Category Archives: Job Hunters Web Guide

by | February 22, 2023 · 11:00 am

Job Hunter’s Web Guide: APALA Career Center

I’m pleased to share with you some information about the career board run by the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA). Swing by for tons of job listings, resume reviews, and even career advice. 

What is it?  Please give us your elevator speech!

APALA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing leadership opportunities through informed dialogue that addresses the needs of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander library workers and those who serve these communities. APALA Career Center aims to connect job opportunities to AANHPI and all job seekers more efficiently and equitably. 

When was it started?  Why was it started?

The website was launched on April 18, 2022. It was started because we wanted a way for APALA members to connect to job opportunities. Another association also recommended that the additional revenue stream from the Career Center could help us expand our scholarships, awards, and grants. 

Who runs it?

Career Center is under the purview of the APALA Finance and Fundraising Committee with oversight from the APALA Executive Board. 

Are you a “career expert”? What are your qualifications?

We partner with YM Careers by Community Brands, a career center platform that powers the largest association job board network in the world.

Who is your target audience?

Both employers and job seekers in the LIS (library and information science) field. 

What’s the best way to use your site?  Should users consult it daily?  Or as needed? Should they already know what they need help with, or can they just noodle around?

Job seekers are welcome to sign up for free to view daily content such as the Career Planning feature which provides advice, insights, and coaching information about library job hunting.

Employers can check the products section to find out different pricing models we have, with the most popular one enabling them to email jobs to qualified APALA members and have the positions remain highlighted and high in search results on the Career Center. 

Does your site provide:

√ Job Listings

√  Articles/literature

√  Links

√ Coaching

√ The opportunity for interaction

Advice on:

√ Cover Letters

√ Resumes

√ Interviewing

√ Networking

√ Other (Please Specify): career planning

Do you charge for anything on your site?

We charge to post job listings.

What are your standards for job listings (e.g., must include salary)?

We don’t have any specific standards since the current vendor platform does not have a feature to require posting of salary information. However, we are revisiting it over the summer of 2023 and are hoping to include it in the future.

Advertisement

Leave a comment

Filed under Job Hunters Web Guide

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | January 17, 2023 · 11:00 am

Job Hunter’s Web Guide: Librarian Linkover Podcast

For the very first time on Job Hunter’s Web Guide: A podcast! Although Lorene Kennard interviewed me back in November, she primarily speaks with librarians who work outside of libraries. Her podcast is a great resource if you are looking to do the same, or if you just like to hear librarians speak about the breadth and utility of their skills. 

What is it?  Please give us your elevator speech!

The Librarian Linkover is a podcast that is changing the paradigm on how we perceive the value of librarians’ skills and on recognizing the value that librarians can bring to any industry.  I interview guests who have master’s degrees in library and information science. Most of my guests have left libraries and are leading library-related organizations or have taken their skills to industry or have started their own businesses. My guests who work in libraries have appeared on my podcast to discuss their leadership in crisis management.

When was it started?  Why was it started?

I started my podcast in early 2021 to boost and advance the value of librarians. When I tell someone that I was a public library director, that should imply a skill set. Librarians gain a variety of leadership, management, budget and and operations skills from our library education and from working in libraries. Job hunting can be difficult if you’re trying to move around library types or out of libraries because the perception is not there that we have all of these great skills and we can use them anywhere. One of the questions I ask in the trailer for my podcast is “Why should being a Director be the end of our career path?” My guests are demonstrating that there are so many career options available to us outside traditional libraries. 

Who runs it?

I am Lorene Kennard. I have a Masters Degree in Library and Information Science from University of South Carolina. My undergraduate degree is in Communications with an English minor. I have worked in leadership roles in corporate, public and academic libraries. I also owned a freelance research business. I have held leadership roles in professional associations like SLA, AIIP and IACRL.

Are you a “career expert”? What are your qualifications?

