This anonymous interview is with a public librarian who has been a hiring manager, a member of a hiring or search committee, and a director. This person hires the following types of LIS professionals:
public service librarians, branch managers
This librarian works at a library with 50-100 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?
√ 51-75 %
And how would you define “hirable”?
possess the skills and experience we are seeking
How are applications evaluated, and by whom?
committee
What is the most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?
poor application materials, not a match (skills/experience)
Do you (or does your library) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?
√ Other: if asked
What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve his/her/their hirability?
take care in reading description and preparing materials
I want to hire someone who is
enthusiastic
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?
√ 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?
yes – noted as requirement but depending upon candidate pool we may still consider if strong in other areas
Is librarianship a dying profession?
√ No
Why or why not?
Special skills, perspectives and philosophies gained through the MLIS/MLS process are valuable.
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 