Winter Reruns: “regardless of what all the tattooed spunky hipster librarians think.”

I’m taking time off! I’ll be back with new content in late February. Take this survey to share your opinions about what would be most helpful/interesting. While I’m out, I’m running a selection of Hiring Librarians’ greatest hits and most reviled posts.

The anonymous respondent answered this survey on July 5, 2015 and it originally posted on November 28, 2015. This is another most-viewed post that hits a lot of our deep librarian angsts, in addition to using the delicious and incendiary phrase “tattooed spunky hipster librarians.” This person does think that librarianship is a dying profession. They are particularly offended by a perceived dumbing down of the profession and ALA’s Threshold Concepts, which is an Information Literacy thing. I don’t know enough about Information Literacy to know if it stuck – is it still around today? Was it a terrible idea? Enlighten us in the comments (I promise I’ll read them when I’m back).

This anonymous interview is with an academic librarian who has been a hiring manager, a member of a hiring or search committee, and a human resources professional. This person hires the following types of LIS professionals:

ALA accredited only cataloguers, instruction & reference librarians, subject liaisons

This librarian works at a library with 0-10 staff members in an urban area in the UAE.

Approximately how many people applied for the last librarian (or other professional level) job at your workplace?

√ 25 or fewer

Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?

√ 26-50 %

And how would you define “hirable”?

Meets or exceeds the skill sets and qualifications posted. Will fit into our work culture.

How are applications evaluated, and by whom?

Our software weeds the applications that meet the % of keywords we set. Then I pour through the applications. Then I send a copy to each person on the hiring team with a rubric. We meet once to compare rubrics and make the final determination on the tops candidates to invite for interviews.

What is the most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?

Does not meet the lowest qualifications. No cover letter. Spelling and grammar mistakes. Arrogance and exuding an unearned “I am awesome! entitlement attitude, while not mentioning why they are a good fit for us. Ultimately, that is what we care about- do you understand where you are applying and what position you are applying for AND what do you bring to our already stellar workplace.

Do you (or does your library) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?

√ Other: If asked I will give feedback informally and only verbally. Never written and never unsolicited. Ok- I have given gentle unsolicited advice to really newly librarians who were earnest and I knew it would be well received.

What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve his/her/their hirability?

Besides the obvious: read the position description. Apply to THAT job. Follow the directions. Proofread.
And most importantly, work on their emotional intelligence and politeness. You may have all the mad skills in the world, but if you are rude to our secretary while being an ass kisser to me- I will never hire you.
I need to know you can pick up on social cues, that you can be professional to people you may not like, that you can handle yourself. I can teach you how to do the technical reference interview- I cannot teach you how to handle a grieving parent looking for headstones, or a mentally ill person looking for the nearest homeless shelter.

I want to hire someone who is

astute

How many staff members are at your library/organization?

√ 0-10

How many permanent, full time librarian (or other professional level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?

√ 2

How many permanent, full time para-professional (or other non-professional level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?

√ 2

Can you tell us how the number of permanent, full-time librarian positions at your workplace has changed over the past decade?

√ There are fewer positions

Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with part-time or hourly workers over the past decade?

√ No

Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with para-professional workers over the past decade?

√ No

Does your workplace require experience for entry-level professional positions? If so, is it an official requirement or just what happens in practice?

No, but it happens in practice.

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ Yes

Why or why not?

The actual “work’ of librarians is being done by techs. Ref desk, cataloguers, systems librarians: all of these positions can be filled by people with BA’s in computer science, communications, and even English degrees.
Librarians without a subject specialty MA- even in public libraries will go by the wayside. You have to specialize to be recognized and even then the admin will expect you to be able to run the circ desk, hold story time, man the ref hours, and do online assistance.
I have no belief that Librarianship as a profession will be able to hold on. regardless of what all the tattooed spunky hipster librarians think.
We are all replaceable because we have no identity and once the ALA accepts the ridiculous Threshold Concepts- we won’t even be able to hold a conversation in academia without looking like the morons we allowed ourselves to become.

Do you hire librarians?  Take this survey: http://tinyurl.com/hiringlibjobmarketsurvey or take other Hiring Librarians surveys.

For some context, look at the most recent summary of responses.

#librarians #libraryCareers #libraryHiring #librarySchool #tumblarians

Winter Reruns: “New Hires Should Come with a Broad Understanding of Libraryland”

I’m taking time off! I’ll be back with new content in February. Take this survey to share your opinions about what would be most helpful/interesting. While I’m out, I’m running a selection of Hiring Librarians’ greatest hits and most reviled posts.

