The Division of Government Information is delighted to be posting on the Future Ready 365 blog this week. DGI is a diverse community of knowledgeable information professionals who share an interest in government information and government librarianship. Our posts this week come from librarians in a variety of government library environments including federal, military, and academic. These DGI blog contributors share their insights on navigating the complicated landscape that today’s information professional must travel — from getting that library job to staying on top in a rapidly changing field once you’re there. Maybe you’d like to join us on the journey! Come check out the Division of Government Information at:  http://govinfo.sla.org/.

The late Gilda Radner created a character for Saturday Night Live named Emily Litella who would speak out on various topics. Unfortunately, Miss Litella didn‘t hear things quite right so she was against the efforts to remove violins from television programs. She was corrected that the effort was to remove violence from television programs. As this new information would sink in she would realize that it was very different from what she had been thinking and she would end her spots with an apologetic, “Never mind.”

I wonder what Miss Litella would have thought of e-braries and e-books and e-journals and e-patrons and e-librarians and who knows what will be next.

It started with e-mail and as that caught on we all started living in an e-world. And to no one‘s surprise this didn‘t simplify our life in the least. We have to make distinctions between e-mail and postal mail (or the pejorative snail mail), and e-journals and print journals. Having been a cataloger I can appreciate the many challenges this created to the folks describing our collections.

From everything we read and experience we know that a lot of users will still prefer print resources, but more and more will want information made available in a variety of electronic formats ported to multiple devices. And we, being the service industry that we are, will strive to meet that need explaining to our budget folks that it doesn‘t mean it is cheaper nor that we will reduce the footprint of the library.

The January/February 2011 issue of Information Outlook was all about mobile applications. Coincidentally in my current job that has been the current push as well. The agency is rolling out mobile devices to about 1,000 research staff and we want to let them know what the Library can provide for them on their new tool.

As in other instances, this is not something the Library can do on its own. We need the help of our IT folks – the ones who control access to what is on the mobile devices – to open the gates for the Library content. We have to work with our vendors to find a good solution for subscriptions that will work in our total environment – desktop, physical collection, and mobile devices.

It is exciting when you find a partner for a project who understands the value of what we are trying to deliver to our end-users. Often we have to educate in many directions – and we have to learn. What devices is our agency buying? What information resources have mobile applications? What is the pricing structure for the access? What products will we make available?

The Oxford English Dictionary may have a mobile app, and it would be oh-so-cool to have it, but how many of us would actually push that out to our mobile end-users?

We need to keep up with the wave of e-information. The demand is there and if we don‘t do it, someone else will. Like all the other tools for information access this needs to be part of our expertise.

The same way we went from print to dial-up, to software and then to Internet – we need to help our end-users get their information on their mobile devices and keep up with what the next platform will be.

Once you find the IT and Communications folks who are managing the mobile devices work with them to develop the Library application – pointing to the Library resources that staff can access on a mobile device. Talk to your vendors to make sure you are licensed properly to give access to your users.

Review and refine your list. If you already have a page on your website listing online news resources you have a head start! Just as we had to rethink presentation and writing for the web – we have to be even more concise on a mobile device. A segmented list of resources on a website is easy to navigate – on a mobile device keep to the basics until users ask for more.

If you have been around the Internet since the early days then you‘ll remember those Under Construction pages that we used to put up and use. Those are long gone – everyone understands that the Internet is under continuous development and updating. It is the same with mobile devices. People will expect additional resources and upgraded applications. Let the vendors take care of upgrading the apps. But don‘t worry if you have a great news resource that you have finally been able to contract. Roll it out. If it is a significant resource, then roll it out right away. If you have a couple new resources in the works then roll them out together.

Two agencies I worked for had a lot of agents in the field who were then still using dial-up access for the Internet when they were on the road. For that reason we designed our pages with as little graphics as possible and did our best to avoid anything other than html.

This experience taught me something about our users. You need to take care of your biggest user group. By minimizing graphics we didn‘t hurt our onsite users with a fast connection. Our efforts helped them too. Government librarians are looking at a finite set of end users with mobile devices. Yes, they seem to breed like rabbits, but they are still expensive enough that not everyone in your organization will have one. So you don‘t want to license solely for the mobile devices. Even the mobile users will want to read the Wall Street Journal on their desktop or even in print. (Print? Remember that?)

