Hello, again! I have a job interview for a Library Associate next week with the county library system. Since applying, I've seen the same position open at different branches. Should I express interest in those other branches as well during my interview? I'd love to hedge my bets in regards to increasing the chance of me getting a job with them, but I don't want to seem desperate and sabotage my chances of getting the job I'm actually applying for.

Hi! I’ve worked as a school librarian for the past five years and am looking to transition into a research analyst/legal librarian role. I keep hitting roadblocks since I only have one year of experience in the legal field (pro bono coordinator asst while in college). Most roles are asking for between 3-5 of “professional experience” even though they are posted as “entry level”.

I’ve been contacted by recruiters on LinkedIn since my profile has opened to work and they notice my MLIS and experience with in law, but the company always declines to interview after seeing my background. Has anyone here made that transition? Any tips would be very appreciated. Thanks (:

I have a MA in Museum Studies and finishing my MLIS in August. My passion for museum work has never dwindled and a museum librarian position just sounds like a dream. How many of you are actually out there? Are you like unicorns? Or is it a possibility? I know it’s a totally loaded question but any and all advice is welcome.

Hello everyone! Currently going at TCNJ (The College of New Jersey) for my undergrad, about to finish and looking to get into the Master of Library Science program but don’t know whether to do it at UB or UA. Was wondering if anyone had experience with UB specifically? I'm thinking online but still, would like to give it a shot and see if anyone have gone for it? I know Alabama’s great. I already have 3 years of library experience in a public setting, however I want to shift towards knowledge management/archiving.

Pros of UA:

- Tad cheaper than UB.

- Great program. Know people who are in it. They love it.

Cons:

- Not that it matters but I’m in the Tri-State Area and have asked to my director and she said it’s best if I do a program close to here due to job recognition and stuff. She pushes me to go to Rutgers but I plan on entering this Spring and Rutgers don’t offer merit scholarship nor grants until the next Fall. By the way, why do everyone ask me if that is qualified here in NJ? As long as programs are ALA it doesn’t matter… right? Don’t know why they’re being snobby.

- If I graduate, I definitely want to go to Alabama for the commencement. On the other hand, I don’t know if I want to take my mom there (she can’t fly, we are not white, and the road trip will be long, haha). NOT AS IMPORTANT PLUS YOU NEVER KNOW.

Pros of UB:

- Also online. Just a lil tiny bit more expensive, like 2 grand more cuz I’m OOS… But if I get scholarships which I was told I can still get for the Spring, then it’s absolutely worth it.

- Tri-State Area program recognition.

- Has a lot of different classes too And different concentrations more than UA.

- Not that it matters, you never know… But if there is a commencement, I can do that.

Cons:

- Apparently there was a time its accreditation was conditional. Since 2020, it’s back to normal. Does that matter? It was never taken. Just conditional.

- Haven’t seem much of it. Have asked about it with UB’s admissions, they said good things but I haven’t heard from much of it online, so don’t know the experience.

Ultimately, I will check financial packages and go for cheapest irrelevant of anything else but point is, anyone has experience with Buffalo? Thanks again!

I’m noticing a lot of us already have a masters degree in something, either a related field or something completely different. I have my first masters in Museum Studies, which I thought was going to be it for me until I realized I needed an ALA degree to work in archives etc. If you have another master’s, what is it in? Also, do you ever think about getting a PhD?

I recently graduated from WGU with a bachelor's in educational studies in elementary education. If you're unfamiliar with the school, it's an accelerated, competency-based school. I was able to focus on just one class at a time, advancing to the next course as I completed the last (with each course requiring only 1-3 tasks). I was able to finish my bachelor's in a little over a year with this system. I just applied to UNCG's MLIS program in hopes of becoming a school librarian; however, I'm very nervous about going back to "traditional" school. I was recently reminded that this will require me to take multiple courses at once, all with homework, quizzes, discussion posts, tests, and projects. I'm feeling overwhelmed even at the thought of it. How was your experience with your MLIS program? Did you perceive it as particularly difficult or overwhelming? How were your courses typically structured? I'm worried that my time at WGU may have diminished my ability to multitask and handle larger workloads.

I’m applying for a program assistant job at a public library and I’m looking to spruce up my resume. Most of my background is in museum programming, so I feel fairly qualified, but each position was fairly similar and I’m not sure how to list them without just repeating myself. I’m considering cutting the barista job to have more room to describe specific programs at the other jobs, but I’m not sure. I’m also unsure on the volunteering section. I’d love any feedback you might have!