The anonymous respondent filled out my survey titled “What Should Potential Hires Learn in Library School?” on August 9, 2013, and the post originally ran on October 21, 2013.

I’m not sure why this one has so many views, but I suspect it’s because they name library schools in the questions about preferring or being reluctant to hire candidates from certain schools (the school they are reluctant to hire candidates from is my alma mater, SJSU). When I was doing stats posts for this survey, I did do some analysis of responses that didn’t mention specific schools, but it looks like I never followed through with my promise to look at surveys that did name names. Looking through the answers now, the majority of the 333 respondents did not name specific schools (only about 50 named specific “reluctant to hire” schools). And even San Jose, which 17 people expressed reluctance about, also had people that preferred it. The most frequent point of discussion was a reluctance to hire students who were online only. There is a separate post that talks about biases against online library school, which was still kind an issue back in 2013. SJSU was one of the more more prominent and prolific online library schools, so it makes sense that it would be more well known, and therefore mentioned more frequently, regardless of the quality of the education.

This anonymous interview is with an academic librarian who has been a chair of search committees. This person hires the following types of LIS professionals:

All types needed to staff a large academic library

This librarian works at a library with 100-200 staff members in a city/town in the Midwestern US.

Do library schools teach candidates the job skills you are looking for in potential hires?

√ Depends on the school/Depends on the candidate

Should library students focus on learning theory or gaining practical skills? (Where 1 means Theory, 5 means practice, and 3 means both equally)

3

What coursework do you think all (or most) MLS/MLIS holders should take, regardless of focus?

√ Cataloging

√ Grant Writing

√ Project Management

√ Library Management

√ Collection Management

√ Web Design/Usability

√ Metadata

√ Digital Collections

√ Research Methods

√ Reference

√ Instruction

When deciding who to hire out of a pool of candidates, do you value skills gained through coursework and skills gained through practice differently?

√ Yes–I value skills gained through a student job more highly

Which skills (or types of skills) do you expect a new hire to learn on the job (as opposed to at library school)?

Beside the obvious of learning the individual library culture, organization structure, and specific policies, I think new hires should come with a broad understanding of libraryland. If I had to pick some area, I think supervision of staff can be learned on the job.

Which of the following experiences should library students have upon graduating?

√ Library work experience

√ Internship or practicum

√ Student organization involvement

Which library schools give candidates an edge (you prefer candidates from these schools)?

Illinois, Wisconsin-Madison

Are there any library schools whose alumni you would be reluctant to hire?

San Jose State

What advice do you have for students who want to make the most of their time in library school?

Get as much on the job experience as possible even if it is not in your intended field of employment. If you do not have library experience, market your other skills into library context.

This survey was coauthored by Brianna Marshall from Hack Library School. Interested in progressive blogging, by, for, and about library students? Check it out!

#librarians #libraryCareers #libraryHiring #librarySchool #tumblarians

Winter Reruns: Most Popular Questions and Their Answers

I’m taking time off! I’ll be back with new content in February. Take this survey to share your opinions about what would be most helpful/interesting. While I’m out, I’m running a selection of Hiring Librarians’ greatest hits and most reviled posts.

The top five most viewed posts of all time are not surveys, they are actually from the feature Further Questions, in which I ask a list of folks who hire LIS workers to dive deeper into a single question. They are:

• How and When Should a Candidate Decline an Interview? (July 2013)
• Should Internships Go Under Employment Experience or in a Separate Section? (January 2014)
• Should an Applicant Include More Than One Reference From the Same Job? (September 2013)
• Would You Hire Someone Without Library Experience for a Librarian Position? (April 2012)
• What are Your Favorite Questions to Ask in an Interview? (April 2012)

Other popular Further Questions that are further down the most-viewed list are:

• What Should Candidates Wear? (July 2012)
• Should Coursework Go on a Resume? (September 2012)
• Do You Send Questions to Interviewees before the Interview? (April 2022)
• What Questions Should Candidates Ask You? (November 2012)
• How Can a Candidate Ace Dinner with the Search Committee? (June 2013)

If you’re interested in the entire list of questions I’ve asked over the years, I have a spreadsheet here. There are 243 posts. Some questions have been asked multiple times over the years, I’m slowly connecting those on the spreadsheet, as well as grouping by keyword.