To be good librarians we need to see what our patrons are doing and listen to their questions. We don‘t need to pounce on everything – but we need to be aware of trends so we can be ready to ride the wave and not get caught by the undertow.

So – there isn‘t an E in Library, but there is an E in Libraries and end-users and mobile devices. And there are two Es in people and those are the folks we are here to serve as librarians.

David has over 25 years of library experience having worked for federal banking agencies and other libraries. He earned his MLS from the University of Maryland in 2000 and has been a member of SLA since 1998. He has been active with the DC Chapter of SLA and the Government Information Division. He has worked in all aspects of librarianship – Reference, Cataloging, Web, Acquisitions and Electronic Resources. David started his blog – Library Buzz in 2004. He has written for the GovInfoPro Best Practices for Government Libraries and has been published in the One-Person Library Newsletter. In addition to working as a librarian, David plays trombone with DC’s Different Drummers.

The Division of Government Information is delighted to be posting on the Future Ready 365 blog this week. DGI is a diverse community of knowledgeable information professionals who share an interest in government information and government librarianship. Our posts this week come from librarians in a variety of government library environments including federal, military, and academic. These DGI blog contributors share their insights on navigating the complicated landscape that today’s information professional must travel — from getting that library job to staying on top in a rapidly changing field once you’re there. Maybe you’d like to join us on the journey! Come check out the Division of Government Information at:  http://govinfo.sla.org/.

It doesn‘t exactly take a rocket scientist to notice that libraries have changed more in the last couple of decades than they did in the century before that. When I started in this business, I learned how to order LC cards using paper forms. Last week I used the web-based administrative module of a vendor to link our ILS with the vendor‘s database of periodical articles. This represents a sea change in our profession. Again, not rocket science, but of more than passing interest to practitioners.

I‘m privileged to work in a medium-sized library that supports a small school providing mid-career graduate education to military officers. The service we give them was unimaginable two decades ago. We have people in our organization who seriously propose getting rid of a library that has been in place for a century because everything you need to know is on the web. Technological change has weaseled its way into our hearts.

This isn’t a paean to the forgotten days of yore. Libraries are better, and a hell of a lot better, than they were when I started. In 1972, when I slithered into my first professional job, no one seriously considered that it could ever be possible to hand a college student everything he needed to complete a term paper in five minutes. No one had even heard of unmediated database searching. Of course, that was the year before we got electricity and sold the mule.

Change is good. Change is life. Our business is different now, and will be ridiculously, revoltingly different in another decade. Yeah, yeah, grandpa, so what?

Well, the So What is that managers have to deal with the change. I have multicultural employees, patrons from eighty-seven countries (this year), and people whose business, maybe their physical survival, is dependent on the newest news, the latest research, the best understanding of something they never heard of before last week. Right now, the way to do that is a mix of mediated and unmediated searching, wide-ranging database access, good connectivity, careful attention to collection development, and comprehensive personal service. My building is going to be renovated starting this fall and I have to figure out how to keep services going. High excitement!

Well, never mind. We‘ll work it out. Libraries can do this stuff. Librarians can do this stuff. And we will.

Ed Burgess is the director of the Combined Arms Research Library in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He is practicing to become a windy curmudgeon in his old age.

The Division of Government Information is delighted to be posting on the Future Ready 365 blog this week. DGI is a diverse community of knowledgeable information professionals who share an interest in government information and government librarianship. Our posts this week come from librarians in a variety of government library environments including federal, military, and academic. These DGI blog contributors share their insights on navigating the complicated landscape that today’s information professional must travel — from getting that library job to staying on top in a rapidly changing field once you’re there. Maybe you’d like to join us on the journey! Come check out the Division of Government Information at:  http://govinfo.sla.org/.

Kismet

Finding my job as a government contractor was pure kismet. I had belonged to several library listservs where jobs were posted and one day saw a job for a reference librarian position at the Census Bureau that I had not seen posted anywhere else. Jennifer Norman Turley, the Census Reference and Marketing Librarian, had posted the position on the DC/SLA listserv and because of her posting I applied for the job and eventually was hired. I was incredibly grateful for this lucky happenstance and it made me want to share these job postings with a wider audience. After all, I still received job ads through several listservs and knew many of my fellow library school friends might be interested in them as well.

