How can I obtain my goal of getting a job after graduating?

Last time I posted I wrote about some jobs that interested me, what skills were needed for them and how they could or would help me along my career path.  Today I am going to focus on what skills I already posses, how can I go about obtaining the rest of my goals and where my education path might take me next!

For this task, I will look at the job of Library Director, which is one possibility after I graduate.  Some of the skills necessary for this position are:

• Management skills: hiring, scheduling, human resources, overseeing staff, job reviews, discipline, etc
• Basic knowledge of all jobs in the library- cataloging, programming, reference, tech help, circulation, shelving, weeding, etc.
• Administrative skills: Payroll knowledge, accounting skills, budgeting skills, advertising, marketing, public relations
• Community relations: Policies and procedures in regards to the community, work with government officials within the community towards common goals, working with the public to give the library a good image, dealing with upset patrons or community members, knowing about millage issues and how to work towards a successful millage
• Fundraising
• Managing and growing collections
• Working for and with a board of directors

What skills do I bring to the table today?

• Experience managing staff, scheduling, hiring and human resources.
• I have some reference and tech help experience.  I have experience running a circulation desk and shelving books.
• I have basic accounting knowledge and skills including payroll.  I have worked with budgeting before and have handled the public relations, marketing and advertising for a couple of not for profits in the past.
• I have experience working with local governments and working with a board of directors.

What can I do to gain knowledge and experience in the areas I lack?

• I can continue my education path- taking classes such as Intro to Records and Info Management, Library Administration and Management, Collections Development and Selection of Materials, Instructional Methods for Librarians, Government Info Policies and Procedures.
• I can join some organizations that offer local workshops or virtual workshops such as the Michigan Library Association which has workshops on Leadership Management Success and Technology Trends. 
• I can ask to attend some workshops that our library cooperative has such as an Human Resources Workshop.
• I can take on more responsibilities at work and ask questions when someone is working on a task that I need more knowledge of.

Does this tie into my goals I posted at the beginning of this blog?
This definitely ties into what my original goals were- before I even started on this educational path.  My original idea was to become a library director someday and I still am interested in this area.  However, I like the idea of learning about a variety of areas too- maybe I will find one area that just really interests me- like reference- and maybe I will run with it.  Or maybe I will use that as a stepping stone onto another section of my life.  I have found that never does your life go as you originally planned.  I have taken some jobs with the thought to using them as stepping stones and found that I absolutely loved them, stayed much longer than planned and it shifted all of my plans to the point that my original plans were thrown out the door.  Those are the best surprises!

 

Job Analysis in the MLIS Profession

While I am still struggling to define what my ultimate dream job in the MLIS field would be, I have found a couple of different jobs that have really peaked my interest. 

Reference Librarian
What are some of the skills a reference librarian needs?

• Strong customer service skills
• Strong communications skills both in writing and communicating verbally
• Effective and efficient searching skills- both on line and using other sources
• Computer skills: software knowledge and the ability to teach others how to use the software as well
• Sense of humor (really I saw a job ad that asked just exactly this from applicants!)
• A reference librarian probably reports to a library director or manager
• How might this help position help me later on in my career?  Know how to research and get information is always a necessary requirement in a library setting.  This knowledge would also be useful in the future for other positions not in the library field.  Possibly I could open up my own freelance business as well, researching information for others.

Library Director
What are some skills needed to be a library director?

• Management skills: hiring, scheduling, human resources, overseeing staff, job reviews, discipline, etc
• Basic knowledge of all jobs in the library- cataloging, programming, reference, tech help, circulation, shelving, weeding, etc.
• Administrative skills: Payroll knowledge, accounting skills, budgeting skills, advertising, marketing, public relations
• Community relations: Policies and procedures in regards to the community, work with government officials within the community towards common goals, working with the public to give the library a good image, dealing with upset patrons or community members, knowing about millage issues and how to work towards a successful millage
• Fundraising
• Managing and growing collections
• Working for and with a board of directors
• How would this position help me later on in my career?  A library director doesn't just have to have library skills but they must also have business knowledge and know how to run a business.  A library director doesn't work for just one person but instead works for an entire board of directors.  At this time, I see being a library director as an end job, one that I would be able to retire from.  Originally this is the job I had in mind when I started my MLIS journey.  I worked for several years for a not for profit organization where I thought maybe someday I would be able to be the manager.  Since that organization has changed drastically, that is no longer an option.  I was able to obtain many skills during my time there such as those in accounting, supervision, budgeting, advertising, marketing and public relations.