I’ve done a lot of interesting work and I have a lot of accomplishments. I have built a really good professional network. But, every time I’ve looked for my next opportunity, I’ve struggled to find it. Because of my job hunting experiences, career paths are fascinating to me. I always read hiring announcements for leadership roles in libraries around the country, especially for high profile roles.  Many job ads say they want a natural progression of roles into leadership positions, but the people who are hired rarely have that kind of career path.  Many times, the person’s education or previous experiences don’t make obvious sense for the job. There seems to be a trend of hiring people to lead libraries/library-related organizations who have no experience in libraries.  If we don’t hire librarians to lead us, why should people outside libraries respect our leadership skills? I don’t think this is spoken about enough, so that’s another reason for my podcast.

Who is your target audience?

I would like my target audience to be hiring managers and HR professionals, but they are hard to get in front of. I know how to find librarians!  So, I mainly market my podcast to the library field. 

What’s the best way to use your site?  Should users consult it daily?  Or as needed? Should they already know what they need help with, or can they just noodle around?

Episodes of The Librarian Linkover drop at noon on Mondays on many podcast apps. Episodes are also available on my website, The Librarian Linkover. They don’t have to be listened to in any order. Some listeners binge them. Some listeners simply listen to the episodes with the guests they are interested in. Some listeners re-listen to episodes.  I have a lot of listeners who listen every week as episodes are published.

Should readers also look for you on social media? Or is your content available in other formats? Please include links, subscription information, or other details if pertinent

√  Twitter @liblinkover

√  LinkedIn 

√  Other: I have an Instagram account, but I haven’t done anything with it. I may do some IG Lives in the near future. @thelibrarianlinkover 

Do you charge for anything on your site?

Nope. All content is free.

Can you share any stories about job hunters that found positions after using your site?

Here are two examples of feedback that I have received from listeners.

“Hi Lorene! I wanted to let you know that I’m starting a new job tomorrow, and I think that you and your podcast deserve some credit for encouraging me to try exercising my skills in new contexts! Thanks so much for the important work you’re doing :)”

“I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for the amazing podcast and professional development work you are doing.  Your podcast has really inspired me and helped a lot. Keep being awesome! It really does make a difference. I feel like the podcast is more about highlighting the worth of our degrees and teaching us how to advocate for ourselves. There is a persistent oversimplification of what librarians do, especially in the public sector, so when your podcast offers new talking points and growth opportunities to explore, I feel like it gives people a new way to frame our profession.”

Anything else you’d like to share with my readers about your site in particular, or about library hiring/job hunting in general?

We generally get into the library profession because we like to help people find information. Many of us love what we do. For a variety of reasons, lack of full-time positions, low pay, lack of support, it can be really difficult to work in libraries these days. I would like for librarians who are considering making a career move to take a step back and think carefully about their skills. We have skills that can translate in many other areas outside libraries. We don’t have to stay in libraries to have a fulfilling career helping people find information. 

The LIbrarian Linkover podcast has helped listeners think through their skills and their career options, in and out of libraries. Listeners have reached out to my guests. I want librarians who are thinking about making a move to know there are resources to help them decide on the direction of their next opportunity.

Leave a comment

Filed under Job Hunters Web Guide

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | January 10, 2023 · 11:00 am

Job Hunter’s Web Guide: We Here

This is part of our series, Job Hunter’s Web Guide, which profiles online resources for LIS job hunters.

I’m happy to be able to profile the job resources provided by We Here, and not just because I think this will be useful to job hunters. I often hear about employers who have begun EDI work and are trying to reduce the whiteness of their organization. If you are such an organization, here is a place you can post your job that directly supports BIPOC library workers.

What is it?  Please give us your elevator speech!

The We Here Job Member Area is a space exclusively for We Here Members to view jobs sent to us by employers. We require salary and send out new jobs in a newsletter called The Get Money List bi-weekly to members where we also include resources and articles on building wealth. 

When was it started?  Why was it started?

