Info Career Trends May 1, 2001 vol. 2, no. 3 ISSN 1532-0839 Published by Lisjobs.com - http://www.lisjobs.com E-mail: editor@lisjobs.com Editor's Note Welcome back to Info Career Trends! Today's articles focus on the broad theme of changing careers, and the contributors each tell a personal story of moving between types of libraries, into librarianship from another profession, to another country, or out of the profession entirely. Use their stories as guides to show what is possible as you develop your own career. Thank you all for continuing to subscribe and help make this newsletter a success. We're currently over 1040 subscribers, from all over the U.S. and a number of other countries. Please help spread the word and forward the newsletter to any of your colleagues that might be interested! Subscribe/unsubscribe instructions can be found at the bottom of each issue. If you would like to contribute your work to Info Career Trends, please see the author guidelines at http://www.lisjobs.com/newsletter/theme.htm#contrib. I'm still looking for contributors for the July 1 issue on associations. - Rachel (editor@lisjobs.com) -------- Working Internationally: Getting There, Being There and Coming Home by Sam Werberg (swerberg@findsvp.com) After finishing my MLIS in 1997, I left Austin, TX to spend three years in Fes, Morocco working with the Peace Corps as a University Librarian. Based on this experience and my preparation for it, I would like to share a few tips about working internationally. Getting There: Deciding to Go, Identifying Opportunities, Applying, and Getting Ready As I was finishing up my MLIS, I decided that I would look for a librarian position overseas. For me, it was the right time, both in my personal and professional life. Timing will undoubtedly be the most important factor for many librarians in deciding to go abroad, but the world is not as big as it once was. It is now easy both to keep in touch with loved ones and to keep up professionally while overseas. As for me, the world was waiting, and I had some library skills to put to work! After deciding to go "somewhere," I began to identify opportunities. A career office is a great place to start, and many of the top library job sites regularly post overseas positions. The challenge, however, lies in the fact that some organizations with ongoing library positions only post their jobs on their own sites, so you have to keep your eyes open for opportunities. Some of the agencies I looked at were the Peace Corps, United Nations, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank, the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) and the Fulbright program. (See resources at the end of this article.) All of these groups have postings on their web sites, but make sure you get enough background on the organization to understand all of the requirements. Some, such as the Fulbright, may offer nine- to twelve- month projects, while others require a two- to three-year commitment - - or longer. Each organization will have a very specific application process, and you will need to supply multiple copies of your work papers (resume, CV, transcript, reference letters, etc.) and personal papers (passport, birth certificate, medical records, etc.). Also keep copies of all your completed applications, especially the ones sent overseas. When actually applying, if you are intent on going overseas, avoid putting all of your eggs in one basket. This may mean not only identifying and applying to more than one overseas job, but also keeping an eye out for U.S.-based jobs should things fall through. Overseas jobs can be much more contingent on outside factors than U.S. jobs, or at least contingent on factors that we never consider here in the U.S. If you have been accepted to a U.S. government position overseas and a war breaks out in the country you are supposed to go to, chances are you will have to change your plans. Political turmoil, unrest or even forces of nature can change the situation enough to give the sponsoring organization second thoughts. The point -- have a back-up. When it comes time to get ready to go, do a simple needs assessment. It cannot hurt to know the local language ahead of time, but, if you do not, you can at least be ready to learn. In Morocco, the official languages are Arabic and French, but the most common spoken language is a dialect of Arabic. I used a simple phrase book to teach myself the Arabic alphabet and some basic greetings before I left. The Peace Corps is very good about emphasizing the importance of language, and the two-and-a-half month training period in the capital included four hours a day of language classes. If the country you are headed to is not English-speaking, most organizations will either offer language training or require you to know the language ahead of time. A little knowledge of the cultural and historical aspects of your host country would also be a welcome asset. Whether you stay for a month or a year, your host country will have a different society, with a different religion, dress, food, gender relations, and customs than you are used to. Getting work done comes from cooperation, and cooperation comes from understanding. Finally, if at all possible, try to find out which technical skills are needed in the situation you are entering. Is there a specific software program that you could get familiar with ahead of time? In Morocco, I found myself having to do a bit of basic navigation in MS- DOS while at the same time needing to be able to troubleshoot the latest Windows software. The specific library package we used was UNESCO's CDS/ISIS package, which has a good deal of documentation. You may also need to familiarize yourself with international classification schemes, such as UDC (Universal Dewey), or with locally-developed ones. Being There: Assessing Needs, and Being Local You will need to understand how to undertake a full needs assessment, but, in this case, you will particularly need to identify partners among either the staff of the library or the community it is meant to serve. This is no different than in the States, except that your ability to assess the real needs of the community will depend, not just on your library skills, but also on your language, cross-cultural and sociological skills. By being local, I do not mean going native -- although when in Rome, my belief is that you might as well eat Italian food. In this case, I mean seeing the local needs through the local perspective. An Internet connection, for example, may be a boon to our information services in the States, but if no one is available to provide training or to maintain the machine, it can be distracting. What kind of expertise, insight or training can you provide that is not otherwise available? Coming Back: Remaining In Touch, Looking For Work, Bringing It Home No matter how long your service, project, or work contract lasts, you will eventually need to think about coming back to the U.S. (unless you have caught the "travel bug" and immediately head off somewhere else!). With the Internet, it is much easier to keep track of job opportunities, either through online postings or e-mail discussion lists. Do not forget to keep up with issues and events in your specialty, whether through a library association magazine or online publication. When looking for jobs back in the States, you will want to have