aton
New Member
Posts: 13
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Post by aton on Jan 24, 2013 21:39:14 GMT -5
Hey everyone great to see you all again. I have to say I noticed a lot of people here have worked in the library field before, which i kind of envy, since I'm trying to get into that field now but its hard cause I'm either over qualified for the circulation jobs or under qualified for the higher jobs without my masters. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm in the same situation! |
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Post by elizabethland on Jan 25, 2013 9:58:53 GMT -5
Hey, I'm Beth. I'm currently interested in academic librarianship, where I'd like to work in information literacy. I think in this age of instant information access, information literacy skills have become even more important.
I live in Newport News, VA, but I work as a newspaper page designer in Suffolk, which means I've never worked a normal 9 to 5 job. Even when I worked at my undergraduate library, I mostly took the night shifts no one else wanted. Page design and copy editing jobs are usually 4 p.m. to midnight. Which is kind of why I'm such a coffee addict. I got into newspapers to help get people information, but I think teaching people how to access that information is even more important. That's why I'm switching careers.
I'm currently working on redesigning the two newspapers I design and creating a style guide for them. Then I will be on the hunt for library jobs. I'm really looking forward to moving on. Pursuing my MLS really makes me wish I was already working in the field!
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Post by justinthomas on Jan 25, 2013 12:07:02 GMT -5
Hey everyone great to see you all again. I have to say I noticed a lot of people here have worked in the library field before, which i kind of envy, since I'm trying to get into that field now but its hard cause I'm either over qualified for the circulation jobs or under qualified for the higher jobs without my masters. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm in the same situation! Well, there are plenty of people with master's degrees who work circulation (not just reference or administration, etc.); in my personal experience, I've mainly seen circulation jobs where they want you to have that master's degree, so I don't think you need to worry about being over-qualified. (Or maybe you are looking at libraries who hire employees?--i.e., people who do not have an MLS degree and have no plan of pursuing one either... That would be a different case, because they're trying to hire retail-ish sort of people to just be employees, and then they only have a few/handful of MLS people who they employ as librarians who are far above their regular employees who are only sort of retail service qualified, and they pay those "lower-rung" employees wages much closer to retail as well... You probably remember Andrea, Mary, and I discussing this last semester as a strategy that a lot of libraries have been forced to adopt because of reduced budgets.) But the good news is that a lot of those libraries where they only want to hire people with their MLS degrees are willing to hire people who are working towards getting their master's degree (maybe only part-time, but it's still better than nothing--in fact, it's rather difficult to get full-time library work anyway because there is so much competition in the field currently), so I would talk to them and let them know your goals. And it never hurts to volunteer at a library and show them your great work ethic and what not. (For instance, everyone at HCC's Library who works circulation has their master's degree--except me and this one other girl, but they hired us because we were both working towards getting our master's, and we were volunteers there first and they liked both of us so much... Neither of us was trying to get hired there, we were just putting in the time so that we could get nice recommendation letters later on when we applied to graduate school--but they really fell in love with both of us and ended up asking us both to interview, and now we both work 30 hours a week, or more if we're covering other people's shifts because they're sick or on leave or whatever.) |
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Post by justinthomas on Jan 25, 2013 12:34:49 GMT -5
I'm in the same situation! Well, there are plenty of people with master's degrees who work circulation (not just reference or administration, etc.); in my personal experience, I've mainly seen circulation jobs where they want you to have that master's degree, so I don't think you need to worry about being over-qualified. (Or maybe you are looking at libraries who hire employees?--i.e., people who do not have an MLS degree and have no plan of pursuing one either... That would be a different case, because they're trying to hire retail-ish sort of people to just be employees, and then they only have a few/handful of MLS people who they employ as librarians who are far above their regular employees who are only sort of retail service qualified, and they pay those "lower-rung" employees wages much closer to retail as well... You probably remember Andrea, Mary, and I discussing this last semester as a strategy that a lot of libraries have been forced to adopt because of reduced budgets.) But the good news is that a lot of those libraries where they only want to hire people with their MLS degrees are willing to hire people who are working towards getting their master's degree (maybe only part-time, but it's still better than nothing--in fact, it's rather difficult to get full-time library work anyway because there is so much competition in the field currently), so I would talk to them and let them know your goals. And it never hurts to volunteer at a library and show them your great work ethic and what not. (For instance, everyone at HCC's Library who works circulation has their master's degree--except me and this one other girl, but they hired us because we were both working towards getting our master's, and we were volunteers there first and they liked both of us so much... Neither of us was trying to get hired there, we were just putting in the time so that we could get nice recommendation letters later on when we applied to graduate school--but they really fell in love with both of us and ended up asking us both to interview, and now we both work 30 hours a week, or more if we're covering other people's shifts because they're sick or on leave or whatever.) I realized, I should add that the previously mentioned girl that I work with who is also working towards her MLS does actually very little circulation work (like, probably a fifth of her time per week is spent at the circulation desk, and that is primarily just to cover for someone to take their lunch or dinner break or something). The vast majority of her time is spent in the offices, processing new material and what not, because she is more introverted and prefers to work as little time at the circulation desk as they will let her. So I bring this up to say that there are all sorts of positions available to you if libraries know you are working towards getting your MLS (not just circulation, if that is something you're not into). |
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Post by jmessick on Jan 25, 2013 14:56:36 GMT -5
Hi!
