LinkedIn LinkUp!

Are you LinkedIn? Don't miss out on the connections you're making during school, your internship, at conferences and networking events.  Professional online presence is an important part of the job search and way to continue to network with colleagues and engage in the conversation of librarianship.

Take a few minutes to create or update your LinkedIn profile, connect to classmates and colleagues, or join a new group.  Read on for suggestions on how to get started and optimize your experience.

March Networking Opportunites in Philly - Starting Tonight!

SLA Downtowners Meetup
Dear SLA Philadelphia Professionals, Drexel SLA and ALA Student Chapter Members:  The March "First Friday" Downtowners casual networking event will be on the second Friday, March 9th (just for this month) at 6PM.  The venue is the Khyber Pass at 56 S. 2nd Street in Old City Philadelphia. Come out and enjoy the networking!  RSVP's helpful but not required: duslaonline@gmail.com

Drexel Library Student Social 
Join the library student groups for an informal social at Khyber Pass Pub. restaurant (56 S. 2nd St., Philadelphia, PA) on Friday, March 9 at 7:30 PM.  Come hang out with classmates, enjoy snacks and beverages, and meet the new officers of SCALA & DUSLA. RSVPs are appreciated, but not required. Please email drexelscala@gmail.com.

iSchool Networking Reception during PLA
Get it on the benefits of having PLA in Philly, whether you're registered for the conference or not.  The iSchool is hosting a networking reception on Wednesday, March 14 from 6:30-8:30 PM at The Field House (1150 Filbert Street - corner of 11th & Filbert) with appetizers, beer and wine (21+). This event is FREE but you do have to RSVP: https://www.ischool.drexel.edu/home/about/calendar/rsvp?ID=2154

#Phillybrarians Meet-Up 
Philly Librarians are gathering at Rising Tide in Chinatown on Saturday, March 17th at 1:30PM for post-PLA conversation, food and drinks. Here's your chance to eat at a great place in Chinatown, meet your fellow librarians, library students and library allies and network!  This is a sit-down lunch and RSVPs are required. Please contact Phillybrarians [at] gmail.com.

#Phillybrarians hold monthly meet-ups so even if you can't make it this time, join the Facebook group to learn about future events: https://www.facebook.com/phillybrarians

SkillShare Wants YOU

Would you like to gain presentation experience? Test out a new talk? Highlight favorite resources and tips? Sign up to lead a SkillShare session!

The SkillShare series is an opportunity to share expertise and pick up new skills from colleagues. We welcome professionals at all levels (you too, students!) and diverse ideas.

To lead a session or suggest a speaker or topic, email drexelscala@gmail.com.

More Professional & Job Search Resources

The Job Hunt

The ALA JobLIST Direct, the free bi-weekly e-newsletter from ALA JobLIST! The newsletter keeps you up to date on what’s going on with job-seeking and hiring in the profession—including information on new publications, professional development offerings and opportunities to connect and network. Sign up for it here:
http://ala.informz.net/ala/profile.asp?fid=1494

ALA JobLIST Placement Center at ALA Midwinter 
If you’re looking for a job or a new employee, in addition to the networking possibilities at ALA Midwinter Meeting (Dallas, TX, January 20-24, 2012), the ALA JobLIST Placement Center is an excellent resource, with all services free to job seekers. Provided by the ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment (HRDR), the Placement Center will be open on the Saturday and Sunday of the meeting, with an orientation on Saturday at 8:30am. January 21.

Job seekers should register and search for jobs on the JobLIST website at http://joblist.ala.org . Registration (recommended but not required) will give registered employers access to your resume information. It also allows for direct communication between job seekers and employers. 


How to become an Essential Librarian

by Branne Kirsh

Published in the November issue of Endnotes: The Journal of the New Members Round Table 2, no. 1
http://bit.ly/uGxgJw



I Need a Library Job Launches Website

Read the blog about locating a library job, connect with others, and see the jobs list all in on place. 
http://inalj.com/



When Looking for a Library Branch out! 

We all know that finding a job after library school can be tough, by expanding your search beyond the traditional library, you expose yourself to more opportunities and just might find the perfect job in an expected place. Here are a few places to look for jobs outside the traditional library realm. 



• USA Jobs:
The US Government has libraries at every agency and hires MLIS graduates for all sorts of information related jobs. All applications and job announcements for the Federal Government are posted at USA Jobs.


• LAC Group
Hires for companies across the US. Some jobs are temporary but many are permanent positions.


• AIM Library Staff: A placement company that works with private organizations throughout the US.


• NonProfits:
Nonprofits often hire researchers and other positions perfectly suited for someone with an MLIS. Search for nonprofit jobs here or on individual organization websites.