If you’re interested in suggesting questions to ask, or in being someone who answers questions, I’d love to have you on board. You can email me at hiringlibrarians at gmail, and I’ll get back to you when I return from this break.

#librarians #libraryCareers #libraryHiring #librarySchool

Winter Reruns: “Do not go to library school. Librarianship is a dying profession.”

I’m taking time off! I’ll be back with new content in February. Take this survey to share your opinions about what would be most helpful/interesting. While I’m out, I’m running a selection of Hiring Librarians’ greatest hits and most reviled posts.

This is the most viewed of any survey response, 2012-2025. The anonymous respondent filled out my survey titled “What Should Potential Hires Learn in Library School?” on August 9, 2013, and the post originally ran on January 14, 2014.

If you visit the original post, you’ll see lots of comments, and pingbacks from other folks who cited the interview, I think because the title so directly addresses an two eternal LIS angsts, “is librarianship dying?” and “do we even need library school?” We could (and do) talk about these topics at great length.

Somewhat tangentially, I do in fact ask “Is Librarianship a Dying profession?” in my State of the Job Market surveys (2015 and 2024). In both years, only a small percentage said yes (4.46% in 2015 and 7.69% in 2024). And several people felt offended to even be asked, saying things like “What kind of fucking stupid question is this?” 2024 did seem to demonstrate overall a greater doubt about our resiliency. In addition to a small increase in the percentage of folks who thought we were dying, there was also an increase in those who weren’t sure and who wrote in an “other” answer. The percentage of folks willing to say “no, we are not a dying profession” decreased. I am curious to know how these responses have changed in the last year, as we face direct threats to our work from the federal government, and other extremist groups.

This anonymous interview is with an academic librarian who has been a hiring manager and a member of a hiring or search committee. This person hires the following types of LIS professionals:

Reference librarians

This librarian works at a library with 10-50 staff members in a city/town in the Southern US.

Do library schools teach candidates the job skills you are looking for in potential hires?

√ Depends on the school/Depends on the candidate

Should library students focus on learning theory or gaining practical skills? (Where 1 means Theory, 5 means practice, and 3 means both equally)

2

What coursework do you think all (or most) MLS/MLIS holders should take, regardless of focus?

√ Grant Writing
√ Programming (Coding)
√ Web Design/Usability
√ Metadata
√ Research Methods
√ Information Behavior
√ Outreach
√ Marketing
√ Soft Skills (e.g. Communication, Interpersonal Relations)
√ Field Work/Internships

Do you find that there are skills that are commonly lacking in MLS/MLIS holders? If so, which ones?

We recently hired an Instruction Librarian and were looking for candidates with a strong technology background. Very few candidates had any sort of technology experience. Seems they are not learning necessary technology skills in the library school.

When deciding who to hire out of a pool of candidates, do you value skills gained through coursework and skills gained through practice differently?

√ No preference–as long as they have the skill, I don’t care how they got it

Which skills (or types of skills) do you expect a new hire to learn on the job (as opposed to at library school)?

I expect a new hire to learn reference service and other “librarian skills” on the job. I want new hires out of library school with strong technology skills and an overall view of the profession and of higher education (for academic librarians). Searching databases and knowing where to find information will depend on the library’s resources and can be taught in-house.

Which of the following experiences should library students have upon graduating?

√ Library work experience
√ Other presentation
√ Other publication
√ Teaching assistant/Other instructional experience
√ Other: Technology

Which library schools give candidates an edge (you prefer candidates from these schools)? Are there any library schools whose alumni you would be reluctant to hire?

I see no discernible difference in library schools. It is really all about what the candidate did while in school. (i.e. classes taken, skills learned, job experience)

What advice do you have for students who want to make the most of their time in library school?

Do not go to library school. Librarianship is a dying profession. But if you are going to go, get as much technology training as you can and get a wide array of experiences in a library so you know what you want to do and have a better understanding of how libraries work.

Do you have any other comments, for library schools or students, or about the survey?

I think it would make an interesting study to compare the curriculum of library schools today to the curriculum from previous decades. I am not sure too much has changed. I think library schools spend too much time on “librarian skills” (i.e. how to use a gazetteer) than on skills needed in the modern library. A disconnect exists between library schools and practicing librarians.

This survey was coauthored by Brianna Marshall from Hack Library School. Interested in progressive blogging, by, for, and about library students? Check it out!

