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2017 02:25
|
|
|
Fumaofthelake posted:They wrote the loving manual so if you're doing everything in it what's the problem? I'm guessing it has a lot to do with how we're in a very rich retiree area with super-high standards, management being clueless to the realities of customer service, or both. Who am I kidding, both are true. We're spending thousands of dollars and space we can't really afford to lose to make a fancy new "idea lab" with a 3D printer and embroidery machine and crap that absolutely no one has ever asked for. Meanwhile we get six or more calls a day asking if we have a fax machine and every time we have to say no, we don't. The staff development lady looked at me with confusion and hurt in her eyes when I mentioned off-handedly on break that I don't think the lab is the best use of resources to meet the needs of our patrons. Or it might be the premeditated malevolence option that they're covering their asses in preparation for firing me no matter what I do. I'd like to think they would be smart enough not to, given how bad turnover has been recently and how it's common knowledge among the grunts that morale here at the central branch is awful, but poor management is a huge part of the problem and I wouldn't put it past them to be that heartless or clueless. Cythereal fucked around with this message at 02:56 on Apr 22, 2017 |
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2017 02:34
|
|
|
What are the barriers to becoming a librarian at the Library of Congress? Is it a matter of getting certain grades in grad school, or having worked a number of years as a librarian? Or do you need to be a government worker of some kind before? I've been browsing this thread for a while now and haven't seen any mentions about the LoC, so I thought I'd ask. It's obviously one of the most difficult libraries to get a job at (if not the most difficult), but I guess ultimately I'm wondering what it "means" for a job to be difficult to obtain in the library field.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2017 02:34
|
|
|
People with masters degrees are talking about their experiences working in jobs that require high school diplomas in this thread. That ought to tell you something. I haven't worked there or known anyone who does; but I can say with a reasonable level of certainty that if it is a regular federal service job (and not something weird due to being the legislative branch) it should be a lot easier to get hired if you are already a federal employee. There are a fair number of other federal library jobs.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2017 04:40
|
|
|
A friend's mom works / used to work at LoC. One of her coworkers is/was an older guy with just a high school diploma who would brag about how you'd need probably 3 degrees to get hired for his job now.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2017 20:13
|
|
|
Got a chance to talk things over with a couple of my coworkers today, and briefly with some of our volunteers. They're all as shocked and upset at how scathing my review was as I am, and reinforces the widespread feeling here that management is utterly clueless and/or are just covering their asses before firing me. My coworker who's been here for twenty years in particular was appalled at how vague and difficult to define the boss's main complaint with me was, to the point that he's wondering if this isn't politics and I somehow ticked off someone upstairs. Possibly by not being enthusiastic for our shiny new maker space with a 3d printer and other stuff that's in the pipeline that not a single person has ever asked us for instead of spending that money on things the public has asked us for. I hate to think I may be about to get fired because I, the lowly grunt, have a differing opinion on the library's needs from management and someone upstairs took offense to overhearing it. At this point I'm hoping my other coworker is right and this is all just a game management is playing to scare me into giving 110% and plaster an empty smile to my face not caring that I'm terrified and am second-guessing every single thing I say to people, especially to management. As of next Monday, fully half of the entire customer service department will be people in their six month probationary period. Cythereal fucked around with this message at 03:33 on Apr 25, 2017 |
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2017 03:31
|
|
|
Cythereal posted:My coworker who's been here for twenty years in particular was appalled at how vague and difficult to define the boss's main complaint with me was, to the point that he's wondering if this isn't politics and I somehow ticked off someone upstairs. Possibly by not being enthusiastic for our shiny new maker space with a 3d printer and other stuff that's in the pipeline that not a single person has ever asked us for instead of spending that money on things the public has asked us for. This is why you're in trouble.