• Publishers:
Like nonprofits, publishers are looking for talented folks for work with copyright, research, and much more. Take a look here or on individual company websites.



Opportunities

[SkillShare Webinar] Getting Started with Data Librarianship Using SimplyMap

Thursday, January 19 * 8:00 - 9:00 PM EST * Free

Login at http://bit.ly/SCALAevent

Data librarianship is one of the fastest growing fields in library science. Knowing how to access demographic evidence and use data visualization tools can enhance your research, course assignments and reference work. (The skills looks great on a resume, too.)

Join Drexel iSchool Librarian Tim Siftar for an introduction to the amazing data sets available on SimplyMap's user-friendly platform. SimplyMap offers various trial data sets with over 70,000 variables to explore, including census, business, health and consumer information. We'll walk through some examples with lots of time for questions.

RSVPs are appreciated (but not required) so that we can request additional trial user seats for the demo. Please email drexelscala@gmail.com by January 18.

Image: A nifty example from SimplyMap: Point-data for all libraries and archives in the Philly area (Dun & Bradstreet data) on top of the overall population map showing a record for one site.

Mentorship Opportunity

Are you a library student thinking about a career in academic librarianship? The ACRL-Delaware Valley Chapter can match you up with a librarian mentor who can answer questions, give advice, or just serve as a sounding board for your worries and ideas.

To be matched with a mentor, please send your contact information and your areas of interest to DVCmentoring@gmail.com. We will match you with a librarian who has expertise in those areas, and works within a reasonable geographic proximity. 

To learn more go to: http://www.acrldvc.org/mentor.htm

Professional & Job Hunting Resources

Get involved in the LIS community and boost your job search with this helpful list of resources from our student chapter liaison at ALA. Good luck!

Five EBSCO Scholarships for 2012 ALA Midwinter

http://bit.ly/obuPik

NMRT Shirley Olofson Memorial Award for funding to the 2012 ALA Annual Conference

http://bit.ly/VOL4c

ALA Scholarships Program

ALA has lots of money that they want to give to students! Check out the opportunities here.

http://ala.org/ala/educationcareers/scholarships/index.cfm

Professional Development/Communication

ALA Listservs

So much information is shared through this listservs that I cannot stress enough that you should find some listservs to follow. There are tons and can get specific, but take a look and see what's of interest for you. I highly recommend following the New Members Round Table list (NMRT-L) as it has lots of resources for students and new librarians.

http://lists.ala.org/sympa/lists

Free Webinars!

Library Webinars is a blog organized by the Northeast Florida Library information Network and gathers information on library webinars being offered around the country. These are great opportunities to learn more about particular topics, might help generate ideas for events, and is just good information to share with members.

http://neflin2.blogspot.com/

Job Hunting Resources

I need a library Job (Facebook, email list, and twitter)

http://www.facebook.com/ineedalibraryjob

Higher Ed Jobs (good for those interested in academic libraries)

http://www.higheredjobs.com/

LibGig

http://publicboard.libgig.com/

ALA JobList

http://joblist.ala.org/modules/jobseeker/controller.cfm?rssjobid=17750

Association of Research Libraries Job List

http://www.arl.org/resources/careers/positions/index.shtml

LIS WIKI "HOWTO: Apply for a library job"

http://liswiki.org/wiki/HOWTO:Apply_for_a_library_job

Open Cover Letters

Wondering what your cover letter should look like? tired of looking at all those online templates? Check out  Open Cover Letters, which is full of anonymous cover letters from hired librarians and archivists.

http://opencoverletters.com/author/opencoverletters/
 

iConnect Networking Event October 14-15 on campus & online!

Join us and other professional associations at iConnect.  R.S.V.P. for the events and webcast at http://www.ischool.drexel.edu/iconnect. See you there!

Life in Library School—with a Baby!

We're kicking off a new guest blogger series featuring stories and advice about the library school experience. Today, recent Drexel grad Olivia Castello shares her perspective on becoming a parent while in school.

I started my MLIS at Drexel’s iSchool in March of 2009 and graduated in June 2011. During this time I took 1-2 classes a quarter, worked at 3 different internships, volunteered as a digital librarian... and had a baby!

Simon was born in August 2010, about mid-way through my time at Drexel. I learned a lot from the experience of being pregnant and caring for an infant while pursuing a graduate degree at the iSchool.

Contrary to what you might assume, grad school can be the perfect time to have a baby... especially if it is your first child. It was for me, at least. The feasibility of it all depends entirely on your particular situation. I am lucky to have a wonderful husband who, from the outset, committed to covering our expenses for the roughly 2 years while I pursued my degree. I was also enrolled at the iSchool as an online student even though I live in Philadelphia. I found this arrangement to be ideal since I was able to schedule the classes I needed online but was also able to make it down to campus for the occasional on-campus class, group work session and iSchool event. Because of all these factors, I had the freedom to stay at home with the baby while still actively pursuing my degree.

