Oh hey! Every other week or so, I ask a question to a group of people who hire library and LIS workers.
If you have questions you think I should ask, if you’d like to be someone who responds to questions, or if you have any other thoughts and feelings please shoot me an email at hiringlibrarians AT gmail.
This week’s question is:
Has a candidate’s reputation ever influenced your decision to hire (or not hire)? If so, how did you find out and what was the issue?
Anonymous:
I have twice allowed personal knowledge to sway my recommendations regarding my decision to invite candidates to interview for positions.
1. I knew that he had punched out a previous supervisor
2. I had interviewed him at a previous institution and strongly felt that he was a bad fit for my current institution.
I am not particularly proud of doing this, but I do believe that I helped my institution duck a couple of bullets.
Laurie Phillips, University Librarian for Information Resources, J. Edgar & Louise S. Monroe Library, Loyola University New Orleans: I’m fairly certain that this has happened with library jobs over the years, but the one that I particularly remember was not within the library. I was on a search committee for a director level position for a university center and we were bringing in high level candidates. The night before one of the candidates was to arrive (or maybe the morning they arrived), we were informed that one of the center’s external board members highly objected to the candidate, given the person’s reputation and their professional interactions with the candidate. We were not in the field, so we had not previous experience with this candidate. We went ahead with the two day interview, knowing that this candidate was already out of the running. There was nothing we could do, at that point, other than go through with it. I have had a candidate say something completely egregious and probably disqualifying, early on in the interview process. It’s really hard to continue, but you have to.
Anonymous: I have twice been in a situation where a candidate’s reputation influenced the decision to not hire. I should state up front that, in my current position, we have fairly strict guidelines in who we talk to about candidates and from whom we can request feedback. The second example below is a time when these guidelines were bent if not partly broken.
The first time was a candidate that another librarian had worked with years before at another library and had had a bad experience with them. I don’t recall all of the details, but I believe my colleague thought that the candidate had performed poorly at the previous job. Because my colleague was in a position to have a say in the final hiring decision, the choice was out of my hands. It turned out to be a moot point, however, since one of the other candidates was our top choice and accepted the position.
The second time was someone who had previously interviewed at my library but in a different department and gave a very bad impression. At that time, the candidate was rude and condescending during multiple interview sessions. When the search chair for that position found out that I was interviewing this candidate, they called me and cautioned me about the candidate’s previous interview. I did not experience the same behavior during the interview for my position, so I don’t know if the individual had changed or what. I do know that this person has essentially been blacklisted.
I would like to conclude by offering some advice to all librarians and library staff. Although it may not always feel like it, librarianship is a VERY small profession. Be polite without letting people walk over you. If you find your anger or irritation rising, walk away and address the situation when you’ve cooled down. Don’t burn any bridges because you never know when it can cause problems. If you behave poorly as an employee somewhere, that behavior may stick with you. What I tell my mentees and staff is that while I may not like someone as a person, I will do my best to treat them politely while at work. At the very least, I may be short or curt with someone, if their previous behavior towards me has been offensive or inappropriate, such as yelling or throwing things (sadly this has happened), or if I have witnessed such behavior with others. I don’t and won’t go out of my way to talk to someone like this, but I will be professional. If someone behaves inappropriately or offensively towards you, document it and report it. Talk to HR. Talk to your Ombuds officer, if you have one.
Oh hey! Every other week or so, I ask a question to a group of people who hire library and LIS workers.
If you have questions you think I should ask, if you’d like to be someone who responds to questions, or if you have any other thoughts and feelings please shoot me an email at hiringlibrarians AT gmail.
This week’s question is:
Can you think of a time (or times) when you made a mistake in the hiring process? What was it, when did you realize it was a mistake, and were you able to correct it? How has your process changed as a result of this mistake?
Dr. John Sandstrom, College Professor and Acquisitions Librarian, New Mexico State University Library:
The biggest mistake I ever made when hiring someone was to hire a friend of mine. I did not recuse myself and I should have. He would have still gotten a job with us, but it wouldn’t have been at my location.
The primary change to the hiring practices is that we placed more emphasis on personal relationships with the candidates and recusing yourself ceased to have a stigma attached to it.
Anonymous: Yes, I have made a mistake in hiring. It was about a year ago when we hired a volunteer to take over a paid position. The mistake – since we already knew this person we did NOT interview him. Big mistake. We worked with him for a year, then he left to take a full-time position at another library. After he left we hired another volunteer (after an interview!) and discovered that he had not told her correctly about how to shelve!
Has our process changed? Not really but we will never again hire someone without an interview – regardless of how well we think we know them!
(It also didn’t help that at that time we didn’t really have a “clerk” position so his position technically was the same as other staff that were doing much harder work. That is in the process of being rectified!)
Jennie Garner, Library Director, North Liberty Community Library: We made the mistake of not checking references for a candidate we hired several years ago. The candidate seemed like such a great fit and they gave such a strong interview, we didn’t call the references. It wasn’t noticeable at first but the new employee had several challenges with their work including what we assume was time blindness – showing up to work late every day, sometimes 20 or more minutes. Then it became apparent after a couple months that the work projects they were hired to complete were not getting done and they were spending time on less important tasks or creating their own projects that were not within their job parameters. We really did our best to try to coach them along. We offered them a later schedule to try to remedy the tardiness but they just continued to be late even under the new schedule. Then we tried verbal and written warnings, stepping through the disciplinary process and offering performance reviews and more one-on-one coaching with administrative staff. In the end, we ended up having to fire that individual as their challenges were impeding other staff work and causing some morale issues. It was a tough learning experience.
