Job Prospects, Salary Expectations in 2011

If you're thinking about getting an LIS degree, it's a good idea to know what the job market is like, and Library Journal provides an annual survey to help you weigh your options.

The latest placements and salaries survey is sobering, but not all bad news. It's tough to get library jobs, but it's not quite as tough as it is in general. There are jobs for LIS grads in unexpected places - and developing skill sets through internships and volunteer opportunities can help.

Read what recent grads have to say and check out the data in the full report. 

A Couple of Links

Oh my, we need to blow the dust off this blog. Here are a couple of interesting links, hot off the interwebz.

Someone decided to compile sample cover letters by librarians who were successful in their job search. The site desgner says "a cover letter is your opportunity to tell your story with much more effect than that of a resume. Think of all the other recent grads competing with you for the same position. You need to stand out, and the cover letter is an opportunity to make your case and get the interview." Also worth noting: these are for inspiration, not for copying. "Every position and every person is unique. The product of both should be a unique cover letter that explains why an individual is the best fit for a position." Still, it's good to have models.

Second, there's a report from Oxford University Press on librarians since 1880 based on census data. There was a steep growth in librarian jobs from 1950 to 1990. The analysis suggests that the dropoff since then in librarian positions, particularly from 1990 to 2000, is due to changes in technology, but my guess is that it's more complicated than that. In any case, it's an interesting report, if not particularly cheery news for anyone entering the profession since 1990! (Does it help that the rate of loss has slowed? No, I didn't think so.)

What LIS Students Should Know

This is awesome advice from Jill Hurst-Wahl - things to do to be ready for the job search, including making yourself findable online, having opinions about issues in the field, and presenting yourself professionally.

Good Heavens, Is it Really May?

This blog has been quiet lately, mostly because life is full of pressing deadlines and sadly, this blog is too modest and self-effacing to have deadlines. It should be more assertive with its authors. Typical Minnesotan.

But this post about applying for library positions by Meredith Farkas is a must-read if you are thinking about life post-graduate school. It offers good, sensible, and important advice to job-seekers, and unfortunately as this is a very difficult time to find employment in libraries, it's advice to take very seriously.

And so is the advice of Dorothea Salo, who begs us not to make her "go for her stompy boots" by writing a bad cover letter. If you can't write a clear, focused, well-researched letter, you're in the wrong line of work. She also shows how search committees work - and how they narrow their pool of applicants.

You can do it. Just be sure to put your best self forward.

Roots and Routes

There's an interesting Wiki project on the interwebs that pulls together people's stories about how they became librarians and how their careers have evolved. This might be worth browsing - or adding to as you find your way into the profession.

Meanwhile, because it's the season, here's a bit of cheer from some clever librarians at Loyola Marymount. The whole Flickr set is a hoot. The tree is built from a massive set of volumes, the National Union Catalog of Pre-1956 Imprints.

Permission to Read Granted

This sounds like a challenge I could get into. A graduate student in library school has declared December 20th "Do Nothing But Read" day. You can read all about it on her blog. Or in local media - she got into the newspaper and on the radio for her radical suggestion.

Here are the requirements:
-you must read more than one book (they can be short, and short stories count!)
-comfy clothing (jammies preferable)
-no shoes (slippers are ok)
-mugs of beverages and snacks

Optional:
-sleepy cat(s)
-blankies

I think I might just be able to sacrifice and take a stab at this one....

Why Do We Need Libraries? Go!

Feral Librarian has a quartet of handy answers should you have to quickly respond to the challenge, "in the age of the Internet, why do we need libraries?" Hat tip to Jenna for the link.