My first thought was how to distribute these job opportunities? I sent out an e-mail and posted on Facebook to my fellow Rutgers MLIS classmates in October 2010 to see what they thought. Would they like me to set up a forwarding option in my email or would they prefer a blog? Would they like a Facebook page to visit or prefer me to post on my own wall? In the end one Rutgers friend and alum, Elizabeth Leonard, Online Campus Library Director at Berkeley College, offered to help and I dubbed the project “I Need a Library Job.”

Easy as 1-2-3

On October 16, 2010, Elizabeth created a Facebook page and I crafted the first daily digest e-mail and signed up 17 of our friends and classmates to receive it. Elizabeth soon added a Twitter account called “Need a Library Job” which would feed into Facebook and have our Facebook posts feed into Twitter. We never dreamed that in less than six months our little hobby would grow in popularity so fast. The main motivation was to share jobs we all found on listservs, from e-mails and on Web sites with any interested librarians. Early on, I created a policy which stated that only Elizabeth and I would post jobs to Facebook in part because we didn‘t want this to become a dumping ground for jobs, disorganized and with many repeated job postings. We wanted to be a service. So with our three outputs (e-mail list, Facebook, Twitter) we figured we could cover the many ways librarians like to receive information and since Facebook and Twitter would feed from each other that it would be a manageable amount of work.

Finding and filling a need on the fly

Social media has changed how we connect with information. Even though jobs are posted all over the internet and on listservs any librarian or library staff member job hunting would have to visit numerous Web sites and sign up for numerous listservs on the off chance that at least one service would provide a unique opportunity. The time wasted and frustration that builds up for job hunters, including information professionals and librarians, I thought was avoidable. We aimed to make the Facebook page a steady stream of numerous jobs on a daily basis and I aimed to make the daily e-mail as comprehensive a list as I could. If we could get our page out to more librarians we figured the likelihood of any one person finding a job would increase. I had been lucky to find my job so my goal was to help at least one other person find their job and to do this by building a safe, positive presence on the web for job hunting librarians and library staff. To get the word out Elizabeth and I joined tons of library association pages on Facebook and posted about our free service. Many people joined because of our postings but I would be remiss if I did not also mention the numerous faculty, students, librarians and others who, once they stumbled on our e-mail or online pages, shared them with all of their friends. As of mid-April 2011, our six month anniversary, we had over 1,800 Facebook fans, over 500 Twitter followers and over 850 subscribers to my daily ―I Need a Library Job,renamed INALJ, e-mail list. We added seventeen Social Media Volunteer Contributors who send us all the jobs they receive and have helped flesh out and add value to our service.

INALJ

The INALJ (pronounced Eye-Na L – J) daily e-mail list is my baby. From the beginning I aimed to make it a comprehensive list of all our Facebook and Twitter postings plus many more jobs. They say location is everything so I organized the listings by state. Through trial and error (Google docs, pasting within the e-mail, etc.) I came up with a Word document format that I attach to the email that allows for hotlinks directly to each state, Canada and other International jobs. I have a separate mailing for Mac users which helps them better view the document but my end goal would be to use a product (I am looking at Mail Chimp) to send the e-mail to everyone. With a circulation of over 850, Gmail is not the best tool to use, as it allows you to mass mail only 500 people. So, as a work around, I am sending from my personal e-mail as well so no one misses out. INALJ runs anywhere from 50 to 100 pages a day in a ten-point font and is chock-full of jobs from all over the US, Canada and around the globe. I keep jobs on the list all week, then delete any postings that do not have “apply by” dates at the end of each week. My ultimate goal is for INALJ to be useful as a one-stop-shop for all library job hunters or at the very least to be a useful daily tool in their hunt.

Future

While we are very proud of what we have created, it is also clear to us that there are still many holes in our coverage. Whenever we find niche library jobs blogs, such as Meredith Lowe‘s Archives Gig page, we like to share them with our readers because we realize many of our readers would benefit from niche postings, like archivists, and because our scope is much broader. There is simply no aspect of library work that we are unwilling to cover. My own goal for INALJ—to to create a one-stop shop and comprehensive jobs resource for librarians the world over hunting for jobs—is still a dream, but one I work hard at every day. We may create a blog, we may continue just as we are, but one thing is for certain—there is an even greater need today to share these kinds of opportunities with each other. Since we started in October of 2010 over twenty-five of our fans have found jobs either through our postings or on their own. Our original goal has been realized and this has only fueled our passion to continue to find and fill this need.

