Tomorrow class (Designing Computer Supported Collaborative Learning) starts. Should be interesting- what’s normally an 8 week class is being compressed into 4. I think I’ll really enjoy it, though.
My days of lazing about the house and reading have come to an end (for now). But I’m not too sad. 
karin :: Jul.08.2007 :: Asides, School Stuff :: No Comments »
I have this huge mess of a post that I am trying to wrangle into something manageable, so I decided to set that aside and wear my naysayer hat for a bit. I don’t know if it’s something in the air, but I keep reading things that I disagree with this week. So, the post of the day is about “Where are all the Library Jobs?” from the June 15th Edition of Library Journal by Christen Orbanus.
The article opens thusly:
When I first began applying to library schools, I heard rumors about all these great jobs that would be open to new students after graduation. For some time now there has been talk of a surge of retirements in the profession and how more librarians are urgently needed.
I don’t even know where to start. The author “heard rumors” about a shortage of librarians, and plunked down thousands (possibly tens of thousands) of dollars for a degree? Did she even look at the jobs posted first? I had a few stars in my eyes when I started in library school too, but a quick look around told me job prospects weren’t quite as rosy as I had hoped. Still, they seemed decent, especially compared to other careers I had considered. Even if a student is promised lots of job offers by a recruitment officer, one always has to consider the source- after all, these people are paid to get you to enroll.
The author of this article isn’t willing to relocate (despite being in a horrendously over saturated market) and (as of this writing) hasn’t even graduated yet. One can hardly say she’s that hard up. Maybe the cover letter that she shoehorned into the middle of the article worked, though- just a few short weeks after this article was published, Christen posts on her blog that she has, in fact, found a new job! Maybe there’s hope for us yet.
I have a soon to graduate library friend who is in a similar position of looking for - and not finding - a job. A few months of looking for a job, and panic starts to set in. It’s only natural- looking for a job is one of the most stressful things you can do, and looking for a library job is extra hard, because it’s not like there’s a library on every corner. The best advice I can give is: unsubscribe from NEWLIB (if you haven’t already), keep your hopes up, remember that you are awesome (you know who you are, and I really mean it) and remember that lots of people have it lots worse. You could be looking for a job as an English Professor.
(This is perhaps my snarkiest post to date. I tried and tried to say it a little nicer, but it needed a little edge. I can’t help but feel like I should apologize….)
karin :: Jul.03.2007 :: Library, School Stuff :: 8 Comments »
I’m still coming down from ALA. I’ve uploaded pictures and videos, started many posts about it, posted a couple, and thought a lot about what it all means.
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what to get involved in and where to draw the line. Next year, I’ll be working full time and attending school full time, and I’m running for secretary in two divisions of the Nebraska Library Association (I think - and sorta hope - I’ll only win one.) I hope to give another presentation next year, or at least a give poster session or two. One of the big things I got from ALA was that it’s important to get involved- and I want to. I don’t know how past conferences were, but there seemed to be something in the air at this conference- the consensus seemed to be that change is coming, and it’ll be great.
At the same time, I don’t want to push myself. And I am itching to get involved with something real, and local - maybe some kind of volunteer work at the Lincoln City Libraries? I don’t want all my participation to be in the form of meetings and committees, and my job does not involve much in the way of actual library work. I need to get my hands dirty, so to speak.
So for now, I’m sitting back, and seeing what happens. I’m enjoying my break from school, and reading a lot. I’m sure going to miss this next week….
karin :: Jul.02.2007 :: School Stuff :: 1 Comment »