Academic Librarianship
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Ideal for practitioners looking to advance their careers and for use in LIS programs, this "comprehensive overview" (Journal of Access Services) has been thoroughly revised and updated to provide a timely exploration of the characteristics of academic librarianship and its place in the ever-changing environment of higher education. Evans and new coauthor Greenwell guide readers towards understanding what is required to have a successful career in academic librarianship, explaining why academic libraries are distinct from other types of libraries and lending practical insight into their unique political and operational characteristics. The text offers comprehensive coverage of such key issues as teaching faculty roles and the status of the academic librarian; governance and the growing tension on some campuses between faculty and administration; curriculum, with a discussion of the balance between general education requirements and applied courses; the student body; collections, data management, digitization, and metadata; scholarly communication, plus alternative models such as open educational resources (OERs); providing quality service, and the role of user experience (UX) in assessment; ACRL's Information Literacy Framework; funding, including how and where to find detailed higher education expenditure data; classrooms, common learning spaces, and other facilities; staffing and professional development; technology and IT support; career development, with advice on preparing a vita and undergoing a successful interview; and the future of academic librarianship. This updated edition enables readers to understand how academic libraries deliver information, offer services, and provide learning spaces in new ways to better meet the needs of today's students, faculty, and other communities of academic library users.
Ace the Interview, Land a Librarian Job
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One of the most critical elements of achieving a successful career, interviewing with poise and tenacity, is a skill to be learned--and this practical guide leads readers through that process, step by step. In a competitive job market, all candidates need to prepare to succeed. This certainly applies to job seekers looking for professional librarian positions in public, academic, and/or special libraries--especially recent MLIS graduates and mid-career job-changers. Designed for today's competitive job market, this practical guidebook provides job applicants with practical tips and effective strategies for successful interview preparation and execution specific to seeking librarian positions. Unlike generic "how to interview" guides, this book recognizes that there is no "one-size-fits-all" interviewing method and teaches the techniques for excelling at the unique aspects of interviews for specific librarian positions such as reference librarian, electronic resources librarian, outreach librarian, youth services librarian, and adult programming librarian. The book opens with an overview of what is expected during today's librarian interview followed by descriptions by four experienced library directors of what makes an interview truly great. This guidebook includes 100 actual library interview questions to help readers best prepare for the specific position they seek and also contains a chapter that identifies mistakes all rookie librarians should avoid making.
Be Opportunity-Minded
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Listen to a podcast with the author now! If the proverbial career ladder feels more like a treadmill, it's time for a different approach. Besides, who wants to climb a ladder anyway? Wouldn't you rather learn how to explore, grow, and gain new skills that will lead you to new opportunities? This book, from a career coach who's been advising library workers and other professionals for more than 25 years, is your new toolbox. Alongside plenty of encouragement to help you cultivate a positive mindset, it offers techniques for self-reflection and concrete strategies that will ensure you keep growing regardless of where you are in your career. Teaching you how to recognize opportunities for growth and then leverage them, this resource looks beyond traditional moves into management positions to emphasize alternative career growth options; discusses trends in librarianship and how they should guide your own growth plan; includes inspiring interviews from a wide range of library professionals who have successfully jumpstarted their careers by seizing opportunities; and features worksheets that will guide you as you take action, using a combination of exercises, a customizable timetable, and other related tools. This book will give you the tools you need to sustain an ongoing, self-directed growth plan, the hallmark of a lifelong successful career. Check out this book's Web Extra now!
Careers in Library and Information Services
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Helps readers understand what careers are available for graduates with a master's degree in library and information sciences. Written in a conversational, candid tone, Careers in Library and Information Services collects first-hand accounts from workers who have earned a master's of library science degree to help new LIS graduates understand their career options. Each of the chapters provides readers with a snapshot of a particular career. Chapters are gathered into parts: an introduction on "Why Do We Do This?" is followed by careers in public libraries, school libraries, academic libraries, special libraries, and careers outside of libraries. Each chapter author describes their typical duties, shares likes and dislikes, and offers advice for those wanting a job like theirs. Invaluable for those considering entering an MLS program, those currently enrolled in MLS programs, graduates looking for work, and professionals considering a career shift, this engaging book is both practical and fun to read.
Competency-Based Career Planning for Reference and User Services Professionals
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Reference and user services librarians need to be in charge of their own careers. And when it comes to their own professional development, that means being proactive. This resource will enable professionals at every stage of their careers to honestly assess their skills and knowledge. Utilizing the RUSA (Reference and User Services Association) Professional Competencies as a framework for reflecting on strengths as well as gaps in expertise, it guides readers through developing strategies to enhance their professional standing and potential, thereby leading to a more satisfying career. In this book former RUSA president Whitlatch, who chaired the initial committee establishing the Competencies, teams up with expert trainer Woodard to introduce the seven categories of the RUSA Professional Competencies, explaining the ways in which each is important to both practitioner and institution; demonstrate how to create a personal development plan that focuses on development priorities; discuss the Association for Talent Development (ATD) Competency Development Model and other action plans; offer guidance for setting goals and measuring progress; share information on a variety of development activities that readers can undertake to maintain and enhance professional competencies, including formal training opportunities, on-the-job experiences, and self-directed initiatives; and provide recommended self-evaluation techniques such as writing up notes from group discussions, exercises, short verbal and written reports, crafting presentations on a topic, and sharing concrete examples of how skills were applied in the workplace.