The Get Money List (2020) was launched before the Job Member Area (2022). A lot of discussion in We Here’s private spaces revolves around jobs – job openings, interviewing, resumes, issues with employers, etc. – so we felt the Job Member Area and The Get Money List would be a good resource for We Here members. 

Who runs it?

One We Here Admin posts jobs to the Job Member Area (fulfilling orders) and another Admin compiles the jobs and sends them out to The Get Money List newsletter  bi-weekly. 

Are you “career experts”? What are your qualifications?

We’re definitely not career experts, but the Admins have a wide variety of experience in library and information science. 

Who is your target audience?

We Here private community members. Our private community members identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color who work in libraries or archives in some capacity or are currently enrolled in an educational program for library and information science. We have over 3,500 members across all three of our private platforms who all have access to our Job Member Area. Close to 400 members have signed up to receive The Get Money List. Members are referred by other members, but folks can also email us at us@wehere.space.  

What’s the best way to use your site?  Should users consult it daily?  Or as needed? Should they already know what they need help with, or can they just noodle around?

For the We Here member casually looking at jobs, The Get Money List is a great way to keep up with jobs sent to us. That way they receive new jobs sent to us straight to their inbox on a bi-weekly basis. We Here members that want to see what’s out there and what’s been sent to us in the past 60 days can go directly to our Job Member Area. 

Does your site provide:

√ Job Listings

√ Articles/literature

√ Links

Do you charge for anything on your site?

We charge employers for jobs they want to appear on the Job Member Area and The Get Money List. 

What are your standards for job listings (e.g., must include salary)?

We absolutely require a minimum starting salary or hourly rate, but also organization name, location, position type, and a link to the full job ad. Optional fields include further explanation of pay (e.g. salary range), apply by date, who to contact with questions, and any additional information that might not be included on the job ad. 

Can you share any stories about job hunters that found positions after using your site?

We’ll actually ask our members about this in our annual survey going out in January! We’re coming up on our one year anniversary of the Job Member Area, so it’s a great time to see how we’re doing and if folks have found jobs through it. 

Leave a comment

Filed under Job Hunters Web Guide

Tagged as , , , ,

by | December 6, 2022 · 11:00 am

Job Hunter’s Web Guide SAA Career Service Commons

I’m really pleased to highlight the Career Services Commons provided by the Society of American Archivists (SAA), offered by the Membership Committee’s Career Development Subcommittee. They provide high-quality help for anyone in the archives field including students, as is evidenced by the stories of success they share below. Please keep reading to learn more about the Career Services Commons.

What is it?  Please give us your elevator speech!

The Career Services Commons is a permanent online space for members of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) to access and offer career advising sessions, resume review services, and mock interviews. SAA Career Counselors offer guidance and support to emerging and developing professionals and offer flexible monthly schedules. Sessions are one-on-one and last between thirty minutes and one hour.

When was it started?  Why was it started?

It started in response to the continued success of the Career Center at the SAA Annual Meeting in 2020. Members of SAA requested ongoing help relating to career counseling and the Career Commons was the solution.

Who runs it?

The Career Development Subcommittee of the SAA Membership Committee consists of three professional archivists. In addition, 10 archivists volunteer as career counselors. 

Are you a “career expert”? What are your qualifications?

Our Career Counselors are the experts. Many of them have been in the archives field for years and have moved between jobs in various areas – academic, public, governmental, corporate, etc.

Who is your target audience?

The Commons is a space for students, early-career archivists, and others to connect with experienced archives professionals. 

What’s the best way to use your site?  Should users consult it daily?  Or as needed? Should they already know what they need help with, or can they just noodle around?

Anyone is welcome to review the webpage and see our counselors and their qualifications. To make an appointment, you must be a member of SAA. 

Do your counselors provide:

√ Interviews

√ Coaching

√ The opportunity for interaction

Advice on:

√ Cover Letters

√ Resumes

√ Interviewing

√ Networking 

Should readers also look for you on social media? Or is your content available in other formats? Please include links, subscription information, or other details if pertinent

√ Twitter: @CareerCommons

√ Magazine or other periodical: Archival Outlook 

√ Other: Society of American Archivists website

Do you charge for anything on your site?

