Oct 29 Visit to the Archives Fun and Fascinating!

Linda Reib,  Electronic Records Archivist, and her colleagues graciously and enthusiastically welcomed us to their beautiful new facility, and we all enjoyed our afternoon immensely!  We learned about their wonderful and varied  collections; why they exist (to enable the people of Arizona to hold our governments accountable); how they do what they do with only 15 people (with great enthusiasm);  trends in digitization and retention (paper is the best back up!); and got a glimpse into the future of archives work. The staff is impressive and knowledgeable and we could tell they love their work.  Each has an expertise that complements the others’ skills and talents wonderfully.  We saw the huge stacks areas, organized into pods, saw all the work that is yet to be done, viewed even the loading dock with its specialized features and spaces. They welcome interns and volunteers (my work once I retire!) and the variety of tasks to be done is overwhelming!  I will see if Linda will share her PPT file-her pre-tour presentation was comprehensive and most interesting.

If you weren’t able to join the 8 of us who attended, be sure to visit the Archives websites and the facility when you can. They are at 1901 W. Madison St. and welcome visitors between 10 and 3,  Monday-Thursday.

• About the building:  http://www.lib.az.us/polly/
• Agency Site:  http://www.lib.az.us/archives/
• Jacque’s Delicious Bookmarks re archives:  http://delicious.com/jdondoyle/archives

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Great August 27 Gathering with Tom Wilding

A small and intense group of 12 enjoyed a most pleasant couple of hours with each other*, and with Tom who patiently and thoroughly answered a wide variety of questions and gave us his sense of SIRLS (upbeat and optimistic), librarianship as a career (very positive), and a bit about his personal methods of teaching and advising (again,  positive and encouraging).  He is meeting via phone regularly with Brian,  who begins October 1. Tom suggested; that we do not ever give up, that we persist, that we consider alternative jobs while staying focused on our real goal, that we network, network, network, we take continuing education classes often, that we use every opportunity to stay current, join associations, and stay in touch with colleagues and friends.  Tom urged students and grads to contact him directly with questions and “issues”. We could have kept him longer with more questions and discussions but wanted him home at a reasonable hour!  Many thanks to several folks who brought and shared treats!  He promised to bring Brian, our new dean with to us within the next few months.

I will plan our next meeting as a sharing session to include what works and doesn’t in this job-hunt phase, how to use Web 2.o tools as an integral part of that process, resume and cover letter critique and whatever most interests you.

Let me (Jacque) know your preference for dates, please!   Survey HERE.

• Thursdays, Sept 10, 17 and 24 or
• Tuesdays, Sept 15, 22 or 29

*Attendees:  Kathi K, Jean B, Candace L, Kelly B, Jarrod G, Noah R, Sarah S, Tim P, Judy S, and Betty M.

Professor Tom Wilding will be our guest Thursday, August 27!

With your votes in, I have decided to host Tom here on Thursday, the 27th.  Please come any time after 5-5:30, which is when Tom plans to  arrive.  I will have light refreshments but would appreciate your bringing something to share. If anyone would like to do a quick dinner afterwards at the Arizona Center, I am game for that! Thanks. See you all in a couple of weeks!   We are a the  corner of    5th St and Van Buren. If it is D-Backs game night, tell the attendant that you are coming to the library, which is is Bldgt1. JDD

Leslie’s note from the June Gathering…

Job Hunting Resources for Information Professionals

Phoenix Friends of SIRLS Meeting

Hosted by Jacque Doyle, College of Medicine, Phoenix,

June 25, 2009

Guest speaker:  Leslie Kent Kunkel, MLS 1987

Assistant Director

University of Arizona

School of Information Resources and Library Science (SIRLS)

Summary Notes

Join the SIRLS Alumni Association by visiting

http://sirls.arizona.edu/alumni

Keep in touch by subscribing to the SIRLS Alumni Assn listserv at

http://sirls.arizona.edu/alumni/association/listserv

Enter your contact info to keep connected to your SIRLS colleagues at

http://sirls.arizona.edu/alumni/directory

Visit colleagues’ personal home pages at

http://sirls.arizona.edu/alumni/alumni

US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition

http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco2008.htm

Highlights:

–Librarians held about 158,000 jobs in 2006.

–Despite slower than average projected employment growth, job opportunities are still expected to be favorable because a large number of librarians are expected to retire in the coming decade. More than two out of three librarians are aged 45 or older, which will result in many job openings over the next decade.

–Employment of librarians is expected to grow by 4% between 2006 and 2016.

–Jobs for librarians outside traditional settings will grow the fastest over the decade.