#librarians #libraryCareers #libraryHiring #librarySchool #tumblarians

Library school graduation party on Friday. Free wine and pizza. Finally my chance to reclaim some of the money I've spent on tuition.

At first I thought that meant I needed to drink $50,000 of wine, but on second thought I really only need to drink $25,000 of wine if I balance it with $25,000 of pizza. That sounds much more doable.

#Graduation #LibrarySchool

While this research project was conducted to improve and inform the MLIS program at Valdosta State University (right here in Georgia), results will be useful to many folks in the LIS world who are interested in demonstrating or gaining the skills needed by employers. It will also be useful to folks interested in supporting new and early career librarians, particularly in managing expectations for what new graduates should arrive knowing, and what they may gain in the first five years on the job.

If you’d like to read the full paper, it can be found at:

Colson, L. M., Alemanne, N. D., & Most, L. R. (2023). Exploring Stakeholder Priorities for Recent MLIS Graduates and Early Career Librarians. Georgia Library Quarterly, 60(3). Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/glq/vol60/iss3/9

This post summarizes a Georgia Library Quarterly article (Colson, Alemanne, & Most, 2023) reporting the initial results of an ongoing multi-phase research project conducted to understand the future staffing and leadership needs of libraries and how the Valdosta State University (VSU) MLIS program can prepare our graduates to meet those needs. The first phase of the project investigated challenges Georgia libraries will face in the next five years and the skills MLIS graduates will need to help address those challenges. The second phase of the research surveyed VSU MLIS program stakeholders to prioritize competences detailed in a draft update to the American Library Association’s (ALA) Core Competences for Librarianship (2023). The results, in concert with other ongoing activities, will inform program planning by shining a bright light on employer and other stakeholder priorities while also including a thorough review and update of the MLIS program’s mission and curriculum. 

In phase one of the project, we collected three tranches of qualitative data using convenience samples of Georgia public library directors (first tranche) and Georgia Libraries Conference (GLC) 2020 attendees (second and third tranches) using a brainstorming activity in which participants considered the two questions detailed above regarding challenges their libraries will face and the skills new MLIS graduates will need to help meet those challenges. The two largest categories of phase one findings are related to the mission of the library (22.22%) and funding issues (18.52%). Some examples of mission-related challenges include relevance of libraries, community expectations, changing roles of public and academic libraries, and changing natures of the communities served. On funding, participants primarily wrote “funding” on the sheets, but they also mentioned discrete issues like database prices, physical collections versus e-book collections, staff salaries, school library defunding, and competition for resources. The other large categories are staff skills, hiring and retaining staff, technology, marketing, operations and policies, and outreach. Infrastructure, digital inclusion, and social issues finish the list.

The top identified needed skills for new graduates are technology (12.50%), marketing and outreach (11.18%), professionalism (9.87%), management and leadership (9.21%), people skills (9.21%), financial skills (7.89%), and communication skills (7.24%). Technology skills required include basic information technology knowledge; ability to work with multiple platforms, devices, and types of equipment; technology and data literacy; data manipulation and analysis skills; coding and web skills; and adapting to changing technology needs. The marketing and outreach categories include skills related to working with library boards and Friends groups, advocacy and cultivating advocates, community building, community relations, and the ability to develop creative marketing approaches.

In phase two we began to collect program stakeholder opinions through an online survey of a purposive sample of VSU MLIS program stakeholders (including but not limited to deans/directors and librarians from public and academic libraries, current students, and alumni), to inform decision-making for course program requirements. The highest priorities were given to skills and basic knowledge. Organization of Recorded Knowledge and Information is the highest ranked competence, and over 50% of respondents prioritized

• Foundational Knowledge;
• Reference and User Services;
• Social Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility;
• Research and Evidence-based Practice,
• and Technological Knowledge and Skills.

Survey respondents were also asked to rate specific competences within the categories. Those identified as priorities for recent MLIS graduates (identified by 70% or more of respondents) connect to:

• communication skills,
• information discovery,
• ethics and values of the profession,
• identifying specific library types,
• promoting democratic principles,
• understanding the principles and goals involved in representation of knowledge and information,
• understanding one’s own socio-cultural positionality,
• reference interviews; identifying appropriate technology to support library services,
• and identifying the techniques used to describe, analyze, evaluate, and organize recorded knowledge and information.

