The Librarian's Career Guidebook

by Priscilla K. Shontz (editor)

Sage advice and career guidance is offered by sixty-four information professionals from diverse positions and workplaces. This practical guide addresses a wide variety of career issues. The advice is aimed at librarians in various stages of a career: prospective librarians, M.L.S. students, and entry-level librarians, as well as experienced information professionals. Covers:

· Career options
· Education
· The job search
· On-the-job experience
· Professional development
· Essential skills and strategies for enjoying your career

Genres: Nonfiction, Library Science, Professional Development, Reference, Librarianship

592 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Kelly B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very informative about what actually goes into being a librarian, all the way from choosing a grad school to getting along with co-workers to non-traditional library jobs you can apply your MLIS to. I originally got this book to read Jessamyn West's article on freelance library work, which was curious and interesting and something I didn't really know much about (a freelance librarian?) and that (along with the chapter on being a library vendor) probably wound up being my favorite chapter(s) in terms of opening me up to new and unconventional.

Every chapter in this book was written by a different person with a career in the library, so you get different perspectives and tidbits of advice on similar subjects, but there were definitely many pages that could be skipped over without missing much. The chapters in the middle of the book that revolved around resume and cover letter writing got a bit repetitive with each other and probably every other book on resume writing. But I agree that they had to be in there somewhere, maybe just not so much.

And although it sounded exciting hearing everyone's stories about this line of work, it actually wound up making me rethink going to grad school for my MLIS. Didn't expect that to happen. Damn.

[Liz De Coster · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated that this book covered such a variety of topics that are relevant to readers, wherever they are in relation to librarianship. It strikes me as the kind of book I would be interested in going back to once I have a job to seek advice on professional development tactics, if I'm looking to change jobs in the future, etc.

[Andy Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for future librarians. Very informative!

[Ashley (Bound to Love YA) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book may be a little dated, but it ultimately convinced me to go get my masters in Library Science (in 2015). I've not regretted my decision and I still go back to this guidebook from time to time to remind myself all the avenues there are in the library/archives/publishing field. I enjoy the anecdotal stories and now that I'm a librarian who's worked in Public libraries, Special libraries, tech services, Academic libraries, and publishing, I can really relate to the stories here. A good, easy to follow book if you're interested in the field.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, this would have been help-full as a new MLIS student. It would have been a cleaner introduction to different career options for MLIS students. Being that I'm graduated and finally know the the career that I want...it didn't do much for me. Also, it feels like it was written in the mid-90's.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this one in 2004 at the beginning of my library career, set it aside for years, and then finished reading the book in 2012. While some of the info still holds up, some of the chapters feel dated due to the ever-pressing influence of technology on libraries and librarians.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skipped chapters that were not pertinent to me. I did find some of the chapters to be thought provoking and just good reminders.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

very comprehensive, but because there were so many articles many did not go into enough detail to be as helpful as they could have been (beyond stating the mostly-obvious)

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't read every page. It did have some good information.

[Alev · Rating 2 out of 5]

County Library'de var.

The Librarian's career guidebook /

by Shontz, Priscilla K., 1965-

020.23 Lib

[whejleh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Completely useless book.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whew! This was a bit of a slog, but definitely had some useful information. I do think this needs a bit of an update, because the technology chapters might have been relevant ten years ago, but are woefully outdated now. This book also tended to repeat itself, especially towards the end. I kind of understand this, because most people (like, 99% of people) are going to read this a chapter at a time, and not all in one go like me. The back-to-back chapters with Who Moved My Cheese? references were pretty obvious, though. The concept of this book was really great: get a lot of different librarians to reflect on their experiences and give advice throughout an entire career of librarianship. However, I'm not sure it was that effective being in one book. I think this would work better as a series of books, with each "stage" of the career covered in separate books. However, it gave me some things to think about as I continue my own job search, even if I don't end up as a librarian. So, it had value, even if not always presented in the most effective way.