This anonymous interview is with an academic librarian who has been a member of a hiring or search committe. This person hires the following types of LIS professionals:
academic librarians
This librarian works at a library with 10-50 staff members in a rural 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”?
Having the experience and knowledge of the skills necessary for the job. Also, have required education.
How are applications evaluated, and by whom?
A search committee of library staff (4-6 people) is formed and they are tasked with evaluation. Depending on the job the committee might be made up of entirely one department or spread across the library.
What is the most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?
Didn’t meet the requirements of the position.
Do you (or does your library) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?
√ Other: If requested, yes. If not, no.
What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve his/her/their hirability?
Knowing about the hiring institution and doing research on the library. It’s very important to be curious and have questions about all aspects of the library.
I want to hire someone who is
dynamic
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?
√ 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
Is librarianship a dying profession?
√ No
Why or why not?
People will always need to consume information. Librarians will continue to aid in access, evaluation, and discovery of all types of information.
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