Webcast: Leveraging You! Developing an Online Presence for the Job Search and Beyond

Learn how social media can help you develop and maintain a personal brand and professional reputation. LIS students can leverage these tools to successfully land a position, develop a support network, and participate in the conversation of librarianship. The session will include practical tips, recommended sites, and best practices.

LinkedIn LinkUp

Are you LinkedIn? Professional online presence is an important part of the job search and way to continue to network with colleagues and engage in the conversation of libarianship. As part of our focus on career development in May, we're encouraging members to create or update their LinkedIn profiles and make as many connections as they can by the end of the month.

Cool Careers: Culinary Library & Federal Archives

It's field trip time! Join us for an exciting library career event on Thursday, May 19 at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College.

Library Tour: Feast your eyes on the culinary and hospitality collection.

Networking Reception: Mingle in the on-campus restaurant. Wine, cheese and appetizers will be generously provided by the The Restaurant School.

Career Panel: A conversation with dynamic librarians about their career paths, interesting collections and advice for students entering the field:

Madeline Copp, Academic Librarian at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College, which grants Culinary Arts, Pastry Arts and Hospitality Management degrees.

Beth Bensman, Archives Specialist for The National Archives at Philadelphia, which maintains the historically significant Mid-Atlantic federal records from 1970 to the present.

This event is FREE but reservations are required.  If you would like to attend, please RSVP to drexelscala@gmail.com by Monday, May 16.

Professional Library Association Networking Event

Happy National Library Week!

To celebrate, the iSchool at Drexel is hosting a Professional Library Association Networking Event this Tuesday, April 12 from 5 -7 pm.

This event is FREE and open to anyone who is interested in librarianship.  Students, alumni, and friends are welcome. Wine and appetizers will be served.

Network: Meet representatives from professional library associations and student chapters.  This is a great opportunity to learn about the different kinds of librarianship, student discounts and the chance to network with library professionals. Association involvement is one of the best LIS job-hunt secrets.

Win: Stop by the SCALA table and enter to win a student ALA membership or a copy of This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All.

Resume review: Two career services representatives will be in attendance; bring your resume for feedback.

Location: Drexel University – Main Campus, Paul Peck Alumni Center, 32nd and Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Click here to RSVP.

Online students: The event will be recorded and available online for viewing.  If you'd like to enter the giveaway, email us.

See you there!

"Beyond Books" Graduate Fellowships Available

Check out this fantastic opportunity to attend "Beyond Books: News, Literacy, Democracy & America's Libraries." Apply for one of 10 fellowships which will pay for registration, travel, and lodging for the event in Cambridge, MA, April 6-8, at the MIT Center for Future Civic Media.

For more information, go to http://journalismthatmatters.org/biblionews/2011/03/03/fellowships/

Applications are due March 15.

Breaking the Mold: LIS Careers Outside the Library

Want to know what other careers are available to MSLIS students?

Join SCALA, Drexel University Special Libraries Association (DUSLA), and a panel of information professionals Wednesday, February 23 for “Breaking the Mold: LIS Careers Outside the Library.”

The panel discussion starts at 5 p.m. in Rush 209. The event will also be simulcast LIVE at http://bit.ly/DUSLAtalk AND http://bit.ly/SCALAevent for online students' convenience. As always, there will be free pizza!

The speakers will describe their current positions and career paths before a Q&A session. These information professionals have a wide range of professional experience, including academic libraries, vendors, corporate information centers, and knowledge management.

Amy Graham, a Drexel MSLIS alumna, has worked as a one-person information center for the technical support department of a computer retailer; a research associate at an executive search firm; a college library cataloger; and now works for an authority control vendor.

Richard Townsend, MS, R.Ph., is Manager, Strategic Business Intelligence, at Global Competitive.

Susan Zalenski, another iSchool alumna, is Senior Manager of Scientific Information at Cephalon. She also has worked at Thomson Reuters/Dialog as a trainer and consultant and at AstraZeneca as a knowledge manager. She previously participated in a panel on Non-Traditional Library Careers at the SLA Annual Meeting.

For more information, email drexelscala@gmail.com.

Image Credit: Flickr - Shannon K - CC license

LIScareer.com has a new article by a recent LIS graduate, Anne Jumonville, on the sometimes strange and uncertain transition from student to professional.

What are your concerns about graduating into the work force and leaving library school behind?

Image Credit: flickr.com - [ModernDope] - CC license