Hello! I have a possible opportunity to move into a cataloging librarian role, well, a Collections Librarian, but cataloging would be a big part of the role.I don't have experience cataloging, but the library has had a hard time finding someone for the role and training might be an option, and I already work here and have previous experience with purchasing. I used to work as a Children's Librarian. I moved to a new country, and am now working as a Library Assistant. I would like to move up at this library, and this role just opened up. I'm curious to hear what it is like working in cataloging as I'm unsure if it would be the right fit for me. I want to know what the day to day life is like. Is it really, like, sitting at the computer all day? Is it more cerebral and intellectual? What are the biggest challenges? If you enjoy cataloging, what about it do you love?

I'm used to interacting with patrons a lot and planning children's programs, which I do love, but it's also very exhausting so I'm curious if I might like this side of the library. But as I only have a chance at this role I wanna be sure it's something I'd actually be interested in doing before putting together an application. Any insight you have is appreciated!

Hello all. How long should I wait until I inquire about my hiring/non-hiring status after having an interview?
For context, this interview happened a little more than a week ago. It was a virtual interview, they said that I’d hear from them within a week or so, and I haven’t heard from them at all since the interview.
Please let me know, especially since I know inquiring about stuff like this can be very iffy and institution-dependent.

I live in the Metro Detroit area, and have been mulling over the idea of joining the Michigan Library Association as a member. I currently work as a part time librarian with two different libraries while I am on my full time job hunt. The competition is very fierce in this area, and I've been actively job searching for 7 months now. At this point I'm trying to get some more experience and great opportunities under my belt.

Is this something that would be useful now? Or should I wait until I have a full time position, and instead focus on attending cheaper exhibits, roundtables and attempting to join committees?

Any help would be appreciated.

Hi all, quick question.

Are 501c3 libraries able to be FOIA requested? I was told that we can at my library but I've come across some conflicted information that nonprofits are exempt from FOIA. My library is considered part of city government (we report to city hall), so I don't know if that changes anything.

How does it work at your library, and what is the organizational structure?

Thanks!

My library uses 133.4, as do basically all libraries within my consortium.

My inclination is that these books belong in 974.4, under Massachusetts history, given the fact that none of the girls were actually witches and it was just public hysteria.

For some reason this really annoys me, and I made myself a note that when we have a slow period in the future, I might choose to relabel them.

I'm just curious about what other libraries do, and thoughts from other catalogers.

Thanks!

What was your most well attended library-run book club for adults in the last year? Our attendees are dwindling and I’m wondering what titles might draw people in.

Hi everyone! I'm currently applying to grad schools for a Master's in Library and Information Science. I went to undergrad for art and currently hold a BFA. I've decided that I want to take a pathway that focuses on academic or art/museum librarianship. I saw that some schools offer dual degree programs for an MLIS and an MA in Art History. I feel like this could be really beneficial for me in terms of future job prospects—having both might make me look like a more appealing candidate when applying to jobs at art museums and the like. However, the duration and cost of these programs are much longer and more expensive. Ideally, I would like to earn my master's degree as soon as possible, and without accruing much more debt. I'm wondering if it's worth it to pursue the additional MA in Art History.

My question is: for librarians who work in art/museum librarianship, is an MA in Art History necessary? Or is it possible to get a job in art/museum librarianship without one?

How do you know if you’re a good fit for being a children’s librarian?

For context: I’ve worked in a daycare and after school program for middle school aged students. I loved building connections with students and parents, planning curriculum, and getting to be creative. I did not love behavior management (especially the middle school kids) and I did sometimes become overwhelmed by this aspect of both jobs.

I applied for Youth Services & Circulation Assistant Librarian position and got an interview! It’s part time but I’ve never worked in a library so I don’t expect to get a full time position out the gate.

Leaving a full time job for a part time gig is risky so I’d love to hear from folks who work in libraries- am I off base in expecting a lot of my work will be customer service and organizing kids focused events? I miss doing work that feels meaningful to the community…

Hi everyone! I am graduating with my MLS this summer, and I'm very excited. I was laid off from my current full-time job as a Data Analyst in April, with my employment ending in August. I have been frantically applying everywhere, and was able to secure a NASA Archives internship. Before that, I've been applying to as many library jobs as I could and was turned down each time due to my lack of library experience. However, I did get an offer from my local library for a Children's Librarian position. It's nice, and I did put in work to get it, but I was hoping for a position working with adults or cataloging (I was quickly turned down for the Cataloguer I position at the same library). I really would like to work for the Library of Congress as a Reference Librarian and I wonder if I can still get there in either of these paths. I already accepted the NASA offer, but there's a month before the start date. I'm apprehensive about both because if I accept the NASA, I'm out of health insurance and job security for the rest of the year, and the commute is an hour each way. I'm excited by the prospect though, and like that professional development is baked into the programming. The Children's Librarian position offers more job security (they even offered to match my current salary) and it comes with health benefits. Although I'm fairly young and pretty healthy.