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2017 16:47
|
|
|
Yeah i have to agree it's 99% because of what you said about the makerspace project. It's not really fair to you but poo poo happens and maybe it won't actually matter at the end of your probation. I
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2017 22:15
|
|
|
We'll see. They never said anything about that, and when I got back to work on Monday I mentioned that I'd done some thinking and research on the makerspace and think it's a good idea, and offered suggestions on the staff blog about how to make it a success. Silly me thinking management would want to hear what patrons actually wanted. I really loving hate how naive I was.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2017 12:41
|
|
|
Librarians tend to hate confrontation if one of them is mad at you about something rather than discussing it they will get back at you in the most round about way possible. I don't know why this job attracts so many passive aggressive people the only explanation I've found is years of guidance counselors steering quiet shy people into librarian school. *shrug*
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2017 18:30
|
|
|
Cythereal posted:Silly me thinking management would want to hear what patrons actually wanted. I really loving hate how naive I was. Yeah, unfortunately, to get by in this business, you've gotta tell the people upstairs what they want to hear, and then drink your way into their jobs. That said: 1 part dark rum 1 part light rum 1 part whatever rum you have lying around the house (Or just use 3 parts of whatever rum you can afford) 1 part lime juice 1 part pineapple juice 1 part apricot brandy 1 teaspoon papaya juice 1 teaspook sugar Some 151 Proof rum Mix everything but the 151 in a tall glass filled 3/4s with crushed ice. Stir until homogenized. Slowly cap with the 151 (about 1/2 part), by putting it into a spoon, and then lowering it into the surface of the drink. This will let it float on top. Look at it, floating there so precious, so innocent, so free. Right there at the top. Take a match and light it on fire. Burn it like it was your hopes, your dreams, all the optimism that no longer lives in your heart. Make a second one, and place them both on the coffee table. Slump onto the couch and think about happier things, a pet you love, a relationship that's going well, a friend you have good times with, someone you care about, a hobby you pursue with a passion. Drink one, then the other, over the course of an hour or two. The ice will have melted in the second one, but who cares? Just drink it, watered down or not. Life is more than your career. A job shouldn't define you. Try to let your hopes and dreams live again with each sip. Lay there, nice and shitfaced. If you drink a third, or if you're a small person, make sure to fall asleep on your stomach. Serve with a plastic tray of pre-cut pineapple, watermelon, and cantaloupe from the grocery store, and a bowl of corn chips. Turn on Cartoon Network, and let it play, regardless of what is on. Forget. When you wake up, try to live.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2017 19:04
|
|
|
The bosses have mentioned this week that they've noticed the new positive attitude, which I assume is a good sign. I also caught (but never said a word) them lying to the faces of our volunteers about how things are going here, so who knows.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2017 23:41
|
|
|
Cythereal posted:We'll see. They never said anything about that, and when I got back to work on Monday I mentioned that I'd done some thinking and research on the makerspace and think it's a good idea, and offered suggestions on the staff blog about how to make it a success. Every job is like that. Get in line with admin or get out. This isn't unique to libraries. Earn and save up political capital for the things that matter. Don't worry about the little things. Communicate concerns through the chain of command and CYA in writing if something could burn you. But utilize that political capital when it actually does count and you can do something that builds your resume or is God forbid innovative. Oh and if I sound clinical, I apologize. I'm stressed out at a pilot program that I'm totally sticking my neck out for but first library in the US yadda yadda innovate etc etc
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2017 23:18
|
|
|
Hi friends, I have a question for you librarians: where can I find demographic info for people that frequent cat cafes?
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2017 17:01
|
|
|
How do I get a libertarian girlfriend?
