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BL PEOPLE MAKE LIBRARIES
23,4
In the beginning . . .
Stephanie Walker
222 Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Accepted October 2010
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a first installment of a new column on human
resource matters in libraries. It aims to focus on the beginning of a professional career in libraries.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper looks at beginning a professional career in libraries,
including exhibiting appropriate behavior and caution on professional discussion lists, understanding
the realities of a difficult job market and utilizing opportunities for part-time work and for professional
´ ´
development, highlighting exceptional attributes on a resume, and doing research on hiring
institutions.
Findings – The paper reveals advice for beginning a career in libraries.
Originality/value – The paper provides useful information for those who want to pursue a career as
a librarian.
Keywords Librarians, Career development
Paper type Viewpoint
Welcome, everyone. This is my inaugural column on HR/Personnel/Workforce (choose
your terminology) Matters in Libraries. I think of those terms in capital letters, for a
reason – because I strongly believe that yes, people make libraries; hence the title of
this column. (The subtitle comes from the beginning of the column, and the beginning
of one’s career in libraries, which I will be discussing.) We are all used to seeing a large
volume of statistics in our profession. We count volumes in collections, journal titles,
e-book titles, e-resource usage, and much more. Many of us also assess the
effectiveness of instruction, the usability of web sites, and other things. We do count
people, but often, those tend to be somewhat bald numbers – the number of faculty
positions in academic libraries, the number of “professional staff”, the number of
part-time vs full-time positions, and so on. And yet, it seems to me, as a long-time
manager, that we as a profession do not do a whole lot of talking about something that
is one of the most difficult tasks in management – managing people, and doing it well.
There are so many aspects to this, and it is the hardest thing I know – the most
difficult part of any job – because people, well, they are people. They are not numbers,
or statistics, or budgets, or lines. They bring their various talents, skills, quirks,
strengths, weaknesses, eccentricities, passions, dreams, and personalities with them to
work, at least to some extent – because however professional people may be, it is
impossible to check everything that you are at the door. You cannot be a robot – and
The Bottom Line: Managing Library no good manager should expect that. Fostering leadership, fostering professional
Finances development and growth, helping an employee to become stronger in various areas,
Vol. 23 No. 4, 2010
pp. 222-226 arbitrating disputes, having “difficult” conversations to deal with problems, and
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0888-045X
getting people to get along with people they would not necessarily have chosen as
DOI 10.1108/08880451011104072 colleagues, so that the whole organization runs well, is not easy! And these are skills

2. that are critical for all. Non-managers, as well as managers, can benefit from learning In the
about the “people” parts of the job. They can learn to work with those they find beginning . . .
challenging, to provide services to challenging patrons and to find ways to ease the
problems – hopefully all without incurring blood pressure spikes!
In terms of the work environment, I would argue that the people, above anything
else, have more to do with how you feel about your job. If the work environment is
relatively harmonious, if people are on the same page and support each other and the 223
overall mission of their organization, if people will fill in for each other and can trust
each other, if people feel supported by their managers – that is a good work
environment. You can put up with a smaller book budget more easily than you can put
up with a hostile work environment. Because no matter what, no matter all the
collections, services, hours, statistics, computers, scanners, laptop loan programs, or
whatever else we count - well, it is the people who provide the services, deal with the
patrons, and who put their time, and sometimes their hearts and souls, into their jobs
every day. And so, yes, along with the resources, services, buildings, and everything
else – People Make Libraries.
So where to begin, with so many possible topics? Let’s begin at what, for many of
us, is more or less the beginning of our professional career as librarians and
information professionals – with our first job search. Times are very difficult right
now, and for those of you who have been following electronic list discussions, blogs,
and other venues where such things are discussed, you are undoubtedly well aware
that there is a great deal of frustration out there. Many new librarians are angry and
disappointed at the lack of jobs out there, and some feel that they have been misled, or
that a rosier picture was painted than turned out to be the case. There are new
graduates who feel they have done everything right – they have networked,
volunteered, worked part-time jobs, and participated in the profession, only to find that
´ ´
they are sending resumes into what feels like a black hole. They may have been told
that librarianship is a graying profession, and that there will be a wave of upcoming
retirements – and yet they do not see jobs opening up. So what to do?