Reach us at:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-need-a-Library-job/125220477532213
Twitter: http://twitter.com/needalibraryjob/
E-mail: ineedalibraryjob@gmail.com

Naomi House is a reference librarian at the Census Bureau Library for CSTI.  She founded INALJ (I Need a Library Job) in October of 2010 and has since branched out into a daily email digest, Facebook page, twitter feed, LinkedIn Group called INALJ and now http://inalj.com, a webzine.  She lives near Washington, DC in Hyattsville, MD and enjoys cooking Pakistani food and traveling.

The Division of Government Information is delighted to be posting on the Future Ready 365 blog this week. DGI is a diverse community of knowledgeable information professionals who share an interest in government information and government librarianship. Our posts this week come from librarians in a variety of government library environments including federal, military, and academic. These DGI blog contributors share their insights on navigating the complicated landscape that today’s information professional must travel — from getting that library job to staying on top in a rapidly changing field once you’re there. Maybe you’d like to join us on the journey! Come check out the Division of Government Information at:  http://govinfo.sla.org/.

Nancy Faget, Federal Librarian

In our 4th year of Careers in Federal Libraries activities, about 50 of us are helping students and job seekers learn about federal librarianship. Many of us speak at webinars for library schools, national virtual convergence, annual networking/career fairs, and conference events. Some have even taken on the role as an official federal liaison to a library school and career center.

Good things are happening, but there’s got to be a better way of doing this! One-to-one conversations are wonderful in building relationships and delivering personalized advice, but we must raise our game. Not everyone is following the hiring reform changes, so would everyone know that job openings are sometimes advertised as thus: “Closes April 29 or when the first 75 applications are received”?

Is there a benefit to building a “many-to-many” online way to share tips from several advisors with whoever cares to read it? Would it benefit us to have an online way for students and job seekers to request a mentor or request a resume review?

As evidence of the great advice that could be provided (many-to-many), here is just a sampling of advice and testimony from a small but diverse group of volunteers and accidental advisors. They all contribute something different and valuable to the conversation. You’ll also get insight into why they dedicate their time and effort to being an accidental advisor.

And lastly, here is the next challenge. How we do leverage or build an online space where advice can be sought and provided in a many-to-many environment? This project will produce a long-lived valuable resource. Work with University of Illinois Urbana Champaign begins soon to explore how best to connect our federal community of advisors to a library school career center. Something wonderful may just happen.

Jennifer McMahan, Supervisory Librarian, US Department of Justice

For the last couple of summers, I gave a presentation at the CUA Institute on Federal Library Resources. I liked doing the presentation and talking to students because I was completely clueless when I first applied for federal jobs and several people were kind enough to help me. And, selfishly because I want to see the best new librarians applying for federal jobs! Here is some of what I told them:

