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!
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.
Hiring Librarians 