Today, we call references for every position including our part-time with just a few hours a week and we have really honed the interview process. Our job postings, job descriptions, and interview questions have been reviewed by our staff EDIA committee to work toward consistency and equity in the interviews. We have at least two staff involved in every parttime interview, typically an administrator (director or assistant director) and another full-time team member. The fulltime team works the front lines and we appreciate their input in an interview. For fulltime hires, we have administration and at least one more fulltime staff person. All interviewers work together to select interviewees and after each interview, we debrief and choose the final candidate as a team. (This also builds interview skills for our fulltime staff in the case that they move into management in the future.
While we still occasionally may misstep, the process is a lot smoother and much more reliable. We have a fantastic team and I believe it’s in large part due to this process and also to the inclusive hiring practices.
Oh hey! Every other week or so, I ask a question to a group of people who hire library and LIS workers.
If you have questions you think I should ask, if you’d like to be someone who responds to questions, or if you have any other thoughts and feelings please shoot me an email at hiringlibrarians AT gmail.
This week’s question is:
Since you started hiring (if you’re willing to ballpark this for us, that’s appreciated), how has the process improved? How has it gotten worse? Bonus: what’s one thing you wish you could do/enact to continue to evolve library hiring practices?
Anonymous: I think that hiring has gotten different.
In my area there are more part time positions than full time. Add that library pay tends to be low-ish and people are still into working from home our candidate pools are sometimes not robust.
However, I have noticed with the last couple of postings that since we have not been so rigid on regular ol’ library experience that we have gotten a few candidates who had interesting backgrounds and since hired have been a breath of fresh air.
I still want the librarians we hire to have a MLIS or equivalent, but that is kind of it. Our equity training has changed what kind of questions we ask and what kind of experience is desired and personally I think it is going to help our library while playing this long game.
Rachel Vagts, Special Collections and Archives Manager, The Denver Public Library: I think one of the best improvements I’ve seen both as a job searcher and as someone conducting and participating in searches is the practice of sharing the interview questions beforehand. I think we all want our candidates or ourselves to be prepared for the interview process and I don’t see any benefit in the “gotcha” aspect that can happen when the questions are only shared during the interview process. It also helps to level the playing field for people who prepare differently, who are visual rather than verbal learners and in the case of complex questions (which we all ask!) it makes sure you get a complete answer.
I also think the improvement of virtual meeting software has been helpful. For a screening interview, I find the video call much more effective than the phone interview of the past. The improvement in call quality and audio has also been a benefit in these settings. This has allowed us to more effectively expand our interview pool since we typically conducted primarily local searches for most of our positions.
The one thing I’ve been surprised by and find frustrating is the lack of cover letters. With many organizations using automated software (we use Workday) it can be confusing for the applicant to both understand we’d like a cover letter and to even figure out how to attach it to the application. I still find that document to be useful to gauge a person’s interest and how their experience may or may not intersect with a specific position.
As far as what I’d like to change in the grander scheme of recruitment–I’m always for pay transparency. In Colorado it’s state law that the salary has to be included and I’d love to see that be required on the national level. It helps everyone have a better understanding of the position, the compensation and provides greater equity for all applicants.
Celia Rabinowitz, Assistant Vice-President for Academic Engagement and Director of Mason Library, Keene State College: I started hiring as a director in 2002. For a few years before that I was hiring staff in public services but not library faculty. So it has been a long time! I think I would say that the shift to digital files has actually improved the process because files are more accessible than when they in one secure location that search committee members have to retrieve them from. The downside is that the rating system which is based on stated qualifications is not very forgiving. If a candidate is rated “below average” it can be difficult to get them back in the pool even if a committee conversation results in a desire to make a change. That said, it is interesting that people on committees tend to be relatively consistent so there is enough interrater reliability to make this useful.
Increasing levels of outside control of the process is one thing I think has gotten worse. There could be a range of good and bad reasons for this including concern about legal challenges, efforts at making searches more equitable and diverse, etc. The “control” is often presented as more robust support for a search from institution/system recruiters. My experience has been mixed including everything from limiting the files we see to trying to take on the phone interview portion of the process.
I would like to be able to ensure that all searches contained a salary range. At my institution the faculty contract is openly available so faculty can easily find that even if it is not in the ad. And staff positions usually contain an hourly or salary range. I would like to return to being able to give candidates phone/Zoom questions in advance which we are no longer permitted to do. And, I’d like to see academic librarian searches take less time overall and always, always include clear communication at each stage of the search to all candidates in the pool in those stages. I think my institution does a good job of that but a little bit of reading makes it clear that this is not consistent. It sends a pretty strong message about an institution and its culture when a candidate in the final stages of a search never hears anything, or worse, receives a communication a year or more after the search is over. What is going on with that?
Dr. John Sandstrom, College Professor and Acquisitions Librarian, New Mexico State University Library: I have been hiring staff since the late 1980’s. The staff I’ve hired includes students, staff, paraprofessionals, and degreed librarians in a variety of institutions. The hiring process has become more formal at all levels. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. The formalization has tended to decrease favoritism, but it has also decreased flexibility.
I wish the HR departments would recognize that the boilerplate they use for generic “clerical” positions does not work particularly well for libraries.