There is no charge for the site, but to make an appointment, you must be a member of SAA.

Can you share any stories about job hunters that found positions after using your site?

After a frustrating job search in which the applicant had applied for more than a hundred positions, one of our career counselors helped the applicant to narrow down the search to more relevant positions. The applicant was excited to share that they just made it to the second round of interviews for the first time ever. 

One of our counselors shared that one of the people with whom she was working just contacted her to let her know that they got the job. The candidate signed up for a resume review and mock interview and then went on to successfully land the job at a state archives.

A student landed her first archives internship after meeting with one of our counselors for a career counseling session. The counselor encouraged her to apply for an internship and to practice for the interview. 

Another counselor shared that she was able to connect with one of her job seekers at a recent in-person conference for further networking. 

Anything else you’d like to share with my readers about your site in particular, or about library hiring/job hunting in general?

We encourage people to use this service! It’s a great opportunity to have an impartial person review your resume, as well as to practice your interview skills. Career advising offers an opportunity for students and new professionals to gain advice from more experienced professionals. Members may sign up for up to 2 appointments per month.

Leave a comment

Filed under Job Hunters Web Guide

Tagged as , , ,

by | November 23, 2022 · 11:00 am

Job Hunter’s Web Guide: PNLA Jobs

If you’re wondering which LIS Job Board has the most beautiful header image, look no further. I’m pleased to present to you the Pacific Northwest Library Association Job Board.

What is it?  Please give us your elevator speech!

The PNLA Jobs page is the place to look for library jobs in the Pacific Northwest- this includes the United States and Canada. The PNLA Jobs page also has a spot for library jobs which are not located in the Pacific Northwest. 

When was it started?  Why was it started?

I’m not sure of when it was started, but the form I have has entries that go back to 2018. My guess is that it was started because there was a need to promote and advertise library jobs in the Pacific Northwest.

Who runs it?

Ilana Kingsley is the Webperson for PNLA and updates the PNLA Jobs page on a regular basis.

Are you a “career expert”? What are your qualifications?

Nope. I’m the Web Librarian for the University of Alaska Fairbanks Rasmuson Library. I have a MLS and MEd. 

Who is your target audience?

Folks in the Pacific Northwest who are looking for job opportunities.

What’s the best way to use your site?  Should users consult it daily?  Or as needed? Should they already know what they need help with, or can they just noodle around?

Listings are posted  on a weekly basis. If you’re seeking employment, or just want to get a taste of what library jobs are out there, your best bet is to consult the PNLA Jobs page  weekly).

Jobs are removed from the page the day after their closing date. For positions that are open until filled, I check the links weekly to see if the job ad is still active. 

Does your site provide:

√ Job Listings

√ Links

Do you charge for anything on your site?

No. Listings are free for PNLA members. We don’t charge for non-PNLA members, but donations are welcome. 

What are your standards for job listings (e.g., must include salary)? 

On the PNLA jobs form we ask for the job title, the employer, the state/province, a working link to the position announcement, the closing date if applicable, and other relevant comments that the webperson would need to know in order to post the link. 

For those who are unable to use the Google form, email the PNLA webperson directly at webmaster@pnla.org

Jobs ads posted to the page must be related to the library profession.

Leave a comment

Filed under Job Hunters Web Guide

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | September 28, 2022 · 10:00 am

Job Hunter’s Web Guide: CILIP Careers Hub

This is part of our series, Job Hunter’s Web Guide, which profiles online resources for LIS job hunters.

It’s been interesting for this American to get a few glimpses into librarianship in other countries. The UK’s main association for librarians is CILIP (the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals). I recently corresponded with their Workforce Development Manager, Helen Berry, to put together this profile. Please enjoy learning a bit about CILIP’s efforts, history, and goals around supporting library careers in the UK.

