This anonymous interview is with a public librarian who has been a hiring manager, a member of a hiring or search committee, and a human resources professional. This person hires the following types of LIS professionals:
Youth Services
Reference
Inter-library loan
Library Clerks
Processing
Custodial
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 or fewer
Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?
√ 25% or less
And how would you define “hirable”?
qualified, personable, excellent customer service, public library experience
How are applications evaluated, and by whom?
applications are evaluated by the Director with input from key staff members
What is the most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?
grammatical/spelling errors in the resume and/or cover letter
not following directions as stated in the job description
submitting a general cover letter
lack of qualifications
Do you (or does your library) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?
√ Other: sometimes
What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve his/her/their hirability?
follow directions
do your research on the organization and area
I want to hire someone who is
dependable
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?
√ 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 the same number of 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?
√ I don’t know
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.
Hiring Librarians 