Currently we have an academic president who does not support libraries

This anonymous interview is with an academic librarian who has been a hiring manager. This person hires the following types of LIS professionals:

There are only 3 of us here at a branch campus and we do instruction and circulation activities. Specific library jobs like cataloging are carried out at the main campus.

This librarian works at a library with 0-10 staff members in an urban area Midwestern US.

Approximately how many people applied for the last librarian (or other professional level) job at your workplace?

√ 25 or fewer

Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?

√ 25% or less

And how would you define “hirable”?

We only interviewed about 4. Others did not have the right qualifications or just did not look “right”.

How are applications evaluated, and by whom?

A committee meets to go over applications and decide who looks eligible.

What is the most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?

not sure. I was not on committee.

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?

not sure

I want to hire someone who is

a good fit

How many staff members are at your library/organization?

√ 0-10

How many permanent, full time librarian (or other professional level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?

√ Other: 0

How many permanent, full time para-professional (or other non-professional level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?

√ Other: 0

Can you tell us how the number of permanent, full-time librarian positions at your workplace has changed over the past decade?

√ There are the same number of 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?

√ No

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ I don’t know

Why or why not?

On one level (in the media and talk) it seems like it is. Currently we have an academic president who does not support libraries and I think there are others who are only looking at the bottom line for their institutions. On the other hand, the presence of a library is so historical I am not sure it is seen as something to eliminate.

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.