What is it? Please give us your elevator speech!
The CILIP Careers Hub is a dedicated area of the CILIP website with resources, support and guidance for those seeking a job in the information profession. It covers all stages of the career journey and is freely accessible to members and non-members alike.

The CILIP Job Board, Information Professional Jobs, is part of our Careers Hub and carries the largest number of LIS jobs in the UK. The roles cover the sectors of Academia, Health, Government, Public, Schools, Legal, Commercial and Special Collections.13000 people visit the site each month.

When was it started? Why was it started?
The job board was born out of a fortnightly jobs print supplement that went out to CILIP members from the Sixties right up until 2010. Initially entitled LISJOBNET.com, it rebranded in 2018 to align the brand with the membership journal and became Information Professional Jobs.

Who runs it?
CILIP, the library and information association.

Are you a “career expert”? What are your qualifications?
CILIP is the UK library and information association. We support, unite and develop information professionals and librarians across all sectors- the people who help the world make better decisions.

We also offer ttraining and Continuing Professional Development(CPD) to the profession, accredit LIS courses at Universities in the UK and internationally, led the trailblazer group to develop the Level 3 Library, Information and Archive Services Assistant Apprenticeship Standard for the UK and offer 3 levels of Professional Registration (Certification, Chartership and Fellowship) ourselves, backed by our Royal Charter and Professional Knowledge and Skills Base. Which is a slightly long winded way of saying, “yes, we do know quite a bit about the information profession!”

Who is your target audience?
Anyone working or wishing to work within the library, knowledge and information domains in the UK. Appealing to cross sectoral workers from Academic, Health, Government, Public, Schools, Legal, Commercial and Special Collections.

What’s the best way to use your site? Should users consult it daily? Or as needed? Should they already know what they need help with, or can they just noodle around?
Jobs are added to the site most days. Depending on your level of job-seeking seriousness, there is a mechanism to put you in touch with the latest jobs.

There is a real-time e-alert service that emails users details of jobs that fit their search criteria as they hit the database, so you aren’t inundated with irrelevant posts. You can also opt to receive these alerts hourly/daily or weekly, if you wish.

We also have a weekly e-newsletter that gives details of all the new jobs that week – everything for you to browse. 6,700 subscribe to this e-newsletter. The sign up page is here.

Does your site provide:
√ Job Listings
√ Answers to reader questions
√ Links
√ Research

Should readers also look for you on social media? Or is your content available in other formats?
√ Twitter: @CILIPInfoPJobs
√ Newsletter: Weekly Jobs Round Up

Do you charge for anything on your site?
Not for Jobseekers. Advertising is paid for.

Anything else you’d like to share with my readers about your site in particular, or about library hiring/job hunting in general?

For job hunters – never be afraid to reach out and ask questions. The library and information profession is vast, but full of very friendly people who are more than happy to share their experiences with new professionals. If there’s a particular sector you’re interested in finding out more about, there’s a good chance there’s a CILIP Special Interest Group for that area and our members are always willing to share their knowledge!

Leave a comment

Filed under Job Hunters Web Guide

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | August 10, 2022 · 10:00 am

Job Hunter’s Web Guide: Sites of Yore

In the first iteration of Hiring Librarians I started a feature called Job Hunter’s Web Guide, where I profiled websites that provided LIS career advice, job listings, or other forms of support for job seekers. I’ve been working through updates for the sites that are still active, but several are on pause, no longer being updated, or have been taken down entirely. This post will provide a look at the sites of yore, including a site that was started in 1995 and ran for 20 years.

Career QandA with the Library Career People

Career Q & A with the Library Career People:

The site was an online advice column for LIS job seekers. The site at the URL in the profile no longer exists. The Library Career People joined forces with Ellen Mehling and started the site Your Library Career, which included blog posts as well as advice. It stopped being updated during COVID. Ellen now writes Brooklyn Library’s Work Life blog.

