Just as with any other profession, the stereotype does not meet the needs of today’s every changing work environment.

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

Reference Librarians and Catalogers

This librarian works at a library with 100-200 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?

√ 75-100

Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?

√ 25% or less

And how would you define “hirable”?

Combination of experience, education, and enthusiasm.

How are applications evaluated, and by whom?

Human Resources first to meet minimum requirements. Then vetted by department and hiring manager.

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

Not meeting minimum requirements, next would be overwhelming highly qualified candidates then disqualifying those that meet minimum 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?

Practice interviewing

I want to hire someone who is

customer service driven

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?

√ 3-4

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 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?

no, but in practice

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ No

Why or why not?

Libraries keep coming up with ways to reinvent and invigorate the profession. Just as with any other profession, the stereotype does not meet the needs of today’s every changing work environment. Doctors don’t use little black bags anymore, but we still have doctors. They just now use all the wonderful tools at their disposal to provide better service, just like Librarians.

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.