Laura Daniels (she/they), Assistant Director, Metadata Production and Acting Director, Cataloging and Metadata Services, Cornell University Library: In the past 10-15 years, I’ve seen some hiring processes become more candidate-centered. For example, it’s now accepted practice (at least where I work) to share interview questions in advance, and I’ve personally had really good results from this practice. Candidates had time to think through and give more nuanced responses to our questions and I hope they felt a little more confident at the same time. There’s also better awareness now of all the potential biases that influence our impressions of candidates and how to counter them so that we are truly evaluating candidates based on the position criteria. Despite this awareness, I still think we can do a better job of not making assumptions about candidates.
I don’t know if this aspect is worse or has always been bad… but I see us looking too often for “unicorns” (candidates with very specific and not necessarily intersecting skills) and also seeking candidates with professional experience (such as cataloging experience) for what is effectively an entry-level position. How are our potential colleagues supposed to acquire such experience?
The lines around what is considered “professional” work and qualifications (master’s degree/MLIS/experience) for library roles continue to be blurry which I don’t think is necessarily bad or good. It continues to be the case that many of the diverse and capable candidates I think we should be hiring either cannot afford a graduate degree or must make steep sacrifices in order to do so. This reinforces the status quo, and does not serve either our profession or our users.
Oh hey! Every other week or so, I ask a question to a group of people who hire library and LIS workers.
If you have questions you think I should ask, if you’d like to be someone who responds to questions, or if you have any other thoughts and feelings please shoot me an email at hiringlibrarians AT gmail.
What are some of the technology proficiencies you look for? How do you expect candidates to communicate these to you? I realize this may be different for different positions, so please feel free to speak generally or to specify what roles you are speaking to. Bonus question: What does it specifically mean when a job ad says you should have “familiarity with” a technology? What about “knowledge of”?
Kellee Forkenbrock, Public Services Librarian, North Liberty Community Library: As a rural library within a community experiencing a significant digital divide, we recognize our duty to provide the best technological resources we can provide. From the gift of grant awards and a talented IT staff, we have provided everything from free WiFi that extends to our parking lot to hotspots for patrons to borrow. With those offerings comes a responsibility that our staff holds to assist with the access of said tools. We keep that initiative in mind when recruiting, seeking candidates who have what we consider to be basic proficiency in applications such as Microsoft Suite (specifically Word, Excel, and Outlook) and web searching capabilities. Many of our staff members hold advanced LIS degrees, which likely included technology in their coursework. Our IT staff keeps a constant open communication with the librarians, updating us on the latest advancements we have available for both our use and the use of the patrons. We facilitate staff-wide training on technology so that we are all collectively equipped to assist patrons to the best of our abilities. Any library professional joining our team should fully expect technology to be a prominent part of their work tasks.
Celia Rabinowitz, Assistant Vice-President for Academic Engagement and Director of Mason Library, Keene State College: At my institution, librarians are full faculty and the job ads (at least the last time we searched which was five years ago) don’t generally include technology proficiencies. Our Systems Manager position is a staff position as are ILL, Acquisitions, and Access Services Manager. For those positions we have shifted to using language like “Demonstrated ability to use xxx.” We don’t use “familiarity” or “knowledge of” anymore. This is where still asking for cover letters can actually be an advantage. Someone thinking carefully could use the cover letter to provide a brief description of a project that requires proficiency with a specific technology that goes beyond simply listing it on a resume. Or they could list a project on a resume that would allow a hiring committee to ask about it. We can use the same approach to other kinds of proficiencies.
What are we looking for? We often identify types of uses of technology rather than name brands. For example, we might say experience using technology to create data analysis and reports, to communicate with individual internal and external to the institution, with an integrated library system, etc. I don’t think the really long lists of software that some people still put on a CV or resume is all that useful. Most people could dispense with the MS Office suite of products. But other tools that could be used for data visualization, social media, etc., I still find helpful to know about.
Donna Pierce, Library Director, Krum Public Library: My first “clue” so to speak concerning applicants familiarity with technology, in this case basic computer skills, has to do with their application. If an application is hand written instead of filled in I will question their computer skills. Also, how a cover letter/resume is formatted will make me a bit more aware of their skills. However, this doesn’t mean I would toss their application. During the interview process we do ask about their knowledge of various programs.
For more specific technology – such as library specific programs – we would ask more detailed questions.
“Familiar with” means they have heard of the program and have an idea of what it does. “Knowledge” means they can actually use the program!
Laurie Phillips, University Librarian for Information Resources, J. Edgar & Louise S. Monroe Library, Loyola University New Orleans: I think, for me, it’s less about proficiency with specific software, but more about a familiarity with, say, how an integrated library system works, or how discovery systems work and knowing the right questions to ask about setup. “Familiarity with” a particular ILS doesn’t necessarily mean using the public catalog as a user, but more like familiarity with how this works, may have used Workflows as a user, but not to the degree of understanding reports and some of the settings, etc. Most important is the ability to adapt to and learn new software and technology. To be able to troubleshoot, learning something well enough to teach it in the classroom (if that’s part of the job) Sometimes, it’s about being familiar enough with how these technologies work to be able to help users diagnose problems. For me, people who can figure things out and not be daunted are better than people who need step by step instructions or a manual. I think the question we ask is “How do you learn a new piece of software or a new technology? How do you prepare to teach it or help others learn to teach it?” And again, the teaching part depends on the position.
