Start Your Exploration Understanding the Universe of Library Jobs and their Alternatives
Books
Eberts, Marjorie and Margaret Gisler. Careers for Bookworms & Other Literary Types. 4th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2008. 176p. ISBN 0071545395.
Think libraries, publishing, writing, research, teaching, and bookselling.... The authors include interviews and practitioner profiles, give tips on how to move into specific career tracks, and include a selective list of resources for each career. Brief but good overview of possibilities.
Kane, Laura Townsend. Straight from the Stacks: A First-Hand Guide to Careers in Library and Information Science. ALA Editions, 2003. 192p. ISBN 0838908659.
A great resource for its combination of profiles or "spotlights" on real-life practitioners and sample job descriptions (environment, responsibilities, education and training, recommended memberships). Categories include public librarianship, school/children's/young adult librarianship, academic librarianship, nontraditional librarianship (corporate and freelance), and medical and law librarianship. A concluding section describes the job of "library director," with profiles of directors in public, law, university, and university health science libraries.
McCook, Kathleen. Opportunities in Library and Information Science. 3d ed. McGraw-Hill, 2008. 160p. ISBN 007154531X.
Good job of identifying library science career choices, including education requirements, salary statistics, and some resources. Especially useful for beginning students and career novices. McCook is a public librarian and library educator known for her writing about the profession.
Nesbeitt, Sarah L. and Rachel Singer Gordon. The Information Professional's Guide to Career Development Online. Information Today, 2002. 416p. ISBN 1573871249.
This book does one thing, but it does it very thoroughly and incredibly well: identify ways to use the Internet to find and apply for jobs in the library science field. Topics are grouped into four broad areas: learning and growing online, professional involvement, education, and employment. Chapters in each of these areas cover their topics with an eye toward their usefulness for career development. Appendixes cover additional resources and numerous screen shots and graphics supplement the text.
Shontz, Priscilla K. Jump Start Your Career in Library and Information Science. Scarecrow Press, 2002. 208p. ISBN 0810840847.
A practical overview of the steps involved in getting your LIS career started, whether as a traditional librarian or via a nontraditional career path. Shontz has included tips, checklists, resources, and personal stories that all add up to excellent advice for recent (or soon-to-be) MLIS graduates and those wanting to energize their existing careers.
Shontz, Priscilla K., ed. The Librarian's Career Guidebook. Scarecrow Press, 2005. 592p. ISBN 0810850346.
Imagine hanging out with 63 of your best friends... who also happen to be really smart, career-savvy information professionals "from diverse positions, workplaces, and locations." Shontz's contributors offer practical, immediately-actionable advice on all sorts of career issues of interest to both library science students as well as seasoned practitioners. Consider this your virtual librarian mentor.
Shontz, Priscilla K. and Richard A. Murray. A Day in the Life: Career Options in Library and Information Science. Libraries Unlimited, 2007. 464p. ISBN 1591583640.
Includes contributions from public, academic, school, and special libraries; consortia; LIS faculty; library vendors; publishing; associations and agencies; and nontraditional (personal librarians, entrepreneur, information architect, competitive intelligence analyst, etc.). Most profiles include a brief intro, a "day in the life" run-through, pros and cons, how one would get a job doing the type of work described, and a list of related resources. Great starting point for career exploration.
Periodicals
Info Career Trends Newsletter. Lisjob.com, 2000-2009 . bimonthly. ISSN 1532-0839. http://www.lisjobs.com/career_trends/
Info Career Trends was Lisjob.com's bi-monthly electronic newsletter devoted to professional development. (It went on semi-permanent hiatus May 2009.) Each topic-focused issue focused on practical advice from successful practitioners, supplemented by book reviews, and links to relevant articles and web sites. A must-read for anyone contemplating career development. The website also provides a content-rich starting point for exploring professional choices. A key resource, since much of the career advice is timeless.
Articles and Columns
DeCandido, GraceAnne A., "New Jobs for Old: Librarians Now," Leading Ideas: Issues and Trends in Diversity, Leadership, and Career Development, Issue 15, July 2000. http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/li14.pdf
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) initiated a series of publications that became the basis of the Leading Ideas forum, now found on the web at www.arl.org/diversity/leading/index.html. Although no new materials have been added since 2000, the papers are still useful today. In this particular piece, Ms. DeCandido profiles seven successful professionals about how their careers - and their choices - kept pace with new opportunities.
Mort, Mary-Ellen, "The Info Pro's Survival Guide to Job Hunting," Searcher, vol. 10, no. 7 (July/Aug. 2002), p. 42-59. www.infotoday.com/searcher/jul02/mort.htm
Making the argument that hitting monster job sites is probably not the best way to find your best job, Mort instead explains what she calls the Invisible Job Market, and how to work it. Her "Information Professionals' Map to Invisible Job Market Resources," which links from the online article, is a must-read.