Importantly, respondents’ priorities for competences expected of early career librarians at the five-year mark in their careers are an almost mirror version of their rankings of those expected of new MLIS graduates. Skill-based competences have a lower priority overall, and Management, Administration, and Leadership; Lifelong Learning and Continuing Education; and Information Resources take the top spots. Within the categories, the top specific competences identified for early career librarians (75+% of respondents) include:

• financial planning and decision-making,
• technology evaluation,
• project management,
• professional development to serve communities,
• contributing to the profession,
• maintain and enhance knowledge and skills,
• effective and just supervisory skills, collection development and maintenance that is informed by diverse needs of information communities,
• program evaluation and assessment.

Finally, fewer than 10% of respondents considered any of the competences to be not a priority.

While the initial findings reported here constitute the beginning of the VSU MLIS program’s comprehensive program review they are also important to MLIS graduates who are looking for professional positions and to those hiring new librarians. The analysis is directional at this point as the researchers are continuing to collect data. There are limitations to the analysis connected to both the qualitative and quantitative phases. The researchers had to interpret the meaning of respondents’ words and phrases in the first phase data, and online surveys do not give researchers the opportunity to delve into answers with respondents. There are also areas that cannot be addressed with the current data, such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (which started between our data collection phases and is, to some extent, ongoing) and the multiple political challenges libraries face, such as the sharp increase in book challenges and other attacks on libraries and library personnel. 

A key finding is the difference between competences survey participants value for new MLIS graduates and those they value for early career professionals. The initial takeaway from this data is that stakeholders want the MLIS program to focus primarily on basic knowledge and skills, knowing that our graduates will learn more about areas like management and financial planning throughout their first five years of employment. The revised positioning of the ALACCs (ALA, 2023)–concentrating on three time periods—LIS education, on-boarding, and continuing professional development—supports flexibility for MLIS program planning. Current areas of discussion include a reconsideration of the core curriculum and the development of a continuing education program (with the possibility of offering professional development certificates).

The next phase of the project will involve qualitative discussions with a range of stakeholders (including alumni, employers, and students). These discussions will support a deep dive into the initial findings and a more holistic understanding of stakeholder positions and needs. One issue that must be considered is the literature review finding of a strong need for MLIS programs to integrate interpersonal skills and scaffold successful skill retention as their new alumni transition to the early parts of their careers.

References

American Library Association (ALA). (2023, January 28). ALA’s core competences of librarianship. https://www.ala.org/educationcareers/sites/ala.org.educationcareers/files/content/2022%20ALA%20Core%20Competences%20of%20Librarianship_FINAL.pdf

Colson, L. M., Alemanne, N. D., & Most, L. R. (2023). Exploring stakeholder priorities for recent MLIS graduates and early career librarians. Georgia Library Quarterly, 60(3). https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/glq/vol60/iss3/9

Dr. Lenese M. Colson is the Interim Program Director and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Library and Information Studies at Valdosta State University. Her research interests include exploring the information needs of the underrepresented and underserved and best practices in eLearning for graduate education.

Nicole D. Alemanne is an associate professor in the Department of Library and Information Studies at Valdosta State University. Her research interests include LIS pedagogy, best practices online education, and information behavior.

Linda R. Most is an Associate Professor and the former Department Head for Library and Information Studies in the Dewar College of Education and Human Services at Valdosta State University. She teaches in the management track of the MLIS curriculum and is currently serving as chair of the Georgia State Board for the Certification of Librarians. She has previously served on the Board of Trustees for the South Georgia Regional Library System.

https://hiringlibrarians.com/2024/03/05/researchers-corner-exploring-stakeholder-priorities-for-recent-mlis-graduates-and-early-career-librarians/

#Librarian #librarians #libraries #libraryCareers #libraryHiring #libraryJobs #librarySchool

The library school I attended (a long time ago) has just hired a faculty member whose "primary research focus is multimodal machine learning, particularly the intersection of vision and language in settings with limited supervision, and its applications in embodied AI, healthcare, and other fields" ... and I'm not at all sure what that means.

#LibrarySchool #LibraryScience

2nd week of the semester (remote, async program).

Went back and watched the intro video I made.

I guess i was feeling 🌶️ , cause I said:

“I don’t assign group work, and I don’t assign busy work. I take this course seriously and I want to see that you do as well. I justify the readings I assign and I encourage you to hold other instructors to similar standards if this is important to you”

#teaching #librarySchool #adjunctLife