Elizabeth “Beth” Cox, Director, Cataloging, Metadata & Digitization Dept., University of Iowa Libraries:
What are some of the technology proficiencies you look for?
This will vary slightly depending on the position. For the cataloging and metadata positions, we look for familiarity with, knowledge of, or experience with one or more of the following: a library system, ideally the one we have; OCLC Connexion; Microsoft Office; any software used for institutional repositories or storage of digital collections.
How do you expect candidates to communicate these to you? I realize this may be different for different positions, so please feel free to speak generally or to specify what roles you are speaking to.
I expect to see it in either the cover letter or the resume/CV. I want to know your experience with the tech, whether you have limited use in a classroom setting, or seen it demonstrated, or used it in an internship.
Bonus question: What does it specifically mean when a job ad says you should have “familiarity with” a technology? What about “knowledge of”?
“Knowledge of” means that you have at least heard of the tech. “Familiarity with” means that you have either seen it used or have used it yourself.
Oh hey, it’s back! We had a couple months off but in this feature, which occurs every other week or so, I ask a question to a group of people who hire library and LIS workers.
If you have questions you think I should ask, if you’d like to be someone who responds to questions, or if you have any other thoughts and feelings please shoot me an email at hiringlibrarians AT gmail.
This week’s question was suggested by someone who hires librarians:
Are you able (and/or willing) to provide feedback to applicants who are not hired? Why or why not? What’s the best way for a candidate to ask for feedback? Is there a piece of feedback you give most frequently or if you are not able to give candidates feedback, what’s the number one thing you wish you could tell people?
Kate L Ganski, Library Associate Director for User Services, UWM Libraries UW-Milwaukee: It is rare for candidates to contact me for feedback. But if they do, I am able and willing to give them feedback. I do my best to give feedback that is honest, personable, and actionable. I don’t think it is helpful, for example, to say other candidates had more experience. Instead of speaking of the other candidates, I speak to their own strengths and weaknesses. I keep it simple though, and try to help them prepare for the next interview. Each position and candidate is unique, so there is no usual response or common area for improvement.
Donna Pierce, Library Director, Krum Public Library: Usually there is no way for me to give feedback. On occasion, when I can hire only 2 people and have 3 excellent candidates, I have reached out to the one that wasn’t chosen to let them know that “it wasn’t really them”. I have also told them that we could use them as a volunteer. Sometimes I hear back from them and sometimes I don’t. I have never had an applicant ask why they weren’t hired. (And I have never asked that question!)
Celia Rabinowitz ,Assistant Vice-President for Academic Engagement and Director of Mason Library, Keene State College: The university system within which I work coordinates searches through a set of shared recruiters. Each search is assigned a recruiter who support the process and also makes sure proper procedures are used. I will admit to butting heads with these folks on occasion. Even before we moved to this support structure, we have always been told by our Human Resources department to direct questions that come from candidates to HR during and after the search. This is primarily to insure consistency during the search, that is, to be sure that all candidates have the same information. So if a candidate asks a question and is provided information, HR reaches out to the other candidates to be sure they also have it.
Once the search is concluded, successfully or not, I assume the main reason HR does not want us to talk with candidates about why they were not hired is to minimize legal liability. It is possible that a candidate could reach out to the HR folks here who might then have a conversation with the search chair about what they can and cannot talk about. It is difficult because we know candidates truly would like to get some feedback about the experience that could help them, and we are for the most part not able to provide that. My advice would be to reach out to the HR department of the hiring library/institution if someone on the search committee says they are unable to answer any questions. That won’t guarantee a useful response but it might.
I know how challenging the job market is and how much work it takes to prepare for a phone or in-person interview, but my best advice is to be prepared. The candidates who often are not successful are less prepared, may use the same kind of presentation or sample class regardless of the type of library (thinking academic libraries here). Coming to an interview with some questions is a great sign of interest in the job. It’s not only about skill or experience.
I wish this situation could change so that interviewing could become more of a learning experience that can benefit every candidate.
Alan Smith, Director, Florence County, SC Library System: I’m almost always glad to provide feedback to people who aren’t hired, either by phone or email. I prefer email because it gives me a chance to word the feedback in a way that’s constructive without sounding harsh. I know some managers are reluctant to provide any feedback at all, due to the real or perceived risk of liability, but email gives them a chance to choose words carefully.
As for the type of feedback, it depends on what they ask for. Sometimes I get asked, “why didn’t you hire me?” Most of the time the answer is simply, “someone else was better qualified.” Either a current employee who applied for the position, or someone who had experience doing a similar job in a similar public library. If they ask, “how could I improve my interview?” I’ll answer honestly. A lot of times candidates just need to give us more information: their answers are too short, they’re worried about sounding conceited by talking about their accomplishments, or they didn’t give any real examples in response to a question asking for them. For example, we often ask, “tell us about a time you had a conflict with a co-worker and how it was resolved.” Some will give only a general answer — “if I had a conflict I would try to talk it out with that person” — or even, “I’ve never had a conflict with a co-worker.”
Also, it does reflect well on the candidate to ask for feedback. It shows us they’re trying to learn and improve, and importantly, that they can not only accept constructive criticism but will seek it out, which can be a difficult quality to judge during the hiring process. Frequently we hire someone after multiple applications or interviews, and people who sincerely ask for feedback often get another chance.
