Job Skills Required for New Librarians

The After-Dark Lecture Series had our first panel discussion of they year regarding a very important topic for students in our program. The panel topic for the evening was on job skills required for new librarians in the workforce. The program was a huge success. Our speakers included Jacqueline Rose (Polk County Senior Coordinator of Library Media Services), Jessica Riggins (Immediate Past President SIS), Susan Oliver (Chief Librarian Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library), and Susan Ariew (USF Tampa Campus Librarian). The panel gave a brief overview of their background and how they ended up in their current position. They also spoke about different characteristics libraries look for in candidates including experience, leadership, and energy. The four librarians took questions from the assembled students on topics like giving references and salary negotiations. All of the panelists agreed on the tough environment for finding an available job in the current economy. They did mention the value of volunteering or work study in getting an advantage over other candidates.

Approximately 35 students attended the program. This was the highest number of students who have attended our After-Dark Lecture Series. Students who are members of the student organizations can hear a recorded version of the discussion on Blackboard in the Student Organizations section in Elluminate.

Our next after dark lecture speaker is Betsy King from CAE USA Inc.  She will give a brief overview of her career and job duties in a training center for cargo aircraft. This is a great opportunity for librarians wanting to learn more about a career in special libraries. RSVP required for this event. More information is available via our Facebook page and our website. 

 

What did you get out of the panel discussion?

 

Filed under: Jobs, Professional Organizations, USF Libraries

Charlie Parker from TBLC to speak at Brown Bag!

Hello everyone,

Those of you who went to FLA last week may have run into this week’s speaker, Charlie Parker.  Mr. Parker is the director of the Tampa Bay Library Consortium and is very active in FLA as well.  Please come join us Wednesday April 14th in CIS 2020 from 1-2 pm!

Brown Bags are wonderful, informal opportunities for networking and education.  If you are interested in public librarianship or have questions on library consortia, don’t miss this week’s Brown Bag!

Missed our other amazing speakers?  Go to http://aiuliano.myweb.usf.edu/brownbag.html to download mp3s of previous Brown Bag sessions!

And don’t miss next week’s speaker, Jamie Hansen from USF Tampa Library’s Special Collections.  She will be showing us unique, historic items from the collections.  If you are interested in Special Libraries, archives or cataloging, you can’t afford to miss it!

As always, feel free to email me with any questions or speaker requests.

Thank you!

Ava Iuliano

Filed under: Education, Jobs

Presenting for FLA? Need Practice?

Hello everyone,

Next week’s Brown Bag (March 31st) will feature Bill Harris, who will be sharing his FLA presentation with us.

I wanted to encourage those of you who are presenting at FLA or any other conferences to consider presenting before Brown Bag as practice.  It is a great way to get good feedback in a friendly environment!  Please email me directly if you are interested!

Thanks!

Ava Iuliano
aiuliano@mail.usf.edu

Filed under: Conferences, Education, Jobs

Meet the president

Ryan Davis, current GAU president

Ryan Davis is the current president of the USF GAU (Graduate Assistants Union). But you’d be well-advised to get to know him this year. He’ll be graduating out of the union in May.

At a GAU membership meeting on Monday, September 21, 2009, matters discussed included Florida residency, student fees, parking and health coverage (they increased in cost 14% this year).

Some things to consider (did you know?):

Rutgers, the State University of NJ covers 100% of both fees and tuition for graduate assistants (USF covers 0% of fees and only 80% of tuition). Also, Rutgers pays 100% of health coverage for grad assistants AND pays them an additional $4,000 per year in salary.

25% of the classes at USF are taught by graduate students but they must hunt and peck for parking with undergraduate students and are not permitted to park in faculty parking areas.

For communication and information, USF GAU maintains a Facebook page which is available for both scrutiny and membership by any Facebook user.

You might consider union membership something you’d do for all your fellow union members (to watch each other’s backs). If you want people to watch your back, then you join in watching the backs of others.

And this might be an opportune moment to remind everybody of Professor de la Pena McCook’s Union Librarian blog.

AB

Filed under: Education, Jobs, Professional Organizations

Local Media Center Wins Award

Sand Pine Elementary in Wesley Chapel, Florida (Pasco County) was recognized by the Florida Association for Media in Education as one of 26 to meet its highest standards. She gives some good points on technology use and working with the school’s teachers. The article gives some background information about the role of a media specialist.

Read more about the article here.

Filed under: Education, Jobs, Bill Harris, Media Center, Media Specialist, Sand Pine Elementary

Health Sciences Library Paid Internship

The Shimberg Library is advertising for currently enrolled Library Science students who are looking for reference desk experience in a health sciences library. They are opening this to as many as 3 students.

