Considering the Part-Time Information Science Position

I have been working for almost 13 years, and in those 13 years, I’ve worked many, many, part-time jobs.  I’ve been a server at a truck stop diner (oh, how I miss those tips!), processed data for an insurance library, taught special education, worked in inner city schools as an art teacher.  I’ve worked three part-time jobs at a time, and I’ve had part-time jobs that made it impossible for me to have any other job because the schedule was so erratic.

Part-time jobs can be hard to manage, and they can be a wonderful way to gain experience.  Being in grad school, or graduating with your MLS/MLIS and surveying the job market, chances are part-time jobs are on your radar.  When looking at these part-time IS jobs, what are some things you should consider?

Some thoughts from a #n00brarian

It’s been exactly 2 weeks since I received the “we’ve approved your request for graduation – now wait several months for a diploma” email.
That’s right! I’m a #n00brarian!
During those past couple of weeks, I’ve been reflecting on where I am, where I’m going, how I’m going to get there and how in the world I’m going to start paying back student loans. Here are some thoughts – I would love to hear what other #n00brarians are doing – or the plans of soon-to-be-n00brarians.

So You Want to Be a Special Librarian?

When you started library school, did you know exactly what kind of librarian you wanted to be? Or — did you have a general idea, but you were open to other possibilities?

That’s where I was when I started at SLIS. I knew without a doubt that I wanted to be a librarian, but I also figured out pretty quickly that the traditional library job market is more competitive than ever before.  I began to lean toward academic librarianship, specifically reference work, and as an English major I assumed my subject specialties would be in the humanities.

However, a combination of library school experiences in my second year – a great Special Libraries professor and mentor, student jobs and internships, and an amazing Science Reference class – have convinced me that not only are my reference skills transferable to many other jobs, but that a variety of subjects and nontraditional jobs can hold my interest. I currently have a paid internship in an academic military library, something I didn’t even know was possible when I started library school.

If you’re not really sure what special libraries are, here is a good starter definition – they are essentially libraries or information centers within corporations, private businesses, government agencies, museums, colleges, hospitals, associations and information management consulting firms (and any other institution you can think of – I have a friend who interned at a paranormal library!).

I can’t sum up an entire course worth of information on special librarianship for you, but I did want to let you know that amazing jobs in nontraditional library settings are out there, and give you a broad overview of my favorite resources.

Job Tips for Future/Recent LIS Grads

If there’s one thing I know for certain it’s this: you can never know anything for certain. With that in mind, some of us are facing an frighteningly exciting time in our lives — we’re going to graduate and look for a job we will LOVE! Most of us have had jobs before, but now that we’re finishing our degrees, we’ve found our passion and we’re ready to head out into this (not so perfect yet) world of employment! So, save this post. Use it when you’re ready. Be ready for anything! And please share what you learn. With that, I offer you a 3-course meal of Job Tips [the search, application, interview] and some leftovers. This uses resources from a previous post on my blog.

[Series] Experiencing LIS

You can sit in an LIS class and soak up everything the instructor has to say, but when it comes down to it, you’ve got to have some experience in the field if you’re going to become an innovator, a diva director, a YES! youth-services librarian, an intelligent instructor, a [fill in your dream-job position]. Being a student, gives you tons of opportunities to get experience. Here are a few ideas to get you started. Please share other ways you’ve been experiencing LIS outside of class.