Monthly Archives: June 2015

by langerholcs | June 30, 2015 · 8:00 am

Be passionate about the position or don’t apply.

This anonymous interview is with a public librarian who has been a hiring manager and a member of a hiring or search committe. This person hires the following types of LIS professionals:

Children’s and Teen

This librarian works at a library with 200+ staff members in an urban area in the Northeastern 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”?

Eager, positive view of customer service, willing to be flexible, creative, and energetic. Experience working with the public, especially children and families. Knowledge of children’s services in public libraries as well as stages of child development.

How are applications evaluated, and by whom?

The City Dept. of Human Resources gets applications online and checks they meet minimum qualifications then passes them on to library. No Committee.

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

Not having youth services experience and filling out application incorrectly.

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?

Be passionate about the position or don’t apply.

I want to hire someone who is

exciting!

How many staff members are at your library/organization?

√ 200+

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

√ Other: none

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

√ Other: none

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

√ There are fewer positions

Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with part-time or hourly workers over the past decade?

√ Yes

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?

Because there are so many applicants, it has become practice.

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ Other: If it doesn’t change it is

Why or why not?

We need to better educate students so they are equipped to handle the fast paced environment, technology, and human relations.

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under 200+ staff members, Northeastern US, Public, State of the Job Market 2015, Urban area

Tagged as librarians, library careers, library hiring, library school, tumblarians

by langerholcs | June 29, 2015 · 8:00 am

Be exhaustively complete in their application and exam

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

children’s librarians

This librarian works at a library with 200+ staff members in an urban area in the Western US.

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

√ more than 200

Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?

√ 25% or less

And how would you define “hirable”?

17% passed the screening and HR exam. Many did not have an MLIS, or were invited to an exam and did not show.

How are applications evaluated, and by whom?

This is run by our City personnel department, who screens applications for minimum qualifications, and invites candidates to an oral “exam” where librarians from other jurisdictions score them on “interview” style questions, measuring their “knowledge, skills, and ability” to do the basic job in a scoring matrix. Passing candidates are ranked. HR then submits to us 4 candidates for a position, with an additional 2 candidates for each extra position being interviewed for in the same pool, at a time for interview, without ranking information.

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

Lack of an MLIS or not passing the HR exam.

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?

Be exhaustively complete in their application and exam

I want to hire someone who is

people-smart

How many staff members are at your library/organization?

√ 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?

√ 2

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

√ There are fewer 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

Does your workplace require experience for entry-level professional positions? If so, is it an official requirement or just what happens in practice?

There is no official requirement. In practice, it is *often* but *not always* one of several desirable qualities demonstrated by hirable candidates.

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ Yes

Why or why not?

It’s shrinking and changing, and better change to stay alive.

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under 200+ staff members, Public, State of the Job Market 2015, Urban area, Western US

Tagged as librarians, library careers, library hiring, library school, tumblarians

by langerholcs | June 28, 2015 · 8:00 am

internships count as experience.

This anonymous interview is with a public 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:

Reference primarily.

This librarian works at a library with 10-50 staff members in a suburban area in the Western 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”?

MLS degree and some public library experience

How are applications evaluated, and by whom?

Weeded by HR if don’t have an MLS.

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

Not hirable as defined above

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?

Do background research on the library and the city. Be personable. Stress previous experience orally at interview. Don’t rely on someone reading your resume.

I want to hire someone who is

smart

How many staff members are at your library/organization?

√ 10-50

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

√ Other: none

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

√ Other: none

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

√ There are fewer positions

Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with part-time or hourly workers over the past decade?

√ Yes

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?

Yes, official. But internships count as experience.

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ No

Why or why not?

Our library is busier than ever and patrons rely on librarians to help with information overload, book recommendations, computer and e-book assistance.

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under 10-50 staff members, Public, State of the Job Market 2015, Suburban area, Western US

Tagged as librarians, library careers, library hiring, library school, tumblarians

by langerholcs | June 27, 2015 · 8:00 am

We’re rather explicit in the job ad about how we’re open to new grads and we demonstrate that by actually hiring them

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

Liaisons

This librarian works at a library with 100-200 staff members in an urban area in the Southern US.

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

√ more than 100, but less than 200

Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?