I said “almost always” at the top, because every once in a while someone makes this request in an accusatory way. I already know that every candidate we don’t hire thinks we made the wrong choice! But if someone calls and says, “you didn’t hire me because I worked with X,” or “you didn’t ask me about my experience at X,” or even “it’s illegal that you didn’t hire me,” there’s not much I can say to change their mind — and it makes me think we made the right decision.
Ben Van Gorp, Acting Deputy CEO, East Gwillimbury Public Library: After the interview process we notify all candidates of our decision, whether we decide to move forward with an offer or not, and part of that also is an offer to provide feedback or a debrief on their application. In most cases candidates are just happy to hear a response rather than being ghosted, but there are a few that take us up on the offer and it is very handy. I would say the majority of the feedback is identifying where there is a clear mismatch between an applicant’s expectations or assumptions about the job, and the reality of the posting. Having a clear mismatch, where say an applicant to a programming position speaks mostly about collection development instead of program planning, is usually a clear indicator of inexperience or someone who may be not as serious about a role as other candidates. If it is inexperience, that is an issue that can be fixed so they can be more successful in a later application. Biggest thing I would recommend is that if you have a chatty hiring manager during the process, feel free to ask clarifying questions in advance. Will this role be working with children or adults, will I be doing collection development? Do you have X partnership already. Shows engagement, lets you dodge some potential minefields if there is a touchy partnership and overall it will make your application better. If the hiring manager isn’t chatty, maybe reach out to some local groups or other people in your field/network that may be able to give you some insight.
Laurie Phillips, University Librarian for Information Resources, J. Edgar & Louise S. Monroe Library, Loyola University New Orleans: That’s tricky! There are times when I’ve been asked and I will, if it seems appropriate. Sometimes, it’s a really hard decision and a lot of people involved in the decision, and it’s hard for me to pinpoint exactly what tipped the balance. I guess, if a candidate emailed me, I’d try to write something, but I think it’s easier over the phone. I had an instance recently where I had two really good candidates, but one made it difficult for me to talk to appropriate references. If that candidate had asked for my feedback, I would have told them to straighten that out for the future. Your references need to be able to talk about skills and work that relate. If you use library school professors or friends/coworkers in other fields, they can’t speak to your job skills.
Anonymous Federal Librarian: I have and will provide feedback upon request. I think it’s important, particularly for new librarians. We hire all positions, both professional and paraprofessional, by committee; the deliberation process can’t be disclosed, but I am always happy to share how I graded each question that was asked, and anywhere I think the candidate can improve. The hardest part is when we have two very good candidates and I don’t have much feedback for the candidate to improve on. They gave a great interview, but another candidate was just slightly better. I have not been asked yet to provide feedback to a candidate who bombed the interview, but I must imagine that would be difficult feedback to give and receive. Finally, the federal hiring process can be so hard to navigate that I am also willing to schedule a time to talk to unsuccessful candidates to give them tips and tricks for not only improving their interview but also ways to position themselves to successfully get to the interview stage for other positions. The best way for candidates to ask for feedback is to email me. They should all have my email, so that’s the best way. I recommend the STAR method of preparing for an interview. Have a mental or physical (if online) list of scenarios that you have experienced and be prepared to plug those scenarios into your answers. For example, if you are asked about a difficult co-worker or patron, have an example of how you dealt with that in the past ready to pull out. Take a pause before diving into answering the question to make sure that you know which scenario you are going to use. Finally, there is a very good chance that I am in the minority in providing feedback upon request. I know another supervisor in my organization does not respond to requests for feedback from outside candidates.
Every other week or so, I have asked a question to a group of people who hire library and LIS workers. This is the final question for 2023. I’m going to take a little hiatus on this feature, with the idea that we’ll probably be back in 2024.
If you have questions you think I should ask, if you’d like to be someone who responds to questions, or if you have any other feedback on this feature (timing, things to change, things to keep, etc.) please shoot me an email at hiringlibrarians AT gmail.
This week’s question was suggested by someone who hires librarians:
When interviewing both external and internal candidates, do you ask additional or different questions of the internal candidates? What kinds of questions tend to get helpful answers from your internal candidates?
Celia Rabinowitz, Assistant Vice-President for Academic Engagement and Director of Mason Library, Keene State College: We always receive very clear instructions (as I expect most search/hiring committees do) that treating candidates fairly means that we are required to ask the same questions of all candidates and to provide the same information to all candidates. So if a candidate asks us a question during the search process we need to be sure that all the other candidates also receive any new information that is included in a response from us.
Obviously an internal candidate comes into a search with a knowledge base that is, by definition, qualitatively different from external candidates. One way to try to address that is to be sure to use the same set of questions with every candidate at each stage of the search, but to use the opportunity for follow-up questions to focus on something an internal candidate might know, or even something from an external candidate’s credentials that the committee members are interested in. Questions from candidates themselves can also create opportunities for a conversation that opens up the ability to move beyond the set of questions we have for all candidates.
I always hope that we create questions that give each candidate the opportunity to help us understand how they think, how their experience can help us, etc. And that includes internal candidates. All of this probably seems a bit unrealistic, but perhaps taking this approach means ending up in a situation where we are as close to being completely fair as we can be.