Infonista

Infonista:

Run by Kim Dority, this site “is a blog that focuses on all the different ways LIS professionals can deploy their information skills, in both traditional and nontraditional environments.” I profiled it in February 2013. Infonista is currently on pause, last updated in January 2020. I reached out to Kim and she shared that she is currently focusing on client projects, her work with Kent state and managing an illness in the family. She does plan to return to updating Infonista at some point in the future.

The Library Career Centre:

Nicola Franklin provided recruitment and career coaching services for library and information professionals. The site, which I profiled in December 2012, centered around a blog but also included information about Nicola’s services. I reached out to her and she said, “I’ve relocated to the US and initially moved into in-house recruiting at USC and then onto my current company, the L.A. Times, where over the past 5 years my role has expanded to lead talent management, which encompasses recruiting, learning & development, performance management and other ‘talent’ related areas.

I don’t actively work in recruiting library or information professional staff any more, and only maintain the Library Career Center to do career coaching (resume advice, etc) for any UK or US based folk who request it.”

Librarian Hire Fashion

Librarian Hire Fashion:

This Tumblr shared pictures of interview outfits worn by library workers  who had received a job offer. It was last updated in 2015. I profiled the site in December 2012  and also worked with its author, Jill, to put together the most controversial/regrettable of the Hiring Librarians surveys, What Should Candidates Wear. I checked in with Jill and she said, “I stopped posting because I unexpectedly became a library director and was uncertain about how FOIA applied. However, helping people get the jobs they want is a passion and I’ve hired 11 times since 2015, that I can remember. Fashion and clothing choices are still an interest, too.

Library Job Postings on the Internet:

Started back in 1995 by Sarah Johnson, this site sunsetted in 2015, after 20 years of indexing library employment sites from all over the world – when I did a profile in December 2012, there were more than 400 sites. She has a great good-bye note up on the site. It includes the explanation, “My professional interests have expanded into other areas, and regretfully, I don’t have the time to keep up with this site as it deserves.  For the past two decades, I’ve run this site on my own, on a volunteer basis.  Rather than continue to maintain a site with outdated links, these pages were taken down in November 2015, after a three-month advance alert that I’d be doing so.”

Sarah is still online and regularly blogs about historical fiction at Reading the Past (Twitter @readingthepast).

LisList:

This was a REALLY BIG list of US jobs. The site doesn’t exist any longer. It was run by Amadee Ricketts and her husband James Orndorf from around 2014-2016. She said, “ It was fun but as our circumstances changed, and especially once I got a new job with a steep learning curve, it made sense to let it go.”

Open Cover Letters

Open Cover Letters:

Stephen X. Flynn started Open Cover Letters about six months before I started Hiring Librarians and I’ll always be grateful to him for how friendly he was. He’s the one that advised me to buy the domain, he spoke with me in a webinar, and he even forwarded me a job listing when I was looking for work. I profiled Open Cover Letters in March 2013.The site shared redacted Cover Letters that had been written by successful LIS job hunters and earned him a spot as a 2012 LJ Mover and Shaker. He stopped updating the site in 2016. He said, “I left the academic library field and became a middle school teacher that year, so my priorities have changed and updating the site has not been a priority. I actually still have some submissions that I never uploaded and it’s something I’d like to do, just get those last ones up there. On the other hand, I have committed to keeping the site online and will continue to pay for hosting and the domain for the foreseeable future.”

I also profiled the following sites, but was unable to get updates. 

Academic Library Jobs:

This site was a curated list of Academic library job postings. It no longer exists, and I was unable to reach the author.

Careers in Federal Libraries:

Last updated in 2020, this site provided a blog and links to virtual and in-person events. I profiled it in February 2013. I was unable to find out what happened. There was some reorganization in ALA which may have affected it: In 2018 the Federal and Armed Forces Libraries Round Table (FAFLRT) merged with the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies to form a new division: The Association of Specialized, Government and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASGCLA). Then the ASGCLA was dissolved in 2020 and its interest groups were picked up by other divisions. 