ALA Library Salaries Information

http://www.ala.org/ala/educationcareers/employment/salaries/index.cfm

Special Library Association

Many resources are password protected–become a member!

http://careercenter.sla.org/search/

2008 Salary Survey & Workplace Study

–The average salary increase for SLA members outpaced inflation, from 2007 to 2008; inflation was 5.3%

–The average salary for SLAers who responded to the salary survey is $71,800

http://www.sla.org/content/resources/research/salarysurveys/salsur2008/index.cfm

LisJobs.com offers career information, including job ads and search strategies, for library and information professionals. The site is maintained by Rachel Singer Gordon; the job postings database is jointly maintained with Sarah Johnson of Library Job Postings on the Internet:

http://www.lisjobs.com/jobseekers/search-strategies.asp

Job postings and resources in Arizona:

http://www.lisjobs.com/jobseekers/states/Arizona.asp

The Greater Western Library Alliance, a consortium of 32 research libraries located across 17 midwestern and western states:

http://www.gwla.org/Home

http://www.gwla.org/job-advertisements

The ads from American Libraries and C&RL News are now on ALA’s JobLIST:

http://joblist.ala.org/

Library Journal job ads:

http://www.libraryjournal.com/index.asp?layout=jobs

The Chronicle of Higher Education has a category for librarians/library administration:

http://chronicle.com/jobs/300/100/6000/

Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

http://twitter.com/LibInfoSciJobs

LibWorm is intended to be a search engine, a professional development tool, and a current awareness tool for LIS folks.  LibWorm collects and updates info from 1400+ RSS feeds (and growing). The content of these feeds are then available for searching and aggregating.

http://www.libworm.com/rss/index.php/Jobs/8/

Temporary and Permanent Employment Agencies for Information Professionals:

Pro Libra Associates is a library service company providing personnel staffing, project management, and consulting services to corporations, public entities, and individuals in the Northeast:

http://www.prolibra.com/

InfoCurrent is a division of Corestaff and places librarians and records management professionals in the Wash DC and New York City tri-state areas:

http://www.infocurrent.com/

BiblioTemps is a staffing agency for the more than 70 libraries in the Central Massachusetts Regional Library System:

http://www.bibliotemps.com/

Library Associates is a consulting and recruiting service with offices in LA nad Denver that places librarians, paraporfessionals and other information professionals in permanent, temporary, and contract positions nationwide.  No fee is required:

http://www.libraryassociates.com/

AIM Library and Information Staffing specializes in placing librarians and support staff in special, public, academic, school, government libraries, and information centers. Established in 1984, Aim also offers resume writing, interviewing, and career management services:

http://www.aimusa.com/

Search Associates places school media specialists in American and international schools abroad.  Registration fee is required:

http://www.searchassociates.com/

TFPL Recruitment is an agency that places librarians and information professionals in permanent and contract positions in the US and the UK:

http://www.tfpl.com/

Glen Recruitment places Information Specialists, Knowledge Professionals, Records Managers, Researchers, Librarians and Online Support Staff in both permanent and temporary staff :

http://www.glenrecruitment.co.uk/

Sue Hill Recruitment, based in London, recruits information professionals throughout the UK:

http://www.suehill.com/

Zenith Management Services is Australia’s leading employment agency in the information management field:

http://zenmgt.com/site/index.cfm

The One Umbrella specializes in recruiting permanent and contract staff for the library, records, information, and knowledge management industries of Australia:

http://www.oneumbrella.com.au/

Current Awareness Resources

The Alumni Association of The School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University publishes a great current awareness resources site that includes a fairly current list of LIS blogs:

http://slisgroups.sjsu.edu/alumni/jobseekers/aware.html

Other Publications Discussed

Meredith Farkas Information Wants to be Free: The Job Hunt: What I learned:

http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2005/07/09/the-job-hunt-what-i-learned/

National Association of Colleges & Employers 2002 Survey:

The Perfect Candidate

Top 10 Places Employers Find New Hires:

1. Organization’s internship program
2. Employee referrals
3. Career/job fairs
4. On-campus recruiting
5. Internet job postings (own organization’s website)
6. Organization’s co-op program
7. Internet job postings (commercial career website)
8. Faculty contacts
9. Internet job postings (campus website)
10. Student organizations/clubs

Top Ten Qualities Employers Seek:

1. Communication skills
2. Honesty/integrity
3. Teamwork skills
4. Interpersonal skills
5. Strong work ethic
6. Motivation/initiative
7. Flexibility/adaptability
8. Analytical skills
9. Computer skills
10. Organizational skills

June 25 Meeting with Leslie

About 25 friends, grads and alums enjoyed hearing from and sharing with Leslie Thursday eve at the College of Medicine-Phoenix.  Leslie boosted the spirits of those in attendance, providing many hints for career next steps, including:

• Always carry a business card; you never know who you will meet!  Some sources for inexpensive and free cards:  http://www.overnightprints.com/ and http://www.vistaprint.com/
• Be prepared to quickly answer that question, “what are you doing?” with a positive response.
• Keep your resume current and appealing, including internships, volunteer and other work.  Modify your resume for each position you seek.
• Maintain your e-portfolio on SIRLS, or create one of your own, showing your updated resume/CV.
• Use temporary agencies!
• Before you apply for that perfect job, KNOW the organization and library inside and out; talk to colleagues.
• Network, network, network!
• During the interview, do your own interview of the person and organization!
• Consider jobs in related organizations, e.g., library vendors, museums, not for profits, etc.  LIS skills have many applications.
• Take advantage of CE opportunities in the field you aim for.
• Consider more education, e.g.,  the SIRLS DigIn program: http://digin.arizona.edu/
• Offer to volunteer for organizations you know need library services, e.g.,  hospitals and clinics
• Follow all job posting sites; Leslie likes http://www.lisjobs.com/ and SLA’s site
• Join related groups, e. g., CABL and SLA
• Follow up interview thank you notes with a request for advice and wisdom.