From the perspective of someone who has been on both sides of the hiring equation
– a lot – I have a few thoughts to offer. I do not claim to be the “last word”, and I realize
that others may have other opinions and thoughts – but I do have a lot of experience in
this, and I have seen many, many mistakes (and made enough of my own over the
years). So, with that caveat, please take these thoughts as one person’s views and
experience.
First, although I know it is incredibly difficult, try to avoid getting an angry
attitude – or at least try to tamp it down when having discussions with others in your
profession, whether in an interview situation or not. Expressing fury at the idiocy of
those who do not realize your potential will not help you. Indeed, it will probably
submarine your chances of getting other positions. You may not realize it, but the
library profession is, despite its size, much like a small town – everyone knows at least
a little something about everyone else, or knows someone who knows someone who
knows you. Six degrees of separation? Ha! Not likely – more like two or three. It is a
very small, tight knit world – and if you give the impression of being a potential bull in
a china shop, you are operating at a serious disadvantage. Also, many library
environments are unionized, and many academic library environments also have the
issue of tenure. When we are interviewing you for a job, we may well be interviewing

3. BL you for a job where, if you do not work out, it may be very, very difficult to get rid of
23,4 you. Even if faculty are denied tenure or reappointment, there is always the possibility
of filing a successful grievance. So if the profession seems very cautious, there are
reasons for it. We may have to work with you for the rest of our working lives – we
want to be sure you are the right choice. In a discussion on a mailing list, I once saw a
new librarian begin quite literally attacking all her prospective professional colleagues
224 as out-of-date, frightened mice who were just intimidated by her and who should all
retire and get out of her way; I wondered if she realized that she had probably just
completely blown her chances of finding a job, by insulting several thousand people
who, if they did not make hiring decisions themselves, might well have input. We all
understand the frustration of new graduates – most of us struggled ourselves.
Second (and this is somewhat discouraging) – realize that the situation, bad as it is
right now, is not really new. Library hiring has gone through boom and bust cycles,
but it seems that most of the time, things are tight. We are rarely “flush” as a
profession, even when times are fairly good. Over 15 years ago, it took me 2.5 years of
working part-time, temporary, and contract jobs, and working part-time in libraries
while working full-time in related IT jobs, to find my first full-time professional
position. It was a six-month contract, replacing someone on sick leave, which turned
into a long-term sick leave replacement of a further two years, and only then became
permanent. So it took me a full five years from the time I graduated library school
before I had a full-time permanent professional library position. I graduated in 1995; it
was 2000 before my position was permanent. And times were supposedly better then.
Yes, we have all heard that the profession is graying, and jobs will be opening up. It
seems to many like this is untrue, because many positions are going unfilled, and
people are constantly being asked to do “more with less”. As well, many people who
would like to retire cannot afford to do so. But we are starting to see some movement.
There are some retirements, but many of these are in senior or middle management
positions. If you look at the job advertisements, there seem to be plenty of openings for
chief librarians or middle managers, and very few for new graduates or people seeking
entry-level jobs. This is not terribly comforting – it means it will remain difficult to get
one’s first professional position. But there is a bit of domino movement – some of the
middle management positions are being filled by people moving up, and there are some
openings slowly being created. In the meantime, you need to stay in the profession and
stay current. Trying to get one’s first professional position is an exercise in extreme
patience, persistence, and luck – do anything you have to do to make money and keep
body and soul together, but in addition, try to stay working part-time in a library. Then
when there are openings, you will still be in a good position to step in.
