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I want to write about Career Advancement! What to Expect During the Public Library Management InterviewBy Robin ShaderInterviews can be scary, especially at the Administrative level. I recently accepted my first administrative post after an 18-month, eight-interview search, and was surprised by some of the interview approaches. This article describes my experiences and provides some advice to help others prepare for the library management interview. MORE
I want to write about Certification! ALA-APA Now Accepting Course Proposals for Library Support Staff Certification Program (LSSC)On October 1, 2009, ALA-APA will begin accepting applications from education providers interested in offering courses for candidates in the Library Support Staff Certificate Program (LSSC). The LSSC is the first national, voluntary certification program for library support staff. Course providers may be organizations or individuals with the expertise, training and resources to offer courses online or face-to-face. The ten competency sets for which courses are needed are in the areas of foundations of library services, technology, communication and teamwork, access services, adult readers advisory, cataloging and classification, collection management, reference, supervision and management, and youth services. MORE
I want to write about HR Practice! Understanding How Your Brand Impacts Your BusinessBy Julius Rhodes, SPHRWho determines your organization’s brand? If you don’t know, it isn’t you. “Brand” has many definitions (many of them narrow and legal), but among those definitions, “brand” is the distinguishing attribute(s) by which your potential customers—or patrons—identify you. If an organization’s relationship with its brand is reactive, that organization forfeits to others all control of its identity. Because your brand distinguishes your products and services from those of your competitors, it is crucial that you take charge of the way others see you. And successful branding begins first among your internal customers—your organization’s employees. As we consider the importance of understanding your brand and the impact on your business, I want you to keep this thought in mind: you cannot build the brand of your organization without first building the brand of the people that represent your organization. MORE
I want to write about Salaries! Unionization Pays, Says New StudyUnionized Post-Secondary Institutions Devote More Budget to Library SalariesA study published in the October 2009 Library Quarterly, Who Benefits? Unionization and Academic Libraries and Librarians, examines whether there is a difference between unionized and nonunionized academic libraries on a selection of staffing and financial characteristics. It also explored whether users, the library and librarians themselves are better off in a unionized situation. Author Rachel Applegate surveyed 1,904 institutions (334 unionized) representing an incomplete census, not a sample, of U.S. postsecondary institutions. Of the institutions surveyed, 58 percent were public; 40 percent were private, not-for-profit; and 2 percent were private for-profit. The study excluded specialized, small or unaccredited libraries, and libraries with one or no librarian. MORE
I want to write about Statistics! Number Employed in LibrariesALA Library Fact Sheet 2The library work force includes librarians and other professionals, paraprofessionals, clerical and technical personnel. Statistics are not available for each category of personnel in each type of library. Instead this fact sheet summarizes the latest available statistics on the two major categories—librarians and other professionals, and other paid staff—in the three types of libraries for which reliable national figures are available from National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). MORE
I want to write about Support Staff! Non-Degreed Library Staff Take On Traditional MLS Duties, Says Library Journal SurveyResults of a 2009 Library Journal hiring practices survey indicate that the job descriptions of non-MLS library employees are shifting to encompass duties traditionally performed by MLS-degreed librarians. The June 2009 LJ article, “MLS: Hire Ground,” explores the effect of this trend on libraries’ core functions, reference, collection and branch management. It also discusses the debate over deprofessionalization. MORE
I want to write about Work/Life! Cleaning Up AppearancesImproving Your Professional Image with a Desktop MakeoverBy Cheryl TeresiWhat does your desk say about you? Does it say comfortable? All business? Sloppy, professional, friendly? Let’s take a look. Library people really like stuff . . . especially office supplies! We covet pens, pencils, paper, pads, (particularly if it is a pad with a spiral binding or tabs) and post-its of every size and color. Just writing about this is making my heart race!! MORE 50 E. Huron St. Telephone:
Editors: Jenifer Grady, Jamie Bragg
Index of all articles from volume 1, no. 1, though volume 6, no. 9.
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Copyright 2004–2009 ALA-APA. Contact Jenifer Grady, 50 E. Huron, Chicago, IL 60611, 312-280-2424, jgrady@ala.org for more information. |
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In these tough economic times, I hear more and more about strategies that libraries are exploring to make the most of their limited resources. Maximizing resources seems to be a hot topic for articles, conferences and blogs. Advice ranges across a wide variety of areas, and much of it is useful. However, I have not seen advice regarding a very common phenomenon in libraries—a phenomenon that, if addressed, could save libraries thousands of dollars a year.