The Future Academic Librarian's Toolkit
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How to Thrive As a Library Professional
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Whether you are planning to enter the field of librarianship or are a seasoned veteran, your success requires conscious planning. With its big picture approach, this guide shows you how to manage your career to optimize professional fulfillment. This book is a practical and straightforward approach to finessing your practice, with easy-to-implement takeaways. Covering topics that range from determining a career vision and cultivating relationships to using narrative to make connections and employing mindfulness, compassion, and self-forgiveness; this book will help librarians at all stages of their careers to take charge and forge their own way in the vast and shifting landscape of information science. You will discover new perspectives, gain knowledge, and prepare to take decisive action to further your professional practice. You also will be prompted to consider new ways of thinking about your current practice as well as where you want to go. By developing a deliberative approach to building a practice, you will come away ready for action and with a new perspective--on yourself, your work, your organization, and the community your serve.
Jump Start Your Career
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Familiarity with digital practices is increasingly important for all information professionals, and this book offers a solid foundation in the discipline.
Making the Most of Your Library Career
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An MLIS can provide the skill set needed to get a library job, but building a library career means knowing how to maximize your potential every step of the way. Benefiting those fresh out of library school as well as experienced professionals, career librarians from every corner of the profession offer a personal, down-to-earth view of "what it's really like out there." Filled with valuable insights into how to better launch and manage a library career, this book addresses important topics likeHow to work and adapt at a new organizationWhat management expects and how to view everyday activities from that point of viewHow to make suggestions for changeAdvice on navigating the cyclical nature of a librarian's work yearThe rewards and challenges of professional organizationsWhy a library degree is valuable outside a traditional library settingThose new to the field will find the contributors' seasoned advice both inspiring and practical, while veterans of the profession will find guidance on retuning their careers in librarianship's changing environment.
Rethinking Information Work
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A state-of-the-art guide to the world of library and information science that gives readers valuable insights into the field and practical tools to succeed in it. As the field of information science continues to evolve, professional-level opportunities in traditional librarianship--especially in school and public libraries--have stalled and contracted, while at the same time information-related opportunities in non-library settings continue to expand. These two coinciding trends are opening up many new job opportunities for LIS professionals, but the challenge lies in helping them (and LIS students) understand how to align their skills and mindsets with these new opportunities.The new edition of G. Kim Dority's Rethinking Information Work: A Career Guide for Librarians and Other Information Professionals gives readers helpful information on self-development, including learning to thrive on change, using key career skills like professional networking and brand-building, and how to make wise professional choices. Taking readers through a planning process that starts with self-examination and ends in creating an actionable career path, the book presents an expansive approach that considers all LIS career possibilities and introduces readers to new opportunities. This guide is appropriate for those embarking on careers in library and information science as well as those looking to make a change, providing career design strategies that can be used to build a lifetime of career opportunity.
Well-Being in the Library Workplace
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Fostering well-being in today's library workplaces is no longer a luxury but a necessity, particularly for managers tasked with guiding and supporting their teams. Amidst budget cuts, attempts to ban or restrict books, attacks on library staff online and in-person, and potentially hostile and aggressive patrons, taking care of ourselves and our staff by putting good policies and practices into place is more important than ever. In this book, Newman and her expert contributors will lead you through creating an environment that nurtures the health, satisfaction, and well-being of its workers and helps prevent or reduce the internal factors that create an unhealthy workplace. You will receive actionable advice on navigating the pitfalls of vocational awe, which can lead to unrealistic expectations and self-neglect; setting and recalibrating healthy boundaries; approaching difficult conversations by creating spaces for positive staff communication; overcoming limited budgets; the proper mindset for encouraging realistic performance expectations among employees; using recognition, appreciation, and staff professional development as tools for wellness; nurturing social connections and collaboration to combat loneliness; effective techniques for addressing sensitive issues such as disabilities, confronting anti-fat bias, and moral injury; emotional and invisible labor mitigation; and self-care methods for library leaders at risk of burnout.
Where Are All the Librarians of Color?
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This book offers a comprehensive look at the experiences of people of color after the recruitment is over, the diversity box is checked, and the statistics are reported. What are the retention, job satisfaction, and tenure experiences of librarians of color? The authors look at the history of librarians of color in academia, review of the literature, obstacles, roles, leadership, and the tenure process for those that endure. What are the recruitment and retention methods employed to create a diverse workforce, successes and failures? Finally what are some mentoring strategies that work to make the library environment less exploitative and toxic for librarians of color?
Your Passport to International Librarianship
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Whether you're a library professional with decades of experience or a recent graduate in your first position, career enrichment can mean so much more than simply watching a webinar, taking a class, or even attending a conference. There's a different kind of professional development out there, one that involves travel, experiencing different cultures and new languages, and learning the kinds of interpersonal skills you can't get sitting behind a desk. Volunteering in international libraries is not only feasible, it's also the perfect prescription for recharging, renewing, and recommitting oneself to librarianship. In this book the authors draw from their experiences working with groups such as Librarians without Borders to offer a passport to these exciting opportunities, regardless of your career path or what kind of institution you serve. Easy to follow and packed with everything you need to get underway, this guide includes an in-depth discussion of what international librarianship (IL) entails, and why its emphasis on collaboration and advocacy makes it such a nourishing form of professional development; stories from librarians around the world about their own IL approaches, activities, and experiences; straightforward guidance for getting started, from researching IL opportunities to making it work in the context of your job; trip planning, fundraising, and cost saving tips for maximizing limited time and budgets; advice on staying connected and maintaining momentum after the trip is over; ways to bypass the need to travel by volunteering digitally and remotely; and detailed information about IL organizations and additional resources. This resource is your passport to finding personal enrichment and professional development through volunteering internationally.