Systems, Reference, Instruction and Web Librarian
What are some skills that this profession would require?

• Library promotion
• The ability to teach students library skills, database, and web searching and evaluation skills
• Help patrons develop effective research strategies and provide copyright assistance
• Collection Development
• Maintain and develop a websites
• Be able to work with a group on developing collections
• Ability to work with IT department to keep library systems maintained and running
• Must be able to use good judgment in handling sensitive or difficult situations in a pleasant and professional manner
• This position reports to a director of library and learning commons
• How would this position help me in my career?  This would be a great end role position, again one I could retire from.  I believe that this job would be interesting, ever changing and allow me the opportunity to teach others about all the great things a library holds (although other jobs would do this as well).

These are a few of my favorite job postings out there at the moment!  All involve a library as I love my current job working for two.  All involve interacting with people which I enjoy as well.  They all are slightly different with two of them being in more of a managerial role.  At this point in my life, I am not seeking a long career path.  I have already followed a couple career paths and at this point, I am seeking my end path that will lead me into retirement.  Maybe once I am retired I would look into using my skills in a part time side career or maybe I will just head off into the sunset and enjoy the beach most days. 

 

Professional Associations for the MLIS Field

Professional associations are a part of any professional field.  They are a great resource, bring many individuals facing similar issues together, and most usually help those in the field continue learning about new advances or challenges their profession is undergoing.

In the MLIS field, there are many professional associations because there are so many different divisions of the Library and Information field.  I chose two different organizations to look into the Michigan Library Association and the Reference and User Services Association.

The reason I chose the Michigan Library Association is because at the moment, I am located in Michigan and wanted to see what would be somewhat local for me.  I visited the MLA's website at www.mla.lib.mi.us.  I liked what the MLA's mission is: "Helping Libraries and Library Professionals Succeed" (Michigan Library Association, 2014).  This is exactly what I as a MLIS student is looking for, an organization that will continue to help me grow as a professional and help me become a successful professional.  The MLA has many membership benefits including advocacy for library professionals, professional development, statewide networking, leadership and career advancement.  All these benefits would be an asset at this point in my career and education.  There are some seminars that would be within driving distance for me in the near future that I believe would be good opportunity to learn and network.


MLA has a presence on Facebook and Twitter as well.  MLA also has three publications: MLA Update, Professional Development Update and Advocacy Update however only MLA members have access to these publications so I was unable to explore them further. 

While MLA has many great qualities, the biggest pitfall in regards to membership for me is the cost of membership.  For a student membership the cost is $50.00 per year.  That is a bit steep for a student however I do believe I will keep this association in mind and hopefully be able to join sometime in the next year or so.

The second association I researched was the RUSA: Reference and User Services Association.  They are a subset of the ALA or the American Library Association.  I first visited their website at http://www.ala.org/rusa/.  I chose the RUSA because the reference field is one that I am very interested in and wanted to gain more knowledge about.  Like the MLA, the RUSA offers conferences, opportunities to connect with others in similar situation as your own and helps to continue to education its participants. 

The RUSA has many on line discussion boards, a RUSA blog, a RUSA wiki as well as a presence on Facebook and Twitter.  This is a huge convenience as RUSA members are all throughout the United States and it gives the users an easy way to connect with each other.  The RUSA also offers on line learning tools for its members.   RUSA has a quarterly newsletter that I was able to review that contains current information on what is going on at RUSA.  RUSA encourages its members to become involved in RUSA through volunteer work on committees. 

The cost of RUSA to students is $25 per year, this is much more manageable for students with limited financial resources.  To me, it appears that RUSA also has many resources available to its members which makes this cost well worth while.

Both of the above associations have some really great opportunities for members.  In the LIS profession, continued learning and education is essential.  I believe any organization that help connect like individuals is a great asset.  I look forward into looking into more organizations in the future when my career and education goals are more focused and set.