√ 26-50 %

And how would you define “hirable”?

Meeting the minimum qualifications and telling us so in the cover letter and resume (we can’t know that a candidate is qualified in a particular area if the project where they gained the experience is neither highlighted on their cover letter nor in their resume prominently)

How are applications evaluated, and by whom?

We receive all resumes from candidates with an MLIS/impending MLIS. I believe one of our admin assistants in library administration culls the initial list to get to that point. Once all minimally qualified candidates (minimally qualified in this case just being the MLIS, not major job requirements) are screened, then the committee is directed to a list of the applications. All applications are rated by a three-person search committee through SurveyMonkey using a standard rubric we developed in-house (asking questions such as does candidate have ALA accredited MLIS, but also whether on a Likert scale they meet the major job requirements. Significant minor requirements are also sometimes included). The committee meets with the library HR person to evaluate the Survey Monkey results and the search proceeds from there.

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

Failure to draw a clear picture between their past experience and education and the job requirements.

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?

We will happily hire–or at least interview–new grads or librarians from other types of libraries or whatever might be perceived as a barrier *if they indicate how their education and experience have prepared them for the job in question*. So it would be fantastic if job hunters really, truly tailored their cover letters and resumes to the job in question. Really, that’s it. It’s not magic.

I want to hire someone who is

engaged

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?

√ I don’t know

Does your workplace require experience for entry-level professional positions? If so, is it an official requirement or just what happens in practice?

No, we don’t. We’re rather explicit in the job ad about how we’re open to new grads and we demonstrate that by actually hiring them (over five in my department alone this past year). Those applicants with experience, whether professional or through internships or volunteering, will rise to the top of the list but that’s not a disqualification for others who don’t have experience.

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ No

Why or why not?

We continue, in changed and occasionally diminished form. The need hasn’t changed, though the perception and the container have.

Do you have any other comments, for job hunters or about the survey?

Please oh please take the time to clearly link your education and experience to our needs. We are busy people who do this sort of thing on top of other job duties and we receive hundreds of applications if it’s a popular job. We simply don’t have the time to connect the dots in your application–do it for us.

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under 100-200 staff members, Academic, Southern US, State of the Job Market 2015, Urban area

Tagged as librarians, library careers, library hiring, library school, tumblarians

by Sarah | June 26, 2015 · 8:00 am

Further Questions: Any tips for out-of-area applicants?

This week we asked people who hire librarians

Any tips for out-of-area applicants? How much does the geographic location of the applicant matter to you?

This doesn’t really apply for us because we do national searches, pay for travel to interviews, and pay for moving expenses. We expect out-of-area applicants.

– Laurie Phillips, Associate Dean for Technical Services, J. Edgar & Louise S. Monroe Library, Loyola University New Orleans

Academic job-seekers should be aware that while community colleges do hire out-of-area applicants, they typically do not pay for transportation or other incidentals. If you can get yourself here, we’ll be happy to meet you!

-Angelynn King, Head Librarian, Delaware Technical Community College, Owens Campus

Whenever we list professional librarian positions, we expect that we will have to hire from “away”.

Our region is relatively small and primarily rural, and we pretty much know all the librarians around here.

With our most recent librarian hire (summer 2014) we were lucky to have a successful in-area candidate, who was working at the local post-secondary library and looking for a change. And by
“Lucky” I mean that it made the whole process more convenient, in terms of turn around time for the interview stages as well as relocation (or lack thereof).

For the two professional librarian hires before that one, we ended up hiring from out of region, in one case, from the other end of the country.

While considerations such as moving expenses and relocation time are certainly on our minds during the hiring process, our biggest concern is finding the best candidate for the position. To ensure the best fit we are definitely willing to forgo geographic considerations and incur additional expenses (for relocation) and wait a bit longer for the successful candidate to start the job.

– Petra Mauerhoff, CEO, Shortgrass Library System

I think this is a marvelous question, and it is highly relevant to the candidates that I often see when conducting searches for my libraries. Two of the libraries I manage are in somewhat rural areas, so many of our candidates are from out of the area. Naturally, our search committees will often wonder why the candidate is interested in pursuing a job in our area. I think that the applicant should do some good research on the library at which they are applying (of course!), and then expressly state in their cover letter the reasons why the want to work at that library and why they are interested in moving to that location. By being frank and upfront about this question, the applicant can help the search committee to understand their interest in the location of the job, which then allows the committee to turn its attention to the applicant’s qualifications and overall fit for the position.