The student will:

• work at the reference desk and have the opportunity to learn the reference interview process.
• interact with students, staff, and faculty of USF Health, the professional community of the Tampa Bay area, and the general public served by the Shimberg Library.
• be trained in the use of the primary resources of the library, both online and print.
• be mentored by a professional librarian and, when working at the reference desk, will be assigned to a librarian for backup and consultation.

Hours are flexible, not to exceed 10 per week, Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm. Previous library experience or background in the health sciences is not required. This is a paid internship, not a graduate assistantship program.

They would like to start this program in September, 2009, so apply as soon as possible.

Please submit a resume to Danny O’Neal at doneal@healthlib.usf.edu

Danny O’Neal, MA, AHIP
Assistant Director of Information and Outreach Services Shimberg Health Sciences Library University of South Florida
12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MDC-31
Tampa, FL 33612-4799
(813) 974-8884 phone
(813) 974-4930 fax

Filed under: Jobs, Health Science Libraries, Posted by: Leslie Trinkle

Getting a job in a tough economy

An ALA toolkit to help with your job search.

“The ‘Getting a Job in a Tough Economy’ toolkit is an interactive website with tips, narrative and suggested links and readings, comments, podcasts, and activities/checklists for new librarians and support staff, those looking to change position, people who have been laid off, and others who are having difficulty finding the right position.”

Filed under: Jobs

NASA Needs your help, Librarians!

NASA is seeking information and recommendations on how to catalog the typed and written notes of Wernher von Braun, the famous physicist.  They recently released a “Request for Information” that details their project:

WASHINGTON — On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the historic first moon landing, NASA is seeking ideas from the public, academia, and industry about how to analyze and catalog notes from spaceflight pioneer Wernher von Braun into an electronic, searchable database or other system.

Von Braun was the first director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and a key figure in the development of the Saturn V rocket and NASA’s Apollo program. NASA has a full collection of “Weekly Notes” von Braun wrote during the 1960s and 1970s. These notes were used to track programmatic and institutional issues at Marshall, and are considered by many historians to be a valuable source of data.

NASA has issued a request for information and is looking for concepts that will provide an innovative resource for agency engineers and scientists, as well as researchers in academia and industry.

How about we librarians come up with a recommendation??  Anyone up for it?  Cape Canaveral is only a few hours away, so this project is in our backyard.

The announcement can be viewed here: http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/jun/HQ_M09-115_Von_Braun.html

More information and the RFI form can be viewed here: http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/somd/home/von_Braun_RFI.html

Filed under: Education, Jobs, cataloging, Posted by: Leslie Trinkle, science libraries

Research Library Internship Opportunity

There is an opening for a “Research Library Internship” in Gainesville.  According to their website, Naylor, LLC is a media research and advertising company.  Their website is located at http://www.naylor.com/.

Naylor, LLC
5950 NW 1st Place
Gainesville, FL, 32607
Tel (800) 369-6220 Fax (352) 331-3525

Job Description:

SUMMARY

The Research Library Internship provides the opportunity for students to gain knowledge and experience working in a media company library. Interns will work directly with the Marketing and Research department to maintain the research library which is used by employees throughout the company. Internships are available summer, fall and spring semesters. Naylor, LLC is North America’s leading provider of business-to-business media solutions for trade and professional associations.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Maintain the research library by cataloguing new publications, maintaining check-in/check-out desk, as well as organizing and filing publications.
• Review circulation of subscriptions when up for renewal for renewal recommendation
• Work with the Marketing Manager on subscription budget for the department to analyze and develop recommendations to determine whether or not a subscription should be renewed.
• Provide suggestions for improved efficiencies to research library and implement efficiencies
• Responsible for distribution of weekly publication shipments for internal and remote office employees.
• Conduct research to identify potential publications and media to improve the selection of offerings in the library.
• Assist Sales Associates with the functional aspects of the library including finding sales leads and researching industries.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Students entering sophomore, junior or senior year of a higher learning institution.
• Library sciences, English, Liberal Arts or related majors are preferred.
• Strong time-management skills.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Proficiency in a variety of computer software programs such as Microsoft Word, Outlook and Excel proficiency in conducting Internet searches with a variety of search engines.
• Ability to sit at a computer for long periods of time.

EOE M/F/D/V

This may be an interesting fieldwork experience for a special library focused student.  The job announcement is available HERE, or at https://www4.recruitingcenter.net/Clients/naylor/PublicJobs/controller.cfm?jbaction=JobProfile&Job_Id=10347&esid=az

Filed under: Jobs, Internships, Job Opportunities, Posted by: Leslie Trinkle

Jobs Links

There are some handy links for job-hunters in the right-hand column. If there are some sites you think should be added leave the URL in the comments. Thanks!

Filed under: Jobs