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2017 20:46
|
|
|
tumor looking batty posted:How do I get a libertarian girlfriend? Get a girlfriend and remind her every day that her non-libertarian beliefs are childishly naive, then segue into lecturing her on the brilliance of that new reason.com article on Bitcoin that you found on reddit. She'll come around sooner or later.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2017 21:57
|
|
|
remigious posted:Hi friends, I have a question for you librarians: where can I find demographic info for people that frequent cat cafes? I don't know where to find it but i know they are white and from the east or west coast. hope that helps
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2017 22:24
|
|
|
Beo posted:I don't know where to find it but i know they are white and from the east or west coast. hope that helps Yeah....kinda looking for info besides the low hanging fruit.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2017 22:28
|
|
|
 Archivist post Well, I graduated from my Master's program last month and on Friday I got an offer to stay on to work on a grant project at the archive I've been at for the past two years, which is quite literally a dream job with good pay somehow. I got some really great advice in this thread before I started my program, and I'd like to offer some lessons I've learned about archives over the past two years: 1. If you're a student, you should basically refuse to say "no" to professional networking and volunteer opportunities in the first year. Even if you feel like a total imposter (I didn't know what an archivist "does" before my first class), people will respond well to someone who dives in enthusiastically and takes the work seriously. I impulsively became SAA president at my school and wore myself the gently caress out in my first year taking on projects, but it's hard to argue with those lines on my resume, and you learn a lot this way. On a related note: 2. Become an extrovert. Seriously, archivists are as quiet and introverted as librarians most of the time but if you can get over it and treat public engagement and outreach, professional advocacy, and general enthusiasm as core professional duties, you can pretty easily stick in people's minds way more effectively than all your crushingly shy colleagues who might float in and out of the local community. Networking is everything, especially when you're a student. 3. Physical preservation classes are essentially useless. Unless you're looking very specifically at becoming a preservation specialist (lol good luck) there's hardly anything generally useful to be gained from these classes. And I say this having gone to a program with a really strong preservation component, with amazing labs and everything. Did you know you should have a disaster plan for your archive? Did you know flooding is a thing? There, I saved you a semester. Also, preservation experts are goddamn severe and weird people. 4. Find ways to make the boring classes and skills interesting. I came to my program thinking I wanted to be a rare books and manuscripts librarian/archivist, and now I'm going to be responsible for establishing a digital archive over the next 5 years or so, because I had some (very, very basic) computer skills coming into the program that made me one of the digital guys. Find a way to get interesting papers and projects out of boring classes. Grad school sometimes feels like a tremendous waste of time but you can make it valuable and rigorous if you want. I really had to struggle to find a way to make the digital side interesting but once I did it made my work a lot more meaningful. 5. For the love of God don't wait until you've graduated to take on an internship or job, if you can help it. I worked 20 hours a week throughout grad school, and the most successful people I know worked even more. It's horribly exhausting but the odds are so, so much better that you'll be able to work full time right after graduation. There are a lot of people posting on listservs saying "I just graduated from [online program], does anyone know where I can get an internship?" These people are starting off at the absolute bottom, because they have apparently no hands on experience. 6. Go to a real in-person school if you can afford it, and probably even if you can't. Choose a good program in a part of the country you can see yourself working after graduation. Professional degree programs can feel like a huge waste of time, so in-person networking will go a long way towards making your degree worthwhile. The big universities with in-person programs typically have great archives you can work at while you're in school, which is super important for building your resume. And because networking is so important, you're likely to have an easier time leveraging your expensive degree in the area around where you got it (i.e. the Northwest if you went to UW, the Midwest for Michigan or Madison, the East coast for UNC, the South for UT Austin, etc), so try and choose a program in a region you like. Officially making myself available to answer any archives-specific questions in this thread!
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 15:36
|
|
|
I skipped all those words but you have the most librarian username I've seen so far!
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 18:23
|
|
|
I started my MLIS program planning to be an archivist and ended up in public libraries focusing on social media. Your advice is all p good, I think graduating without experience is about the worst thing you can do in the library world (assuming you want a job).
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 19:12
|
|
|
Yeah, I interned at a local public library while working on my MLS degree, got me a lot of valuable cataloging experience and made me realize I actually quite enjoy cataloging. If nothing else, folks, volunteer at your local public library.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2017 14:12
|
|
|
To add to the conversation, volunteer at your regional consortia or professional organization. They need the help. So do you.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2017 18:43
|
|
|
Oh jeez. I've been looking around trying to find a library job because I'm going nuts here at my cushy office job. I applied for a librarian position in the next town over and was informed that I am advancing to the next stage, which is great, but I have to write a five page essay -_- I'm pretty decent at writing essays, it's just kind of intense.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2017 16:24
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 2, 2024 22:18 |
|
|
remigious posted:Oh jeez. I've been looking around trying to find a library job because I'm going nuts here at my cushy office job. I applied for a librarian position in the next town over and was informed that I am advancing to the next stage, which is great, but I have to write a five page essay -_- I'm pretty decent at writing essays, it's just kind of intense. Are you expected to be writing stuff to get published? Otherwise lol
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2017 18:09
|
|