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, reference, instruction, managers, programmers, outreach, access services, ILL, collection development, fundraisers, so many more…
This librarian works at a library with 100-200 staff members in a suburban area in the Southern US.
Approximately how many people applied for the last librarian (or other professional level) job at your workplace?
√ 25-75
Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?
√ 25% or less
And how would you define “hirable”?
Met minimum qualifications; used proper grammar, spelling, punctuation.
How are applications evaluated, and by whom?
Search committee. HR is not involved. We use a checklist to screen minimum qualifications and preferred qualifications.
What is the most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?
Not completing our extra requirement – we often give direction on a hiring posting to respond with a short essay on a related topic.
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?
Read all of the instructions.
I want to hire someone who is
Energetic
How many staff members are at your library/organization?
√ 100-200
How many permanent, full time librarian (or other professional level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?
√ 7 or more
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?
√ There are more positions
Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with part-time or hourly workers over the past decade?
√ No
Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with para-professional workers over the past decade?
√ Yes
Does your workplace require experience for entry-level professional positions? If so, is it an official requirement or just what happens in practice?
No
Is librarianship a dying profession?
√ Yes
Why or why not?
We are too fragmented. Public, school, special, academic – totally different jobs even in each type. “Librarianship” is dying, but specific applications are thriving. Is a librarian who does websites the same as a librarian that does storytimes? Is a librarian who does marketing and supervision the same as a reference librarian? The term “Librarian” is wrong.
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 