• When looking at the announcement, make sure it’s something you actually want to do. But just because you’re more familiar with certain library positions, doesn’t mean you can’t try something new. That’s why it’s good to take advantage of practicum and internships now to try to figure out what kind of environment you like to work in. If you don’t have time for an internship or practicum,  consider job shadowing for a day or two. Most librarians I know, myself included, would be happy to host a student for a day who wanted to learn more about what we do.
• Don’t sell yourself short and don’t be afraid to apply for a job for which you don’t think you have the exact right experience/skills. For example, a lot of students are scared off by the “law librarian” title in our job announcements, but much of what we do is not legal research and typically we are looking for a well-rounded person with good research skills in any discipline.
• You might not feel like you have enough experience to be applying for certain jobs. But you might be overlooking experience that’s not library-related but is very relevant. One of the KSAs I see most often and that we always use: ability to communicate orally and in writing. I remember seeing a resume of someone who had little library experience, but she was involved in her local Toastmasters organization; another one was a former journalist. Those skills are incredibly important and very relevant.
• Even if KSAs are not required, still write a cover letter detailing your experience and what you’d bring to the job. Use specific examples. I like reading/hearing about examples of how a person has shown creativity and initiative with projects.
• Bring something to the interview, such as a “pretty” copy of your resume and a writing sample or a product that you created.
• In the interview, brag about your accomplishments, rather than yourself. Saying, “You should hire me because I’m smart,” doesn’t tell us anything about what you can do.
• A question that gets asked at most interviews is, why do you want this position, or why do you want to work here? Be prepared to answer that! Make sure you learn whatever you can about the mission of the agency and specifically the library. At least one part of your answer should be, “because I believe in what you do,” or at least that you are interested in government service.
• This is your opportunity to interview the library and organization as well. Try to find out what the work environment is like. Does it support creativity? Most of what I’ve done in my job since I started at DOJ has not been in my job description. I created it on my own. Try to determine how rigid a place is and whether it’s a good fit for you. Talk to employees who would be at the same level as you if given the opportunity. The federal hiring process can take a really long time, so you don’t want to waste your time or the agency’s if you’re not going to be happy there.
• Always write a thank you note – I can think of one situation where it helped make the decision to hire one person over another.
• References – make sure any person you list as a reference knows you’re doing so and will give you a good reference. It seems like a no-brainer, but I’ve talked to people who didn’t remember the person in question, were surprised to hear he/she was applying for other jobs, or couldn’t say anything good about the person.
• If I were hiring someone right now, I would love to find someone who doesn’t necessarily have a lot of experience, but lots of energy and enthusiasm. Someone who wasn’t afraid of not knowing everything, or anything, at first, someone who was constantly curious and wanting to learn new things and take on new challenges. Also, someone with strong attention to detail, and really good written and oral communication skills.

Blane Dessy, Executive Director, FLICC/FEDLINK

I generally tell students that the MLS degree is a starting point in the job search. Having an MLS does not guarantee a job, so the applicant must add value to their resume and their interview by explaining how his/her skills will be a complement to the agency. Applying for a job is much like a sales job; you have to understand the Agencies being applied to and you have to make yourself unforgettable (but in a good way!).

Aimee Babcock-Ellis, Librarian, Drug Enforcement Agency

• Don’t be so picky about your first job; it’s not your last job.
• Increase your chances of getting hired: be mobile!
• The time is to learn how to instigate change is NOW. Practice by setting up your own mentoring relationship or finding your own practicum.
• Listen and attend as many events as you are able to. There are free career events at EVERY conference.
• Students are responsible for their own future.
• Consistency and proper grammar do count! Use your on campus Career Center to your advantage.
• The more approachable you can be, the more likely it is that you can help the candidate.

Jessica Hernandez, Librarian, FDA Biosciences Library

As a recent graduate and new federal librarian, I benefit a great deal from advising students and job seekers. Promoting federal careers is a wonderful way to keep a pulse on the latest job trends. Each interaction is an opportunity for me to refresh my knowledge of the hiring process, learn about different career paths, and reflect on my own skills and future plans.

Virginia Sanchez, Federal Information Professional, 2010 Library Journal Mover & Shaker

What advice do I usually give when I review someone’s resume? Never assume, especially in the use of acronyms. It is tempting to use acronyms in order to save valuable white space, but as one resume reviewer said to me, “I have no idea what that means,” and he did not have the time for me to explain as he moved on.

Whenever I can, I give information specific to the student when counseling them on how to find a job. I also launch into Story Time mode and share personal anecdotes, complete with sound effects and arm waving.

What do I get out of the experience? Bug eyed wonder. Seriously, not only do I get an opportunity to assist an aspiring employee in attaining a goal, which would in itself be enough, it does cause me to take a close look at my own resume. It goes back to something I learned in my martial arts training: teaching forces you to examine and refine your own techniques to ensure your students receive proper training.

Eugenia Beh, Texas A & M University, Electronic Resources Librarian on “Why I help manage the CiFL group”

My involvement with the Careers in Federal Libraries group has enabled me to connect with outstanding librarians at all levels of federal librarianship. The group is the first place I look for information on the latest federal library positions and/or to get a question answered about applying for a federal position. I highly recommend joining this group to anyone interested in federal librarianship, whether you are a student or someone considering a mid-career change.