Also, take advantage of any learning opportunities that come your way. If you are
working part-time in a library, and they offer courses or workshops or seminars to
their staff, try to take them. Sign up to learn whatever you can. You never know when
something can help. I am in an academic library, and we run a series of database
workshops as well as extensive software training, all of it free; many of our part-time
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librarians take advantage of these. Keep putting these on your resume. You never
know what will click. As well, although you may well need to be very persistent in
chasing your dream (like hanging on to a part-time academic library job for years while
working in other areas, if you want to be an academic librarian), try to keep an open
mind. If you cannot get your dream job, or a job in your dream organization, right

4. away, try to build your skills in other positions, positions that have some relevance to In the
information management. In my own case, years of working as a database manager or beginning . . .
technical support specialist actually helped me to get my first full-time academic
library job: I came upon a small academic library that was still largely not automated,
´ ´
and they needed someone to automate the library. My resume, with a lot of part-time
academic reference work and a separate page listing “Computer skills,” stood out from
the pack at the time. Also, the job was in a health sciences library, and while I had 225
dropped science in grade 12 in high school, I had taken a course in health librarianship
and I had worked as a database manager for a non-profit organization that gathered
statistics and managed databases of health information, such as the success rates of
organ transplants. It was enough – and thus began nearly seven very happy years. So
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build your resume, and if what you have is related, but not exactly what a certain
advertisement calls for, then stress the related aspects. It is up to you to explain to the
hiring managers how your experience fits their needs.
´ ´
While we are on the topic of resumes, I would like to offer a tip or two. Aside from
´ ´
the usual advice to customize your resume and cover letter for each position, I also
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recommend that you try to look at your resume as if you were the person doing the
hiring. Stop thinking about what you are most proud of – and look at what the job
requires, and what would set you apart from all the other applicants. Long ago, I
´ ´
taught resume writing, and a colleague of mine, looking for his first professional
librarian job, approached me. He was not getting any interviews, and he could not
understand it. He had been working for five years as an IT manager, but this was
´ ´
buried in his resume. Right up at the top, he highlighted, in big bold letters, the fact that
he had an MLS, as well as a degree in Classics. He also put in all kinds of information
about classes he had taken. I looked at it and asked him why he highlighted his MLS,
and he said “I’m proud of it.” My answer? That is all well and good, but really – so
what! The MLS did nothing to set him apart from the 200 other applicants for any
given position – the MLS was the basic criterion of qualification. Every single
applicant would have that! I told him to put the degrees in, of course, but to pull his
outstanding technological qualifications forward, even if he was not applying for a
systems librarian job. It was 1997, and librarians with stellar technology skills were
exceedingly rare. He was slightly miffed, as he wanted to show people what he was
proud of, and wanted them to appreciate all the work that had gone into his MLS and
´ ´
his Classics degree. But he saw my point. I told him that his resume was a sales pitch,
and he was the product – as ugly as it sounded, it was true. So he re-did his resume, ´ ´
´ ´
and yes, he got interviews and a job. Of course, simply redoing your resume is rarely
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enough – there have to be jobs out there. But a great resume can help. If you feel too
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close to your own resume, get a friend or mentor to take a look – in fact, get several.
Finally, when you do get interviews, do your homework! Try to learn as much as
you can about the library, the institution of which the library is a part (if applicable),
the position for which you are applying, and anything else you can find out. Ask
colleagues, friends, friends of friends. Look at the web site – you would think this
would be a given, but in the last three searches I have run, there were candidates who
clearly knew absolutely nothing about our library or our college, and who could not
make a clear case as to why they, in particular, would be the right choice for us. Take a
quick look through newspapers and other sources of local news for relevant stories
about the library or the institution of which the library is a part. Be prepared!

5. BL But then what? How do you go from an interview to a job – and how can you tell if a
job is right for you and you are right for the job? In the next installment of this column,
23,4 we will take it from here – what to do once you get an interview, and some tips of
figuring out if you are the right fit for an organization, and just as importantly, if the
organization is the right fit for you.
226 Corresponding author
Stephanie Walker can be contacted at: swalker@brooklyn.cuny.edu
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