My name is Julie Messick. I was born and raised in Salisbury, MD and I graduated from Salisbury University this past May with my Bachelors in History. I had been as the archival assistant at the Nabb Research Center and at Blackwell Library since 2009 but I am no longer at that position. I also wrote for a local newspaper for about a month until it went out of business. I am starting to write for a new magazine that is coming out that will feature all the cultural events here on the Eastern Shore and in Delaware. I am also doing some historical research on a hotel in Princess Anne for the new owners so they can apply for a grant.
My main focus of interest is archives and museums and also local history!
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Post by Mary Sanphilipo-Ward on Jan 25, 2013 15:48:03 GMT -5
Hi I'm Mary and I am a stay-at-home/homeschool mom or at least I was until my husband left. I'm now trying to re-enter the workforce after a 17 year absence. I have 2 kids (ages 17 & 22), my son is in college at U of Baltimore (video games design) & my daughter, who is finishing homeschooling this year. She will be at HCC starting in the Fall. Nothing like having 3 college bills at once!
I am an archaeologist by training, a researcher at heart & the family genealogist due to my own insanity. I am not currently working but am desperately wanting something soon. My ideal position would have to have relatively flexible hours as I have to be available as transportation for my son. He has a brain tumor which causes seizures and can't drive. I would love to work with other people who are doing their family history because I never get tired of seeing their faces light up when they find something. I have never worked in a library though my house looks like one.
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Post by s2teennovelist on Jan 25, 2013 17:00:51 GMT -5
Wow, thanks Justin, thanks everyone ^-^ guess that means I'm right where I should be. Not that I mind, I've gotten a few interviews this week and hope for more next week.
But thanks for the feedbaxk everyone ^-^
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Post by Esther on Jan 25, 2013 18:27:48 GMT -5
Hi, my name is Esther Ojuri. I live in Maryland and work at a law firm in D.C. I went to to undergraduate school in Upstate New York. I've worked as a library assistant in libraries for a few years and took a job as an assistant librarian nearly 2 years ago. This is my first IT class, so I'm very excited. In my spare time, I like watching movies and cooking.
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Post by justinthomas on Jan 25, 2013 20:34:01 GMT -5
Wow, thanks Justin, thanks everyone ^-^ guess that means I'm right where I should be. Not that I mind, I've gotten a few interviews this week and hope for more next week. But thanks for the feedbaxk everyone ^-^ No problem. Hopefully you hear back from some of the people who interview you. Good luck! |
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Post by andreab on Jan 26, 2013 9:45:47 GMT -5
Hey everyone great to see you all again. I have to say I noticed a lot of people here have worked in the library field before, which i kind of envy, since I'm trying to get into that field now but its hard cause I'm either over qualified for the circulation jobs or under qualified for the higher jobs without my masters. Does anyone have any suggestions? As a director - I would say address it both in your cover letter and in any interview. Let them know that you understand that you may be overqualified, and that they may be concerned that you are simply looking for an "inbetween" position. Assure them that if they take the risk of bringing you on board and training you, that they are getting a big bang for their buck - so to speak. Not only an interested, motivated circ staff member but also someone who could fill in at service desks, would be glad to learn processing, etc. Sell yourself and your overqualified resume. Make that your strength. I would be very impressed with someone who did that. |
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Post by s2teennovelist on Jan 26, 2013 14:44:30 GMT -5
Thanks for the advice Andrea, you know i actually DID state those in the cover letters i sent, however, what i think happened is that since the applications all go to the main center in towson first and then to the libraries the cover-letters that I write in the e-mails got loss. so what i'm gonna do is print a copy of the cover-letters i wrote for each position and take them with me to the interview.
Thanks for the advice Andrea. I'll do that. At the end of the day its the experience I want and I know I'd be better for the position than a high school student. Thanks everyone!
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Post by vsmith15 on Feb 3, 2013 19:02:15 GMT -5
Hi, I'm Victoria. So good to hear from everybody again. I live and work in Annapolis but am originally from New York. I'm not sure what I am going to do with this degree so I'm just trying to absorb as much as I can and keep my options open. Most of my career has been spent as an administrator in higher Ed; a field that I just happened to fall into. Like everyone here I imagine, I love to read. Also am a runner and will play just about any sport. My desert island book is "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and food would be pizza, with chocolate as a close second.
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