Much group wisdom was shared among those present as well.

Leslie also updated us to SIRLS’ current status, which excellent.  They are hiring new faculty and seeking a new dean.  She encouraged all to investigate financial aid.  Visit: http://sirls.arizona.edu/program/admissions/financial

Leslie’s email: lkunkel@email.arizona.edu

THOSE OF YOU WHO ATTENDED, PLEASE ADD YOUR COMMENTS AND NOTES FROM OUR SESSION!

Reminder–Thursday Phx Friends with Leslie!

Don’t forget note you should have received from Leslie:

Dear SIRLS Students, Alumni, Friends:

You are invited to a Phoenix Friends of SIRLS ‘gathering’ next Thursday, 5:30pm, June 25th, room 1252, bldg 1, at the College of Medicine in downtown Phoenix.  I will speak about jobs during a recession, using the new social networking tools (Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Blogs, Second Life, etc) for a variety of purposes (networking, recruiting for SIRLS students, etc), my experiences in the profession as a special and academic librarian and as an employee for a library vendor, and anything else of interest to the group!

I’d like to extend a special invitation to SIRLS alumni to discuss next steps on our way to restarting a SIRLS Alumni Association.  SIRLS is eager to provide a venue for alumni that will help you advance in your LIS careers.

Applicants and prospects are also welcome!  We can answer your questions about the MA and PhD programs, our certificate program in Digital Info Management, and our CE courses.

I’m looking forward to chatting with all of you! Please let me  know via an email reply to me at lkunkel@u.arizona.edu  or to Jacque Doyle, my hostess, at jddoyle@u.arizona.edu, about topics of interest for the 25th.

Many thanks to Jacque Doyle for making this happen!

Best,

Leslie

Parking lot is off 7th St, north of Van Buren

There IS a Diamondbacks game that eve at 6:40; print this off to show attendant and/or security you are not here for the game!!! Room 1252 is in Bldg 1, closest to 5th Street and VB. Library is on main floor.  Call 602 827 2062 if you are unable to get in and no one is near the front door.

Gathering Opportunities in Phoenix, May-June

It is truly impossible to find one date that meets everyone’s needs, but why am I surprised???  And what else is new?

Here are some options I can and will offer:

1. Thursday, May 28, at Maizies on Central  — http://www.maiziescafe.com/ I am already meeting Tom Fitsimones here; perhaps  some can join us?
2. Thursday, June 4, I am planning to hear Michael Connolly at the Poisoned Pen at 7:30 pm in Scottsdale; anyone interested? We could get a bite to eat before?
3. Tuesday or Wed, June 2 or 3, I can meet anyone available in the downtown area or near north central. Or possibly, anywhere you suggest!  One thought is Spaghetti Factory on Central….
4. We could consider going to a Diamondbacks game.  together..?

The timing for all three is after work, e.g., 5:30-6:30 or thereabouts.

I do apologize for not having an official meeting complete with speaker and hope any one of these three possibilities will work for some of you. I am game to do them all, no matter the size of the group, so please let me know your preferences.  I can use these times to gather ideas for future meetings, and to ascertain whether there is interest in summer activities. Also want to determine whether the blog is of value.

I look forward to hearing from you. I am off to MLA May 14-22 so will most likely have lots to share!

So sorry for my emailed typos!!!

November Meeting Set: at the Phoenix Art Museum and Library

We are invited by Sandra Wiles, PAM Librarian, to hold a meeting and attend an interesting session of the Phoenix Art Museum Book Covers Book Club* on Tuesday, November 18 at 6pm.   See http://www.phxart.org/events/workshops.aspx for details. We will attend the session, have a tour and hold a brief meeting following the session.  Food is available in the Museum Café; anyone who could, might consider gathering there around 5 – 5:30.  Museum admission is free on Tuesdays!  This gathering will serve as our November meeting.

 

Please plan to attend and RSVP to me if you are interested! Thanks! JDD; jddoyle@email.arizona.edu

 

*Ensemble for One-November 18, 6pm

The Art Research Library jumps into one-piece dressing and other fashion innovations that may be tracked through the Fashion and Design research collections.

The Art Research Library jumps into one-piece dressing and other fashion innovations that may be tracked through the Fashion and Design research collections.

Next Meeting Planned for Tuesday, October 21!!

We will again be at the College of Medicine Phoenix.  Our speaker will address creating effective CVs/resumes!  Please mark your calendars for that evening 5:30-6, or whatever time you can arrive. Please also send agenda or discussion items along to me:  jddoyle@email.arizona.edu. Thanks!!!

I’d be grateful if you could plan to bring munchies or drinks to share! More info and specifics to follow! JDD