Anonymous Federal Librarian: When hiring for federal positions, our library always follows the rules established by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). That means that every interviewee is asked the same questions, internal or external. The goal is to ensure that each candidate is evaluated the same. However, having interviewed for positions at several other agencies, not all federal libraries follow the OPM rules. We are not able to ask follow-up questions, so the interview process can be a bit intimidating because there is no back-and-forth. Candidates who interview at our library are evaluated on how well or thoroughly they answer the questions. What I find with some internal candidates is that they are not as thorough as they need to be, and that ultimately hurts them. There is an assumption that they don’t need to go into detail about their accomplishments because we already know them. While it’s true that the hiring panel usually knows them and knows their work, the internal candidate needs to “sell” themselves like they are an external candidate. I usually find candidates who use the STAR (situation, task, action, result) method for responding to interview questions to be the most successful.
Every other week or so, I ask a question to a group of people who hire library and LIS workers. If you have a question to ask or if you’d like to be part of the group that answers, shoot me an email at hiringlibrariansATgmail.
What current issues or “hot topics” would you ask candidates about in an interview right now? Or what topics have you recently included? How can candidates best keep up on current issues in the field?
Donna Pierce, Library Director, Krum Public Library: We have just interviewed two people and this is from the e-mail thank you one of them sent “It was an extraordinary, out-of-the-box interview, full of intriguing, thought-provoking questions. You could both be expert presenters at a Symposium on the subject of “How to Conduct a Knock-Your-Socks-Off Interview.””
I am including our list of questions that we use (linked here). Questions 3, 8 and 9 really give us a lot of information about the person we are interviewing and lead to other questions/information. Question 12 and 13 help us explain how public libraries work and that while we respect people’s right to choose we don’t limit those choices based on other’s opinion or their age.
Celia Rabinowitz, Assistant Vice-President for Academic Engagement and Director of Mason Library, Keene State College: I think this question might depend a bit on the type of position. Early in my days as an academic librarian I remember reading many of the top tier journals cover to cover (and, yes, they were only in print) because I thought I should. I did that even when articles were outside my own areas of knowledge and developing expertise. I stopped doing that a while ago. So I would recommend that a librarian just entering the field consider at least looking at tables of contents of many academic library journal but perhaps to read more selectively than I did.
The topics for an interview really depend to some degree on the position and on the type of library. But I think it is important for all academic librarians (with jobs, seeking jobs) to be much more aware of issues and trends in higher education than we often were in the past. Daily digests for the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, Diverse Issues in Higher Ed, etc., are helpful. Sign up to receive the daily post on Scholarly Kitchen! These days I think there is so much good thinking and writing happening on Substacks or other alternative sources that deciding what to read, and how much, is daunting. So use all that like a buffet. Interested in the non-grading conversation? Or in transformative agreements in publishing? Or open-data? It’s all out there. If it’s your thing, try to find a reading group, or send a particularly interesting or provocative piece to a colleague or friend to talk about over coffee.
Perhaps my takeaway is to look for a balance of work being published in traditional formats and sources, work that is emerging on other platforms, and developing an awareness of issues facing your particular community of libraries and librarians. And do that without becoming overwhelmed! Good luck.
If you have a question to ask people who hire library workers, or if you’d like to be part of the group that answers them, shoot me an email at hiringlibrariansATgmail.
Every other week or so, I ask a question to a group of people who hire library and LIS workers. If you have a question to ask or if you’d like to be part of the group that answers, shoot me an email at hiringlibrariansATgmail.
Does your institution require that people doing hiring receive any sort of training? If so, do you find it useful? If not, what sort of training would be beneficial (or what training should be added)? How do you think training (or its absence) affects candidates?
Kellee Forkenbrock, Public Services Librarian, North Liberty Community Library: From interview to onboard, I take an active role in the hiring of our library assistant staff. Leadership training comes with that responsibility. The training I find most beneficial comes from my one-on-one meetings with my director. Any time I am reviewing my own progress as a library professional, I ask, “What am I not doing that could make me a better leader?” If hiring staff is a part of your role, you cannot be afraid to hear open and productive feedback. Leaders are not born; they are crafted through trial and error. Also, receiving feedback from staff you’ve hired and/or trained is worthwhile. However a hiring librarian receives their training, it’s important that the resources are accessible and applicable before any hiring decisions are made.
Laurie Phillips, University Librarian for Information Resources, J. Edgar & Louise S. Monroe Library, Loyola University New Orleans: When HR creates the Shared Drive in Google Drive for a Search, they include a lot of materials about doing searches – training materials, best practices, sample questions, forms for checking references, etc. They used to actually do training, but now it’s all in those folders. I have found it useful, especially in the types of questions we should be asking. We ended up doing a mix of what they were suggesting with what we’ve often asked in faculty searches. I think we ended up with a better set of questions, both for candidates and for references. The other important thing included in that training was for everyone who would interact with a candidate – essentially what is okay to ask or discuss and what is not. Otherwise, we’d have people going to lunch with a candidate and asking what their spouse does, etc.
Celia Rabinowitz, Assistant Vice-President for Academic Engagement and Director of Mason Library, Keene State College: Until recently, all search committees were required to spend time with a staff member from Human Resources and with the Associate Vice-President for Diversity and Inclusions. These sessions would touch on various topics including reminders about the kinds of questions that cannot be asked, guidance on process so that all candidates are treated equitably particularly in responding to candidate inquiries, and assistance with suggestions about where to place ads.
In the past few years our state university system has moved to consolidate services (IT, HR, Procurement, etc.) that had been managed locally by each of our campuses (we are separate institutions). The shared Human Resources service now includes a team that manages hiring processes. The training piece is gone and the system-based team member assigned to a search is responsible for oversight. One thing I think that has always been missing is the benefit of conversation among search committee members to try to clarify how we all see the ways combinations of education and work experience can fit together or how different members might see gaps in work history. This is perhaps less about training and more about each committee member being able to bring their own perspective and experience.
