Taking Your Mlis Abroad

This book explains how and why to get an international library job, what to expect when you arrive in your host country, and how to overcome challenges in your new home. For those who possess an ALA-accredited degree, there are opportunities to work in library settings around the world—and many of these attractive career options do not require non-English language skills or an EEC/Commonwealth citizenship. This guide to library work in countries outside the United States and Canada explains the benefits of taking on a library position in an international setting, how to find such a job, what to expect in working in a library outside of North America, and what strategies to employ to be successful and happy living and working in your host country. This guide answers all the questions that a librarian considering a position abroad would have, and it also covers subjects and concerns that might not be as obvious. Based on the direct experiences of the authors as well as anecdotal accounts from other librarians who have worked around the world, the book informs readers about common cultural differences with the application and interview process; explains how workplaces and working assumptions can be different from American expectations; profiles the different procedures, collection scope, curricular support, and intellectual freedom policies of libraries outside the United States and Canada; and describes the unique experience of moving to another country and living as an expat.

International Librarianship at Home and Abroad examines both the concept and reality of international librarianship. The intent of this book is not to glorify international librarianship, but to instead explore different ways that international librarianship might be understood and practiced. The book seeks to enrich and improve the everyday work done by librarians both at home and abroad in areas such as collection management, library services, and learning styles and techniques. Describes familiar librarian work, such as resource sharing, weeding and distance reference services Explores features and how they contribute to, and reflect, international librarianship Offers further examples on how to incorporate more explicit elements of international librarianship into home library practice

Whether you're a library professional with decades of experience or a recent graduate in your first position, career enrichment can mean so much more than simply watching a webinar, taking a class, or even attending a conference.

Cultural humility offers a renewing and transformative framework for navigating interpersonal interactions in libraries, whether between patrons and staff or staff members with one another. It foregrounds a practice of critical self-reflection and commitment to recognizing and redressing structural inequities and problematic power imbalances. This collection, the first book-length treatment of this approach in libraries, gathers contributors from across the field to demonstrate how cultural humility can change the way we work and make lasting impacts on diversity, equity, and inclusion in libraries. This book's chapters explore such topics as how Indigenous adages can be tools for reflection and guidance in developing cultural humility; the experiences of two Black librarians who are using cultural humility to change the profession; new perspectives on core concepts of customer service; rethinking policies and practices in libraries both large and small; using cultural humility in approaching collection development and creating resource guides; what cultural humility can look like for a tribal librarian working in a tribal college library; and reflecting on cultural humility itself and where it is going.

A candid, comprehensive, and insightful explanation of what library school students need to do in order to maximize their chances of getting a professional position immediately after graduation. While library schools provide graduates with a solid understanding of library science concepts, many diploma holders have no clear plan for finding a desirable job with their knowledge The information in What Do Employers Want? A Guide for Library Science Students will be extremely valuable for students currently in Masters of Library Science program as well as recent recipients of MLS degrees, regardless of what kind of work environment they wish to work in. The book guides readers through the process of planning a job search step-by-step. Divided into two major sections—the student experience and the job search—the authors provide critical advice derived from their combined 30 years of real-world, in-the-field experience. Specific topics include choosing classes, gaining practical experience while in school, establishing a professional image, gaining skills that make applicants more marketable, writing effective resumes and cover letters, interviewing, and negotiating a job offer.

Broadly representative of important perspectives and aspects within the profession as well as featuring important voices beyond the professional realm, Library 2020 presents thought-provoking and illuminating visions from many points of view. It is both required reading for library leaders and trustees as well as an ideal supplemental text for LIS classes looking at the future of the profession.

Published in cooperation with the American Library Association, an insider’s look at one of the most prevalent, yet commonly misunderstood institutions! Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly of librarian William Ottens’s experience working behind service desks and in the stacks of public libraries, most recently at the Lawrence Public Library in Kansas. In Librarian Tales, published in cooperation with the American Library Association, readers will learn about strange things librarians have found in book drops, weird and obscure reference questions, the stress of tax season, phrases your local librarians never want to hear, stories unique to children’s librarians, and more. Ottens uncovers common pet peeves among his colleagues, addresses misguided assumptions and stereotypes, and shares several hilarious stories along the way. This book is must reading for any librarian, or anyone who loves books and libraries, though non-library folks will also laugh and cry (from laughing) while reading this lighthearted analysis of your local community pillar, the library.