– Elijah Scott, Director of Libraries, Georgia Highlands College

If we advertise nationally for a position then the current home of the applicant should not affect our evaluation of any candidate. That said, if there is a highly qualified candidate who lives fairly close by it might mean having the option of adding a person to the list of on-campus interviews if it would mean not having to pay any travel costs beyond mileage (if it was a day trip for someone). We try not to let factors like travel costs play a role in our process (and we always pay all travel and accommodation costs).

I think we have written about this before, but I recommend not indicating that you are willing to relocate. If you are applying for the job, I assume you are really interested and that means relocating. If you have a specific reason for wanting to relocate (new job for a partner, getting closer to family, etc.) I think it is fine to mention that but be careful not to leave the impression that your only interest in the job is the location. So don’t apologize for, or feel a need to explain, your current location. I think geographic diversity is important.

– Celia Rabinowitz, Dean of Mason Library at Keene State College in Keene, NH

Thank you as always to our contributors for their time and insight. If you’re someone who hires librarians and are interested in participating in this feature, please email us at hiringlibrariansquestionsATgmail.com.

Thank YOU for reading! If you liked reading, you’re going to really love COMMENTING.

2 Comments

Filed under Further Questions

Tagged as librarians, library hiring, library jobs, tumblarians

by langerholcs | June 25, 2015 · 8:00 am

We like to see evidence of volunteer and/or teaching experience while in school.

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

Instruction, reference, catalog/systems, all are subject liaisons

This librarian works at a library with 10-50 staff members in a rural area in the Western 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?

√ Other: 1-2%

And how would you define “hirable”?

Had the qualifications for the job advertised.

How are applications evaluated, and by whom?

HR does not do any evaluating. We use a rubric disseminated to search committee members.

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

Lack of qualifications and/or poor communication skills.

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?

Apply for jobs you are genuinely qualified for and write a well-written letter that maps your qualifications to the ones listed in the job ad.

I want to hire someone who is

talented

How many staff members are at your library/organization?

√ 10-50

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?

√ 1

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?

√ Other: tenured position replaced with non-tenure position

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?

We like to see evidence of volunteer and/or teaching experience while in school.

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ No

Why or why not?

Library instruction is a growing field in higher education, as is electronic resources.

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under 10-50 staff members, Academic, Rural area, State of the Job Market 2015, Western US

Tagged as librarians, library careers, library hiring, library school, tumblarians

by langerholcs | June 24, 2015 · 8:00 am

Apply for jobs they are a good match for, have relatable experience for.

This anonymous interview is with a school librarian who has been a member of a hiring or search committee. This person hires the following types of LIS professionals:

Director/Cataloger, School Teacher Librarians, Media/Serials Librarian

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

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

√ more than 100, but less than 200

Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?

√ 25% or less

And how would you define “hirable”?

Had the required qualifications, such as MLIS degree, library experience, other desired qualifications.

How are applications evaluated, and by whom?

All applications are viewed by all members of a committee

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

Resume, letter of interest. Lack of necessary qualifications. Lack of experience.

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?

Apply for jobs they are a good match for, have relatable experience for.

I want to hire someone who is

qualified

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?

√ 1

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

√ 1

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

√ There are fewer 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?

Experience is required and listed as so in the job ads.

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ I don’t know

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under 0-10 staff members, School, State of the Job Market 2015, Urban area, Western US

Tagged as librarians, library careers, library hiring, library school, tumblarians

by langerholcs | June 23, 2015 · 8:00 am

Our organization has very thorough and standardized procedures for evaluating applications (we are an equal opportunity employer)

This anonymous interview is with an academic librarian who has been a member of a hiring or search committee.

This librarian works at a library with 100-200 members in a rural area in the Midwestern 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”?

Skills and experience which meet the qualifications stated in the job posting. Ability to effectively communicate how those skills and experiences the applicant has could meet what the organization needs in a new hire.

How are applications evaluated, and by whom?