MLA Deal

MLA Deal:

The Maryland Library Association’s Development of Emerging and Aspiring Librarians was an interest group for new professionals. Their site included a blog as well as job listings and advice. It no longer exists, and I was unable to get more information from the Maryland library association. It looks like the interest group itself also no longer exists.

Leave a comment

Filed under Job Hunters Web Guide

Tagged as , , , ,

by | August 3, 2022 · 10:00 am

Job Hunter’s Web Guide: Archives Gig (Revisited)

Meredith Lowe started Archives Gig in 2010 and has been posting jobs for Archivists, records managers, and students ever since. We profiled the site back in 2013 and wanted to provide a quick update.

The site has a new URL (no more LiveJournal) and has continued to grow and evolve. 

I caught up with Meredith with a few questions:

What has changed with Archives Gig?

One thing that has been really interesting is the research and tools that have cited AG as a resource! A couple of recent favorites are:

It’s incredibly rewarding that AG has been helpful to these important contributions!

How is archives job hunting different now versus ten years ago?

This field has been steadily moving toward seeking those with skills in digital curation, projects, and collections, and those who are looking to work in the GLAM fields would be well-served to pick up skills in those areas. With the pandemic, there has been a big shift to remote work in all sectors, and that includes the archives field. Although most positions are still in-person, there are a lot more remote-only positions as well as hybrid schedule options – and I think with digital projects that hybrid/remote work is even more achievable.  

Leave a comment

Filed under Job Hunters Web Guide

Tagged as , , , ,

by | July 27, 2022 · 10:00 am

Job Hunter’s Web Guide: CLIR and DLF Job Board

Today I am pleased to share a job board that reaches beyond libraries and archives. While you can visit the site anytime, they also send a weekly digest that includes a short note featuring a resource or item of interest. They’re friendly and responsive to feedback – I recommend checking it out!

screenshot of the CLIR DLF job board website

What is it?  Please give us your elevator speech!

The CLIR (Council on Library and Information Resources) and DLF (Digital Library Federation) Job Board is a place for job seekers in the galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAM) fields to find current positions posted by CLIR sponsors, DLF members, and non-member organizations. Listings are active for 60 days and require minimum salary to be included. Each week, a job board digest is sent out with the latest listings to digest subscribers. When requested by an employer, we actively promote listings on CLIR and DLF social media.

When was it started?  Why was it started?

The DLF Jobs Board began in 2011 when the DLF staff began posting positions on the DLF blog. In 2015, an email digest of current positions on the board started going out to subscribers. In July 2016, the standalone site – jobs.diglib.org – was started and DLF member institutions could post unlimited jobs for free. During this time, CLIR also had a similar job message board titled “Jobs Connect,” which provided job posting services for CLIR sponsors.

In 2019, the DLF Jobs Board and CLIR’s Jobs Connect combined to become the “CLIR+DLF Jobs Board,” allowing DLF members, CLIR sponsors, and other non-member organizations to post jobs in one location.

In 2020, the board was renamed the “CLIR and DLF Job Board.” Another important change that year was the requirement that all jobs posted specify a minimum salary amount or range. In July 2022, a resource section was added to help job hunters consider issues of cost of living, social issues, and civil rights access as they looked for a new position.

Who runs it?

The job board is run by CLIR and its Digital Library Federation program. The job board is administered by a CLIR staffer (that’s me!), who reviews and approves each job as they are submitted by employers. I also handle any technical issues or problems with payments, when they occur.

Are you a “career expert”? What are your qualifications?

I am not a GLAM career expert, but I have worked in libraries, museums, and IT recruiting, and I am fortunate to be surrounded by colleagues at CLIR and DLF who have extensive experience in the fields.

Who is your target audience?

Our current audiences are employers and job seekers in the GLAM and MLIS fields. Most of our sponsors and members are in higher education, but I would like to reach out to organizations of all types that hire people in the GLAM fields.

What’s the best way to use your site?  Should users consult it daily?  Or as needed? Should they already know what they need help with, or can they just noodle around?