Where I have sometimes seen issues is in the kinds of either open forums or larger invited group conversations with a candidate where a staff or faculty member might ask a question, or include some remarks, that are inappropriate. It is more challenging to handle those situations, especially when we want to encourage members of the campus community to participate in the process for hiring when the open position is one with a lot of outreach on campus.
I am not sure I have seen search committee training that I thought was particularly good, but I still think it is important. Many people are still unaware of important practices that include ensuring that all candidates have the same information, learning to read materials and minimize implicit bias, etc. Learning to be better at these practices benefits everyone.
If you have a question to ask people who hire library workers, or if you’d like to be part of the group that answers them, shoot me an email at hiringlibrariansATgmail.
Every other week or so, I ask a question to a group of people who hire library and LIS workers. If you have a question to ask or if you’d like to be part of the group that answers, shoot me an email at hiringlibrariansATgmail.
This week’s question is from a reader:
I do not currently have experience in the field, and am working full-time in an unrelated profession. I would like to pursue higher education in the near future, as I currently only have my high school diploma, but am not sure where to start. I am interested in beginning on the path to some sort of permanent position in a public library – and to do so, potentially working toward a Bachelor’s degree in Library Sciences or achieving an LSSC/other ALA-APA certification.
What should my focus be? What might my academic path look like? As someone generally unfamiliar with the field, and as someone who is trying to weigh my financial options, I am very intimidated at the prospect of eventually pursuing a graduate degree or MLIS. The only Library-specific degree programs offered online or near me seem to be at the postgraduate level, and I am not sure where I should start.
Kate L Ganski, Library Associate Director for User Services, UWM Libraries UW-Milwaukee: My advice would be to start with your local libraries. Find out if they provide academic benefits to employees, such that you could pursue your MLS or BS while working at the library. Explore all your local options: public, academic, community college, government, or private libraries/archives.
Another option to consider is an accelerated master’s program. UWM offers such a program where you can enroll in the Information Science and Technology to MLIS where there are 21 shared credits between the degrees. So you can graduate with the MLIS in 5 instead of 6 years. More information here: https://catalog.uwm.edu/opportunities-resources/accelerated-graduate-degrees
Donna Pierce, Library Director, Krum Public Library: Start by doing two things – work towards getting your associates degree and find a library where you can volunteer. (Try a smaller library.) Let them know what you are thinking of and ask if you can learn different aspects of library work. Do you love kids – then work towards a degree in early childhood education. If you like cataloging then work towards a degree in dealing with information. As you move forward you can adjust your degree to an area that will best fit your future plans. And if, in the process, you find something you like even more than library work – terrific!
Celia Rabinowitz, Assistant Vice-President for Academic Engagement and Director of Mason Library, Keene State College: For full-disclosure, I am an academic librarian, so I am not sure how helpful my response will be. But talking with anyone who is interested in entering librarianship is always exciting to me. I think you have a number of options. You could look for an opportunity to move to a library position that does not require a MLS and position yourself either to pursue the LSSC or to start work on a MLS. Working on that graduate degree while working in a library is a challenge and can take longer, but there are also often possibilities for financial support.
I am a strong proponent of focusing your BA studies in an area that is of real interest to you. I am not really aware of how many undergraduate degrees in Library Science are still available, and I am also really not sure whether that BA would make you more marketable, but it certainly could. Some of this might be connected to timing. Are you thinking of working on the BA while in your current job and then planning a career shift to a public library? Are you thinking of moving to part-time work, or not working and attending school full-time?
Some of your planning might also be around longer term goals. The MLS is almost certainly going to help you earn more money in the long run than the LSSC (again, I think). The LSSC might be more flexible. One suggestion might to visit a few public libraries, or contact a few directors by email, to ask if you could have a few minutes to talk with them and with individuals who have taken different paths. You really could get the most useful information from people out there working.
Laurie Phillips, University Librarian for Information Resources, J. Edgar & Louise S. Monroe Library, Loyola University New Orleans: Keep in mind that I have spent almost my entire career working in higher education, although I worked reference in a large public library,, so my ideas may not apply to your situation. First of all, studying library science at the undergraduate level probably isn’t realistic. There aren’t undergraduate library science programs, as far as I know. Graduate degrees in library science work best, in my opinion, when you are already working in the field and can apply what you’re learning about the theory to what you’ve already done or are doing in your job. If I were you, I would pursue a bachelor’s degree. Take some classes and figure out what you enjoy and what you’re best at. That can lead you to what kind of librarian you want to be as well. At the very least, you’ll learn valuable critical thinking and analytical skills that will contribute to your career success. At the same time, get a job in a library. Get your feet wet. Figure out what it is that you enjoy about working in a library. Once you do that, you may figure out where you feel like your education could lead you. Start there, then worry about an MLIS later.
If you have a question to ask people who hire library workers, or if you’d like to be part of the group that answers them, shoot me an email at hiringlibrariansATgmail.
Every other week or so, I ask a question to a group of people who hire library and LIS workers. If you have a question to ask or if you’d like to be part of the group that answers, shoot me an email at hiringlibrariansATgmail.
