1. Librarians in the 21st Century:
Designing a Career Strategy for
Evolving Roles and Opportunities
Lisa Chow | Sandra Sajonas
April 18, 2014
SLA@Pratt Skill Share
http://bit.ly/peopleinteract

2. Objectives
1. Participants will receive an overview of new and
evolving roles of librarians.
2. Participants will conduct an individualized career
analysis.
3. Participants will be equipped with practical career
strategies for keeping their skills current with the shifting
profession.

3. We surveyed 10 leaders in the library world...
Consultant
Digital resource librarian
Academic librarians
Outreach librarian
Legal librarian
Children’s librarian
Reference librarian
Research librarian
Instructional librarian

4. We reviewed professional literature...

5. We reviewed LIS curricula and
accreditation standards...

6. We attended events, presentations,
meetings, discussions and webinars...

7. Trends
● Think micro-careers. The modern information career will be
made up of micro-careers.
● There is no box. Information professionals are doing work
outside of traditional spaces, titles, responsibilities, etc.
● Think tech. The profession and information is going
online/digital/electronic.
● Be a part of the team. The information professional works
collaboratively.

9. Self Assessment Activity
SWOT Goals - 1, 2, 5 year goals

10. People
Professional Brand &
Online Presence
Keep learning
Career Strategy

11. Find colleagues to share & bounce off ideas.
Have a partner-in-crime.
Get to know your fellow librarians/students.
Find a mentor or two.
Be a mentor.
CONNECT WITH PEOPLE

12. Find opportunities to
publish and present
GET YOUR NAME OUT THERE

13. HAVE AN ONLINE PRESENCE

14. Attend cheap/free events, unconferences,
trainings and meetups.
Attend national & local conferences.
Organize your own event.
GET OUT THERE

15. Apply to various library programs & initiatives.
Get involved with local and national
associations & groups.
GET INVOLVED

16. Keep up with library land
(and the world).
influencers, listservs, blogs, LinkedIn, Google
Alerts, LIS Trends
KEEP UPDATED

17. KEEP LEARNING
● MOOCs (Massive online open
courses)
● Continuing education
● Volunteer/internships
● Informational interviews
● Ask colleagues to show you
what they know about a topic or
software/tool of interest
● Books, videos (YouTube,
Vimeo), podcasts, the usual...

18. JOB BROWSE & JOB SEARCH

19. Be creative with your name tag
GO BEYOND YOUR JOB TITLE

20. CREATE BUSINESS CARDS
Vistaprint
Moo cards
Local print shop
Print your own on-demand

21. Update your resume/CV regularly.
Have your business card handy.
BE PREPARED
BE OPEN

22. Propose ideas, start projects, see what happens.
TAKE THE INITIATIVE

23. Make it a SMART Goal
Write down 1 goal for each
career strategy area that you
are going to work on.
People:
Professional brand & online
presence:
Keep learning:

24. STEP OUT OF YOUR
COMFORT ZONE
Take 1 step towards 1 SMART goal

25. Resources
Publish & Present:
Woodhead & Chandos publishing - http://www.woodheadpublishing.com
Information Today - http://books.infotoday.com
Keep Updated:
ALA Mailing Lists - http://lists.ala.org/sympa
Library Link of the Day - http://www.tk421.net/librarylink
LIS Trends - http://listrends.blogspot.com
Slashdot - http://slashdot.org
LibGuides - http://libguides.com
Career:
LISCareer - http://www.liscareer.com
Library Job Postings - http://www.libraryjobpostings.org
I Need a Library Job - http://inalj.com
LinkedIn's Job Seekers webinars - http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/29245941
Alternative LIS Job Titles - http://www.infonista.com/2013/alternative-lis-job-titles-2
Free Courses - http://librarysciencelist.com/free-online-courses-for-librarians
IFLA New Professionals Special Interest Group - http://npsig.wordpress.
com/webinars

27. Presentation slides and resources: http://peopleinteract.
wordpress.com/blog
Email: peopleinteractconsulting@gmail.com
People Interact
~ It's about people.
Questions?
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