Dear Readers,
Thank you so much for reading, sharing, supporting, and ranting about Hiring Librarians.
I started this blog in February 2012, so we have been going for nearly 4 years. The first year, I found the topic so interesting that I was happy to spend a good deal of my free time working on it. The second and third years, I had a bit more going on in my professional life, a bit less interest in the topic, and it was only with the help of volunteers that we stayed robust. This last year, I have had some upheavals in my personal life, I’ve been much less interested in the topic, and I just really want to do non-blog-things with my free time. My involvement has been a bit auto-pilot this year.
So what does that mean for year 5?
I don’t have a new survey to post. I’m interested in exploring hiring and diversity, but I’m having a lot of trouble figuring out how to frame a survey that would end up illuminating the problem in a constructive way, rather than just providing a lot of potentially pain-causing confessions.
And I really don’t want to spend time writing this anymore. Frankly. I want to spend my free time on bike rides, hanging out with my friends, listening to music, and doing other fun stuff. And maybe writing an article or two, or serving on a committee or whatever. Just not this blog anymore.
So I’m turning out the lights.
I will keep the content up, and continue to purchase the domain. There are a few survey responses still to be posted, and we will post the final Further Questions question on the 29th. But after that, no new content will be posted (although of course you can always add to the Interview Questions Repository).
I want to say a big THANK YOU to the current active volunteers, who made this last year possible:
- Sarah Keil has been writing the weekly Further Questions feature since June 2014.
- Jen Devine has been transcribing surveys since March 2014.
- Sherle Abrams has run the crowd-sourced resume/CV review service since May of 2014, and was a Further Question respondent for a while before that.
And I also want to say a big THANK YOU to all of the people who have helped with this project – all the previous volunteers, my co-authors for various surveys: Jill from Librarian Hire Fashion, Naomi House from I Need a Library Job, Brianna Marshall from (at the time) Hack Library School, the pool of Further Questions respondents, LIS career authors and researchers, the people who run LIS career sites, the people who run library school career centers, the tattooed librarians, job hunters who let me follow up with them, sometimes for multiple years, people who’ve added interview questions to the interview questions repository, candidates for ALA and other presidencies, anyone who responded to a survey, and of course YOU.
Thank YOU, reader.
You’re awesome. I know you will find a job you love and make the world a better place. GOOD LUCK WITH EVERYTHING!
Your Pal,
Emily
Hiring Librarians 
Happy for you! I think it’s great to move away from a project now that life is different. Best wishes!
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Mazel Tov on your courageous, self-caring decision! Thank you for all the work that you have done for us and about us.
Antonia
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Thank you!
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Thank you for having done such an excellent job with this site/blog. I’m sure that I’m not the only that this site has helped immensely. Good luck on your future endeavors!
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Thank you, Emily, and you very definitely deserve a break! Life is too short to have it go by in a blur of obligations. Enjoy that extra time on the bike (and see about investing in some really good rain gear, happily.
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This site has been an amazing resource! Thank you and all the other volunteers for their hard work.
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Thank you! I enjoyed reading the site, and I also enjoyed helping with the transcriptions. Best of luck.
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Thanks for this great resource, Emily! I definitely credit HL with helping me land my first professional position! I’ll miss volunteering! 🙂
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Emily, thanks for all your work on this blog over the years. I’ve learned many things from it as I launched into museum job hunting, and I trust that new job seekers will continue to find value in what’s still here. I support your clarity in laying it down at this time. Here’s to your own #LISMentalHealth !
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Thank you so much. This has been a very worthwhile project. Best wishes in your future endeavors!
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Emily: Thanks for your work. This was a great blog. Job seekers benefitted from the advice given by those who hire, such as: tailor your cover letter and resume text to fit the job being advertised. And those who hire benefitted from learning about the struggles of job seekers in a changing library field.
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Much respect for what you accomplished here, Emily! Hope you’ll consider writing an article (or series!) to publish somewhere and sum up some of the terrific nuggets you uncovered over the years. While I’ve seen job seekers write about their experiences many places, this was a uniquely public source for insights into the actual thoughts and processes of hiring managers. So valuable! Best wishes to you!! ~David
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Thank you so much, David!
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Emily, Thank You for your thoughtful and helpful work, which end reached many people and made us feel connected. Your communication with us all is appreciated. Best to you and your endeavors!!
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This was such a wonderful and useful resource. Thanks for keeping this site together and good luck with your future endeavors.
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Thank you for running the blog. Hope to see you around on the discussion lists.
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Emily, this blog started soon after I graduated from library school and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve turned to it over the years for advice or just to get a general feel for the hiring process (on both sides of the desk). It has been beyond useful to me and I’m sure I’ll continue to turn to this content in the future. I just wanted to say a huge thank you for all your hard work and good luck with everything moving forward!
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Thank you so much for your service! You have done a fantastic job. Best of luck with all of your future plans.
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