This week’s question is a reprise of one I asked back in 2014:
From your perspective, how has library school changed in the past decade (or since you graduated, whichever you prefer to consider)? Are there areas of knowledge or experience that you see as especially proficient or as lacking in recent graduates? Do you have a preference for applicants from certain schools or between traditional and online programs? As a new crop of librarians-to-be start classes this fall, your advice can help them plan and prepare for the future.
Anonymous: These are all good questions, and I am glad that you are asking them.
I have been a librarian for 11 years and most of the classes I took in school I would not take today.
Let me say that differently. The foundation classes I took (intro to reference, cataloging, general librarianship) were great and I will forever love my storytelling class, but for the most part I do very little that I was “trained” to do. I work with library students now and again as interns and I will share with you what I share with them.
Working in the library means that you show people how to use the printer services, or the scanner. There is an art of explaining how to use technology. Sometimes you use broad strokes, painting by numbers, or interpretive dance. Don’t worry about giving the correct answer, but don’t forget to be kind. Advocate for yourself and sometimes you get interesting and challenging reference questions. If you really want to be a librarian- volunteer/intern at as many different kinds of libraries as you can.
As far as preference with the kind of delivery system they participated in for their degree, it doesn’t matter. Virtual school is a thing now and it should not be viewed as less than (as I believe it was for some time), because in my opinion it is harder to work through an online program than in-person.
New library students are going to be part of the 3.0 and beyond of librarianship. Technology. Virtual Spaces. Library as classroom, daycare, health and wellness centers. Food pantries. Tool Lending. Teen programming. Adult programming. Academic instruction. Children services. Explore what you are interested in outside of the classroom. And know how to show someone how to print from the computer.
Elizabeth “Beth” Cox, Director, Cataloging, Metadata & Digitization Dept., University of Iowa Libraries:
Are there areas of knowledge or experience that you see as especially proficient or as lacking in recent graduates? I have been particularly concerned about the decreasing amount of classes available in traditional cataloging (metadata, description, or whatever else it is called). Most libraries still have physical collections and need people to catalog those materials, regardless of format. While the majority of my two cataloging courses involved practical lessons in how to catalog, they also included some history of this aspect of our profession, which I think is extremely important. MARC is still being used in most libraries. While BIBFRAME seems to be the replacement, it is by no means a done deal. Catalogers need to be learning both.
Do you have a preference for applicants from certain schools or between traditional and online programs? No. I’m more interested in their hands-on cataloging experience, whether it’s in a class, a practicum or internship, or a paid position.
As a new crop of librarians-to-be start classes this fall, your advice can help them plan and prepare for the future. My main piece of advice is, regardless of your path towards librarianship, learn the basics of the MARC record. Even if you plan to be a reference librarian, you will still need to be able to read a bibliographic record and assist users in interpreting it.
Learn the basics of Library of Congress classification, Dewey Decimal classification, and Library of Congress Subject Headings, at the minimum. Depending on whether you plan to work in an academic, public, or special library, one or more of these will likely be used. You won’t need them every day, but knowing where to go to look up, for example, what LCC number covers U.S. geography may be helpful some day.
Learn the basics of one or two commonly used non-MARC metadata standards, such as Dublin Core or MODS.
Learn about database structure. One of the best and most difficult classes that I took in library school was more of a computer science class and covered file & data structure and indexes in an online catalog, aka a database. As a cataloger, I understand so much more about how bib data, circ data, acq data, etc., work together.
Regardless of the area of librarianship or the type of library you’re interested in, learn a little about all of them. Once you find your niche, get hands-on experience as well as classroom education, if you can. If you want to be a cataloger, check with your university’s cataloging department to see if they hire grad students. If you are in an online program, check with your local public library. You never know when someone may have a project that they can hire you for on a short-term basis.
Get a mentor or two or three. Get to know the librarians in your university or public library. Ask if you can meet with one or more of them to learn about what they do and what advice they can give. Take advantage of state or national organizations and their mentorship programs.
Laurie Phillips, University Librarian for Information Resources, J. Edgar & Louise S. Monroe Library, Loyola University New Orleans: I graduated from library school more than 30 years ago and it’s been interesting to see trends over the years. We never used to trust fully online programs, but now that’s completely normal. I think our concerns about online programs were that the person may have done their whole program online and perhaps never gotten actual hands-on work experience in a library. I think that’s still true. For certain positions, certain schools jump out, but I don’t know enough now to be informed about most programs and their strengths (other than a very few, like UT for archives). For the most part, It’s more important how a person presents their education and experience and how that intersects with the position in question.
Donna Pierce, Library Director, Krum Public Library: I almost feel like that old person saying “things were better make in the day”! But I have noticed a change in the newer librarians. They seem to be focused on “things” – Library of Things, Maker Spaces, Family Place and less willing to mentor smaller libraries, or actually help patrons. (That last is an assumption based on what their libraries seem to be promoting). I feel like libraries tend to forget the “people” they are serving – is there a reason the book is late? Maybe waive that fine. Did they tell you that puppy found the book? Work with them on the replacement cost. They are more worried about the “bottom line.” Yes, Mr. X is in for the zillionth time looking for the perfect truck – we will help him yet again to find that web site and print off those possible trucks. Yes, that takes staff away from their job – but to me helping patrons is the job we should all be doing. I also feel like they don’t see a need to help a small library.
But I also feel like I am just being old and cranky!
If you have a question to ask people who hire library workers, or if you’d like to be part of the group that answers them, shoot me an email at hiringlibrariansATgmail.
Hiring Librarians 