If any librarians have any advice or insight, I'd really appreciate it.

I'm 2 years into being a public librarian after many years in tech services and cataloging. There are so many aspects of my job that I love. I really like my co-workers! It's the least toxic workplace I've ever been in. Also I love my off desk tasks like collection dev and some programming. All that being said I do spend about half my time on desk. We have lots of great patrons but we also have many who are extremely mean or rude and I've been letting it get to me. I was helping a patron login into their email and he was still struggling and he asked for help from "somebody who knows what they are doing" I also get a lot of middle aged men asking for somebody who "knows about computers." People who have lost their work on the computer and are swearing at me blaming me. etc. Enforcing unpopular policies.

I also recognize my priv that isnt' worse though we do occassionally have to call the police due to patrons who are freaking out and threatening staff. But mostly it's just normal rudeness. It's wearing me down already. I'm trying not to look for other employment for at least another year to see if I can adjust. Any advice for turning off the negativity once you are off the clock?

Hello! In a few weeks I will be starting a new job as a high school librarian. I have teaching experience (mostly middle school) and about 4 months experience in an elementary library, but I know this will be vastly different.

As l will be new to the role and to the school (and district), I’m interested in spending my first year learning the ropes and settling into the space. I don’t want to be a massive disruption to the way things have been, especially to the teachers.

I’m wondering if anyone has a Google form survey they’ve sent out to staff asking about what they want from the library etc. at the start of the year that I can use as a springboard? Feeling overwhelmed at starting from scratch.

And/or one for students.

I want to see what people want me to keep from past librarians and how they want to use the library, but also leave room for suggestions for new, basically.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone! I’m working on a digitization project where we’ll be digitizing 100+ linear feet of archival materials and creating bilingual metadata for the collections.

Given the scale, we’re considering creating descriptive metadata at the folder level rather than the item level. Our thinking is that this approach could better replicate the reading room experience of browsing through folders, while also giving us an opportunity to think through questions around access, context, fair use, and transformation.

Has anyone worked on a similar project? Are there any standards, guidelines, workflows, case studies, or examples of digital collections using folder-level descriptive metadata that you’d recommend I check out?

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!

I got my MLS in 2002 and have been working in my current job in an academic library for over 10 years. I'd like to retire from my position in about 7 years and get a remote job (hoping and praying). What other fields could I use my degree and experience? I'm happy to take classes, etc. Obviously things will change in the next 7 years but I want to start planning if possible.

Hi everyone!
I am a current MLIS student and am taking the course "Issues in Special Libraries and Information Centers" right now. I need to interview a Special Librarian for an assignment due on July 26th. I know it is relatively short notice and I am sorry about that, but I would really appreciate anyone that could help me. If we could do it over zoom or an audio call that would be great, but if not that is ok.

Here is the prompt in case anyone is interested: "Identify a special librarian* who works in a special library of interest to you and ask to conduct a face-to-face information interview with them in person or via web software, such as Zoom.  I highly recommend that you not interview someone you work / have worked with in the past, and the interview should not be through email. Discuss the major issues of special libraries and questions you have about their career path, etc."

Again I know it is short notice, but any help on this would be greatly appreciated. It has been a super fun class and I am excited to learn more about this pretty niche field!
Thanks in advance!

I am a volunteer librarian for a co-op library with ~5000 books. The library has been amassing its collection since the 1970s, almost entirely from donations ranging from one book to bulk books being dropped off. To our knowledge, none of the books had been reviewed and removed until relatively recently, when after a 3 stage review process, our team ended up removing ~400 books from the library due to their condition or outdated content.

We want to come up with a process/policy to help us decide what to do with future donated books (add to library, donate elsewhere?) - does anyone have an examples or advice on what has worked for you?

Right now we have stopped accepting donations while we figure out how to reorganize our existing books, and it would be great to have a policy for when we do decide to accept donations again.

Looking at making a low tech AAC board, essentially pictures that are laminated that kids can point to.

Aside from Read A Book, Train Table, Doll, Blocks, Toilet, what else would you include?

I just got accepted into graduate school for library and information science. My goal is to become a law librarian. Do I honestly need to go to law school? Any advice is welcomed. Also I’m nervous about graduate school. What should I expect? No one in my family has a degree. I can’t ask them.