Rich Louis, Information Resources Specialist on “Why I help manage the CiFL group”

Involvement with CiFL has been invaluable as far as meeting librarians employed by the federal government. Getting to talk with current federal librarians has allowed me to gain a much better understanding of what it is that the federal government is looking for and how I can tailor my skill set to federal employment requirements. Being a part of CiFL has allowed me to be of service to my colleagues and, for once, to really feel a part of a professional organization.

Marianne Giltrud, Librarian and Adjunct Faculty, Catholic University of America on “Careers in Federal Libraries: Uniting Professionals in Service to America”

Anyone looking into the possibility of federal service as a professional librarian need look no further than the Careers in Federal Libraries Google Group. Collaboration, Engagement and Agility are why I belong to the group. While the purpose of the group is to develop a cadre of service oriented staff that are committed to their agency mission and at the same time are current with the rapidly changing information environment, this group provides a lens into the rich, deep and varied opportunities in the profession. Truly, library skills translate across many areas, in many contexts, and many media. Information, Resources, Mission, and Competencies are benchmarks that define this group’s success.

When I talk to individuals about this group, I highlight the benefits:

• Open group
• Vacancy announcements, internships, fellowships, student temporary employment and student career experience, Presidential Management Fellows program information
• Career advice
• Resume Reviewers
• Presentations, Documents, and Webinars
• Get involved!

Nancy Faget works as a federal librarian in Washington, D.C. She enjoys volunteering with professional associations and mentoring information professionals in Careers in Federal Libraries activities. Nancy’s most recent article appears in “Mid-Career Library and Information Professionals: A Leadership Primer”. At the ALA 2010 Annual conference, her peers awarded her the ALA FAFLRT Distinguished Service Award.

Jennifer McMahan is the Head Librarian for the Civil, Criminal, and Civil Rights Divisions at the US Department of Justice. She joined the staff there in 1999, shortly after receiving her MLS from Catholic University. Her activities include managing four of the Justice Libraries, as well as reference, training, and helping to create and maintain the DOJ Virtual Library.

The Division of Government Information is delighted to be posting on the Future Ready 365 blog this week. DGI is a diverse community of knowledgeable information professionals who share an interest in government information and government librarianship. Our posts this week come from librarians in a variety of government library environments including federal, military, and academic. These DGI blog contributors share their insights on navigating the complicated landscape that today’s information professional must travel — from getting that library job to staying on top in a rapidly changing field once you’re there. Maybe you’d like to join us on the journey! Come check out the Division of Government Information at:  http://govinfo.sla.org/.

I’ve always looked at my career as an information professional as being one of happily working to help people solve puzzles. I’ve worked for research organizations most of my career and the goal of a researcher is often either to summarize everything that has ever been said on a topic or to explore that one tiny area that scientists before have never fully explored and explained. Both of these challenges for information professionals put us into “puzzlemaster” mode. We delve into arcane resources, explore different phrases, synonyms, pseudonyms, misspellings, and vague references to try and find relevant information that assists our colleagues in making a real and permanent mark in their fields.

These days we are supporting a whole new breed of researcher – one that has access to most if not all that we ourselves use to help solve their puzzles. The trick these days is to identify and obtain some of the arcane literature that will fully complete their quest. Our job continues to be one of filling in the holes and making the connections that our colleagues in the field either can’t or simply don’t have time to do themselves. Even today with major research institutions digitizing the contents of their libraries and collecting the research materials of their faculty in institutional repositories, I still find it deeply satisfying when I find something that they didn’t know existed.

The state of the Internet and its massive collection of research literature is one of prairies and potholes today. There are lots of systems where information is buried and there are a lot of false hits where a resource is described but not linked. We also have all kinds of fee-based services that offer access to literature that isn’t free and available on the Web. This reality is what leads me to seeing our skills continue to be in high demand for years to come. Information Professionals are also at the forefront of changing that landscape and making sure that you can discover a resource whether or not it costs something to use.

I love my job because of the challenges I face every day and because of the good I know that I’m doing by working with researchers who have a mission to change the world.

Richard Huffine is the founding Chair of the Special Library Association’s Government Information Division. He is also currently a member of the SLA Board of Directors, serving as the 2012 Division Cabinet Chair. Richard has been a librarian in the U.S. Federal Government for more than 15 years.