Emerging Leaders 2017

March 1, 2017

Initiated in 1997 as a one-year program under former ALA President Mary R. Somerville and revived in 2006 under former ALA President Leslie Burger, Emerging Leaders recognizes the best and brightest new leaders in our industry. It’s open to librarians new to the library profession of any age with fewer than five years of experience … Continue reading Emerging Leaders 2017


Librarian's Library: Karen Muller

Developing New Skills

January 3, 2017

Let’s start with raising money. The first set of chapters in 40+ New Revenue Sources for Libraries and Nonprofits, by Edmund A. Rossman III, lays the foundation for specific discussions about sources. Rossman covers why libraries might need more than what their traditional funding bases offer, which for public libraries is 85%–90% local, and how … Continue reading Developing New Skills


Meredith Farkas

A Learning Organization

March 1, 2016

There is no one working in a library who wouldn’t benefit from continuous learning. At some institutions, only those in professional positions are granted time and money for professional development. This not only creates an uncomfortable divide between colleagues, it also suggests that only professionals really need to learn on the job. This couldn’t be … Continue reading A Learning Organization


Emerging Leaders Class of 2016

Emerging Leaders 2016

March 1, 2016

Initiated in 1997 as a one-year program under former ALA President Mary R. Somerville and revived in 2006 under former ALA President Leslie Burger, Emerging Leaders recognizes the best and brightest new leaders in our industry. It’s open to librarians under 35 years of age or those new to the library profession of any age … Continue reading Emerging Leaders 2016


Karen Muller

Aiding Student Research

January 4, 2016

One of my children received this as a holiday gift: The Student’s Survival Guide to Research, by Monty L. McAdoo. This very readable guide instructs on the methodology of research, from choosing a topic to planning and doing research to producing the final product. McAdoo stresses the iterative nature of the process and introduces related … Continue reading Aiding Student Research


Dale McNeill, Tiffany Allen, and Elisa Topper at the "Art of Asking: Salary Negotiation for Library Workers" panel.

How to Ask for More: Tips on Salary Negotiation and Beyond

June 28, 2015

The session featured three other speakers: Dale McNeill, assistant director of public services, San Antonio Public Library; Elisa Topper, director, McCook (Ill.) Public Library; and Tiffany Allen, director of library human resources, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. To begin, each panelist offered quick tips for salary and benefits negotiation, and then Geraci directed … Continue reading How to Ask for More: Tips on Salary Negotiation and Beyond


Résumés

Want to Get Hired?

June 28, 2015

The one-hour, standing-room-only program—titled “The Key to Getting Interviews: Great Cover Letters and Résumés”—was led by ALA Human Resources director Dan Hoppe, who has received thousands of résumés and cover letters over the course of his 18-year HR career. A cover letter, he says, is a “call to action” and should be tailored to the … Continue reading Want to Get Hired?




Virginia Sanchez, librarian at Yosemite National Park, poses with a flag from the University of Arizona, her alma mater.

The Bohemian Librarian

April 6, 2015

It’s not at all what she envisioned herself doing while in library school in Arizona, but she’s thrilled at this new slant on librarianship. Sanchez is among the growing group of MLIS grads using their degrees as passports to an array of fascinating jobs available outside the tradi­tional library setting. They’re flying to exotic places … Continue reading The Bohemian Librarian


A Career of Our Own

A Career of Our Own

March 9, 2015

The second-wave feminism movement from the mid-20th century opened doors for women in educational and career advancement, particularly in academia, thanks in large part to Title IX legislation that prohibited discrimination at higher educational institutions. In 1972, the year Title IX was implemented, women held only 4.6% of high-level administrative positions at research libraries. By … Continue reading A Career of Our Own


Kristen Totleben and Kathryn Deiss

Learning Together

January 29, 2015

Block said that by focusing on our abundances (gifts we have and contribute) rather than our deficits (what we lack), we could have a relationship based on “enoughness,” the idea that what we have is enough to sustain our relationship and reach our goals. Inspired by Block’s ideas, we committed to changing our relationship to … Continue reading Learning Together