Our organization has very thorough and standardized procedures for evaluating applications (we are an equal opportunity employer). Each applicant’s qualifications as stated in their search materials are rated by a search committee using a detailed matrix. Each qualification stated on the job ad is a line on the rubric, and the total scores for how well the candidate meets each stated qualification are used to select a top group of candidates for interviews. It’s very objective.

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

No hands-on experience in the skill areas we are seeking. The importance of previous employment in the field (even at the student level!) and internships/practicums cannot be understated.

Do you (or does your library) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?

√ Other: only whether or not they’ve obtained an interview, no specifics

What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve his/her/their hirability?

Get some hands-on experience working in the field! Even if it is a student job or internship.

I want to hire someone who is

competent.

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?

√ 5-6

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

√ 5-6

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

√ There are fewer 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

Does your workplace require experience for entry-level professional positions? If so, is it an official requirement or just what happens in practice?

Those candidates with experience often come out at the top of the applicant pool, simply because they have proven that they can apply the skills we are looking for. They don’t need to have experience as a “professional librarian”, just on-the-job/internship experience in a library setting related to what we’re hiring for.

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ No

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under 100-200 staff members, Academic, Midwestern US, Rural area, State of the Job Market 2015

Tagged as librarians, library careers, library hiring, library school, tumblarians

by langerholcs | June 22, 2015 · 8:00 am

So many people apply for every job out there

This anonymous interview is with a public and consortium 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:

Directors, catalogers, systems

This librarian works at a library with 10-50 staff members in a suburban area in the Northeastern 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”?

Meeting the requirements of the job description and providing a cover letter that demonstrates acceptable written communication skills.

How are applications evaluated, and by whom?

In my consortium myself or my Library Systems manager evaluate applications. I also serve as a consultant to library boards in my consortium that are hiring library directors. We are too small to have an HR department. Typically we will meet to review applications and select the most promising based on the consensus of the group and the discussion of each application.

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

Poor communication skills and/or failure to demonstrate the skill sets required by the job.

Do you (or does your library) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?

√ Other: if requested

What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve his/her/their hirability?

Make sure they are well suited to the job and have the skills we are looking for. So many people apply for every job out there rather than self selecting jobs that match their skills. Tends to waste everyone’s time.

I want to hire someone who is

engaging

How many staff members are at your library/organization?

√ 10-50

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

√ Other: I am responding based on all the searches I have worked on. Not just my own organization.

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

√ Other: 2

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

Does your workplace require experience for entry-level professional positions? If so, is it an official requirement or just what happens in practice?

We don’t really have any entry level positions.

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ No

Why or why not?

Because libraries are not dying. Librarianship is a changing profession though and our success will depend on how we adapt to the changes.

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under 10-50 staff members, Northeastern US, Public, State of the Job Market 2015, Suburban area

Tagged as Librarian, libraries, library hiring, library interview, library jobs, obhunting

by langerholcs | June 21, 2015 · 8:00 am

Circulation has tripled over the last decade.

This anonymous interview is with a public 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:

Adult, teen and children’s librarians as well as IT managers, technology, etc.

This librarian works at a library with 10-50 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 or fewer

Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?

√ 25% or less

And how would you define “hirable”?

Having *some* experience in the field!

How are applications evaluated, and by whom?

Applications are evaluated by at minimum two department heads and the Director.

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

No previous work experience.

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?

Gain some experience! We have many applicants for positions who have an advanced degree, but absolutely no work experience in a library. That can lead to disaster, especially when applicants are seeking positions that require at least 1-2 years of work experience in a busy public library.

I want to hire someone who is

ready

How many staff members are at your library/organization?

√ 10-50

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

√ 1

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?

√ No

Does your workplace require experience for entry-level professional positions? If so, is it an official requirement or just what happens in practice?

No experience for an entry level position, but most candidates who apply already have experience.

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ No

Why or why not?

Our business is booming and staff is growing. Circulation has tripled over the last decade. Foot traffic is up, programming is active and well attended. We are busy!

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under 10-50 staff members, Public, Southern US, State of the Job Market 2015, Suburban area

Tagged as jobhunting, Librarian, libraries, library hiring, library interview, library jobs

Monthly Archives: June 2015

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