"Next Gen" column, Library Journal http://www.libraryjournal.com/Community/New+Librarians/47133.html
An occasional column written by various next-gen librarians that should be a must-read for all librarians, especially those in management and/or leadership positions. These writers represent the future of the profession, and their comments, questions, and insights provide an important window into potential new thinking. Also provides realistic commentary from those "in the trenches" regarding career challenges and issues for those just coming into the profession. Select "New Librarians" from the Careers drop-down menu to view past columns at the Library Journal website.
Pergander, Mary, "Working Knowledge," American Libraries http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/careerleads/workingknowledge/workingknowledgemain.cfm
Check this monthly column for practical, seasoned information on career issues encountered by professionals in traditional library careers. It appears not to have been updated since August 2008, however, the career advice remains valuable and timely.
Wein, Terren Ilana, Marjorie Gagnon, and Maura Barrett, "Job Power: Career Management Resources for Librarians," Information Outlook, vol. 7, no. 1 (January 2003), p. 11-16.
An annotated list of books, articles, and websites that provides a great overview of key resources for the job hunt, including general sources as well as those focused on LIS professionals. Unfortunately, accessible to SLA members only.
Online Resources
Beyond the Job - http://www.beyondthejob.org/
A blog from Sarah Johnson and Rachel Singer Gordon ("the Library Job People"), Beyond the Job offers professional tips and up-to-date information for librarians wishing to further their library careers. Includes articles, advice on job-hunting specific to the library field, professional development resources, and related links.
Career Articles & Resources - http://www.sla.org/content/jobs/careerportal/index.cfm
A "members-only resource to assist information professionals in becoming indispensable to their clients and organizations." The site includes articles, web content, and tools to enhance your career development goals. If you're thinking of a nontraditional career path, this resource provides another terrific reason to join SLA - think of this content-rich repository as your own personal career coach.
Career Development - http://units.sla.org/chapter/ctor/resources/careerdevindex.asp
A highly valuable collection of annotated bibliographies, articles, white papers, education resources, annotated links, salary surveys, and information on alternative career choices. An excellent starting point for beginning your career exploration, from the Toronto chapter of SLA.
Career Planning - http://careerplanning.about.com/
Offers general career planning advice and tools, plus a section specific to library science professionals (Career Planning A-Z > Library Science Careers). Discusses what librarians do, working conditions and employment, training and other qualifications, and job outlook and earnings, all drawn from the Occupational Outlook Handbook. "Additional Resources" provides links to ALA, the Medical Library Association, and the American Association of Law Libraries, among others. Not a comprehensive resource, but a good starting point for those interested in traditional library options.
Careers in Libraries - http://www.ala.org/ala/educationcareers/careers/paths/careerslibrariesbibliography.cfm
From ALA's Human Resource Development and Recruitment group, this site is a directory of unannotated resource links under the headings General Resources; Librarian (public, school, special); Educational Policies and Competencies; and Support Staff (resources for paraprofessionals).
Guide on the Side: Marie Wallace / LLRX.com - http://www.llrx.com/authors/376
Until January 2003, Wallace wrote a monthly career column for LLRX, a content-rich site focused on law and technology resources for legal and LIS professionals. Her topics were highly eclectic, but generally focused on career skills. Browse through an archive of all of her columns at the LLRX website.
Indiana University Jobs in Library and Information Science - http://www.slis.indiana.edu/careers/mls_career_links.html
Annotated directory of links grouped under the categories of MIS (Corporate/Information Science, Nonprofit/Government, Other Opportunities, Alumni Profiles) and MLS (Academic Library; General; Public Library; and School Media Centers). Includes an especially useful (and lengthy) listing of professional associations; students interested in alternative careers should check out the broad range of jobs listed under "View Job Successes." A terrific resource for exploring LIS careers.
Library Journal.com: Careers - http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Solid, content-rich collection of career advice and related articles and resources. From the top navigation bar, click on "Careers" and then chose from News and Features, Classifieds, Education and Training, Job Zone, New Librarians, and Salaries. Library Journal is to be commended for making this valuable information publicly available at no cost; employed LIS professionals should support this effort by subscribing to the print publication. A key resource.
Library Science As a Career - http://www.libraryhq.com/libcareer.html
Part of the LibraryHQ web site created and maintained by Katharine Garstka, MLS, the career page provides resources related to job hunting, education options, types of library career paths, and resources for specializations such as law or health sciences librarianship. - NOW SIRSI/DYNIX? CONTACTED 5/24
LIScareer.com - http://www.liscareer.com/
Billing itself as "the library & information science professional's career development center," LIScareer.com aggregates articles, resources, and information on career planning, education, job hunting, experience, networking, mentoring, interpersonal skills, leadership, publishing, and work/life balance. Some materials have been created specifically for the site, others pulled in from a variety of resources both print and electronic. An extraordinarily content-rich tool for those contemplating a library/information-related career, wanting to advance their careers, or make a career change within the field, this is the companion to Priscilla Schontz's Jumpstart Your Career in Library and Information Science. A key resource.
Occupational Outlook Handbook: Librarian - http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos068.htm
Provides a solid overview of the various aspects of the profession, including the nature of the work, working conditions, employment statistics, education requirements, job outlook, and salary information.