I hope that using the job board is straightforward, and I recommend checking periodically during the week. Job postings are lighter during the summer months, so checking more regularly starting in the fall is a good idea.

I am always interested in hearing from job board users! During the pandemic, we made a change in how long jobs were listed, thanks to a user who wrote and shared how depressing it was to see so many job links on the board, but to have most be dead links or jobs that were no longer taking applications. My colleagues and I agreed, and decided that jobs would be active for 60 days unless requested by employers to go longer.

Does your site provide:

√ Job Listings

√ Links  

Should readers also look for you on social media? Or is your content available in other formats? 

Readers can find jobs listed at jobs.diglib.org and subscribe to the CLIR and DLF Job Board Digest to receive a weekly email newsletter with the latest jobs posted.

Do you charge for anything on your site?

CLIR sponsors and DLF members are able to post unlimited jobs for free. Non-sponsor or member organizations are able to post jobs for $200 per job.

What are your standards for job listings (e.g., must include salary)?

We do not post or publicize unpaid positions or internships. We also require employers to include a minimum salary amount and support fair employment practices. I review every job posted to be certain it is a real position and meets our listing requirements.

Can you share any stories about job hunters that found positions after using your site?

I would love to hear from job board users! I often hear kind messages from job board digest readers about my introduction to each digest, which I greatly appreciate. It would make my day to hear from someone who found their next position using the job board. 

Anything else you’d like to share with my readers about your site in particular, or about library hiring/job hunting in general?

There is a lot of information about the GLAM fields online, sometimes positive and helpful, sometimes negative and discouraging. My goal with the job board and the digest is to provide links to jobs and information about professional development opportunities through CLIR and DLF, with a dash of care and hopefulness.

1 Comment

Filed under Job Hunters Web Guide

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | July 20, 2022 · 10:00 am

Job Hunter’s Web Guide: Library Jobline (Revisited)

In 2013, as part of the Job Hunter’s Web Guide series, I ran a profile of Library Jobline, the job board run by the Colorado State Library (funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services). They still provide listings, and have in fact grown! But of course some things have changed. Below are some updates (and a new question). 

Who Runs It?

It is now run by Network and Resource Sharing, a unit of the Colorado State Library.

What’s changed about your site since the 2013 profile?

The site has grown significantly since 2013 in terms of the number of employers and job seekers that have signed up and the frequency of job postings. In 2020 we partnered with the Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services and incorporated their job board into LibraryJobline. This has been a great relationship and we hope that it might serve as a model for partnering with other state/regional job boards in the future. More generally we’ve seen a significant increase in the number of employers outside of Colorado to the point that jobs for libraries within the state are now about half of all new posts.

Regarding the website itself, there have been few changes in functionality since 2013. Our focus remains the same: make it easy as possible for employers and job seekers to connect, while providing a platform that encourages collecting, analyzing, and reporting data for library (and related) employment. To that end we’ve stripped away some of the burdensome posting requirements for employers, and we’ve continually refined our email notifications so that job seekers more reliably and accurately receive notifications of new posts.

The *NEW* Question: What are your standards for job listings (e.g. must include salary)?

We require a few basic pieces of data about the job such as title, employer, location, and a job description. Additionally, employers can have their jobs “featured” by providing additional data for hours, compensation, and benefits. We don’t edit people’s ads but we do occasionally reject ads for jobs which are not within or closely related to the field of librarianship.

What’s the job hunting landscape like for your target audience?

It’s probably not unlike the general economic landscape as a whole: beginning in late 2020 we saw a significant increase in the number of jobs posted, but that has not been accompanied by a change in the number of new job seeker accounts or traffic to the site. For example, we had twice as many jobs posted in 2021 compared to 2020, but just about the same number of new user accounts for both years. It’s early yet, but that trend has continued up to this point in 2022.

We recently published an infographic for 2021 and you can see that here: https://www.lrs.org/fast-facts-reports/2021-library-jobline-fast-facts/

Thank you!

Leave a comment

Filed under Job Hunters Web Guide

Tagged as , , , , ,