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:
catalogers, systems, metadata, electronic resources
This librarian works at a library with 50-100 staff members in a rural area in the Northeastern US.
Approximately how many people applied for the last librarian (or other professional level) job at your workplace?
√ 75-100
Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?
√ 25% or less
And how would you define “hirable”?
Met all of the qualifications and had a true interest in the area of the library the job was in.
How are applications evaluated, and by whom?
By the search committee, all librarians, and interested other library staff.
What is the most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?
Not have the required qualifications.
Do you (or does your library) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?
√ No
What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve his/her/their hirability?
Craft their cover letter and cv to fit the job and show true interest in the job. For new librarians, if you don’t have a library job now get some relevant experience.
I want to hire someone who is
passionate
How many staff members are at your library/organization?
√ 50-100
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?
√ 3-4
Can you tell us how the number of permanent, full-time librarian positions at your workplace has changed over the past decade?
√ Other: It went down in the first part of the past decade but it is now back to where it was.
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?
Every position is different, but we would most likely want to see some experience even if it is volunteering or an internship.
Is librarianship a dying profession?
√ No
Why or why not?
Librarians are needed more than ever, however roles are changing.
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.
Hiring Librarians 