references available from both your current overseas position and your previous stateside positions. Sending an interesting postcard, letter or pictures to your U.S. references cannot hurt. Plan ahead before you go and bring your contact lists, as well as copies of your resume and reference letters. Even from a short-term overseas position, you will want to get at least one reference letter to present to future U.S. employers. Also, do not forget to get copies of any other documentation of your work, such as project reports, pictures, or presentations. Resources: Peace Corps: http://www.peacecorps.gov USAID: http://www.usaid.gov UN: http://www.un.org World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org Other International Job Postings: http://www.state.gov/p/io/empl/ http://www-slis.lib.indiana.edu/cfdocs/SlisJobs/index.cfm http://www.lisjobs.com/nonus.htm Sam Werberg (swerberg@findsvp.com) currently resides in New York City and works as a research consultant at FIND/SVP (http://www.findsvp.com). He specializes in research in technology and telecommunications and can often be seen muttering to himself in Arabic. -------- *** ADVERTISEMENT *** Check out http://www.pattern.com for information about workshops for library personnel. We produce entertaining and practical programs from Alaska to Florida -- maybe we will be visiting your area soon! Pat Wagner, Pattern Research, P.O. Box 9100, Denver, CO 80209, 303- 778-0880; fax: 303-722-2680; e-mail: pat@pattern.com -------- Combining Careers in Research by Carolyn Davis (carolyn_davis2@yahoo.com) A common theme throughout my careers has been that of research. I have always loved finding things out -- not via the neighborhood grapevine, but via "official" means. Even as a child I loved "quiet time" in the dining room because it afforded me an opportunity to read the *World Book Encyclopedia.* I thought this an entrancing title, and its volumes held entrancing information. Initial International Relations Work And Study By the time I was university age, the study of international relations was my special pigeon. After a number of research jobs and some time as a Master's Candidate in the Center for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University, I was granted an internship in Northern Ireland during a time of escalating violence in 1992-1993. Several incidents made me believe that I was probably better suited to behind-the-scenes research work, and I began to consider library school. Three countries later, after an MSLIS degree from Simmons College and a Technology certification from the International Graduate Summer School at the University of Wales at Aberystwyth, facilitation through research and information sharing became my focus. In the Peace Corps I conducted a national survey in Jamaica concerning the needs of agencies that provided services to people with disabilities. From there, I helped in the development of the Jamaica Coalition on Disabilities. Electronic Resources Expand the Possibilities The Information Age demands and allows more options in nearly everyone's work. These options can be especially beneficial if you are disabled, as I am. Unable to run around, fetch, and carry books in a traditional library setting, I have nevertheless been an administrator of an information center in Jamaica and an information outsourcer/electronic resources librarian, under contract to corporations and private clients. Need Meets Need The international challenge reared its head again while I was in Jamaica: I'd always wanted to live and work in Britain; would information technology be able to deal with the employment restrictions that Americans face regarding the European Union? E.U. rules strongly discourage the employment of anyone from outside its member nations. Early in 2000, however, while I was awaiting word on a visa for work that I'd been offered, Tony Blair's government expressed its need and wish to increase immigration to the U.K. by people in information technology (as well as certain other professions). His government then initiated a massive task to be carried out by the end of 2002: that of connecting all public libraries to the Information Superhighway. I've been assisting in the latter (I hope) by suggesting resources that might ease the burden, among these, Rachel Singer Gordon's *Teaching the Internet in Libraries.* This was especially pleasant, since it "connected" two groups in which I'm glad to play a part: the British Government and Lisjobs.com. Expanding Possibilities Although the resourcing for the People's Network Project(1) is voluntary, I've been asked by Scarecrow Press to write a historical dictionary about Jamaica. This should keep me busy through September, when I begin an M.Phil program in Medieval Welsh History at the University of Cardiff. The facilitation of resources can be focused in many ways. There are opportunities for librarians and for IT and information systems specialists in many countries, on a permanent or consultant basis. The Peace Corps, the United Nations Volunteer Program, both at http://www.peacecorps.gov, the United Nations Volunteer program, at http://www.unv.org, and the United States Foreign Service are sources of official information regarding placement and employment via the United States. Academic and consultant positions can be investigated via universities. I urge anyone who is interested in Information and Library Science as an additional career to pursue LIS. It enhances your primary occupation/profession, as well as opening a plethora of opportunities on its own. (1) The People's Network Project, a U.K. government program whose mission is "to connect all public libraries to the Information Superhighway by the end of 2002," is coordinated by the Learning and Information Society Team from the Council for Museums, Archives, and Libraries. The outline of its daunting tasks can be viewed at http://www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk Carolyn Davis has an MSLIS from Simmons College. Her specialties are research, IT, mediation, and writing. -------- *** Remember, you can post your resume online at Lisjobs.com for a minimal fee. Find out how -- and browse others' resumes -- at http://www.lisjobs.com/resumes.htm -------- Academic Exercises: Using Law Library Skills To Find an Academic Library Dream Job by Jennifer McCabe (McCabeja@jmu.edu) When I graduated from library school in 1995, I already had four years of paraprofessional experience in a public library. My first professional job, though, was as a law librarian in the branch office of a large national law firm. I took this job for a number of reasons. First, I had studied legal research in graduate school and was eager to use my knowledge. The job was also in the city I wanted to live in, a city in which the job market for librarians was tight. I knew, however, that I didn't want to work in a private, for-profit setting for the rest of my career. I gave myself five years to learn the profession, to get experience, and to decide which direction to go from there. Law Library Lessons During the years I spent as a law librarian, I constantly referred to my experience in and knowledge of the public library. When an attorney needed an article from yesterday's local newspaper, I knew where to go. When the online version of a medical journal did not include photos and charts, I knew where to get them. When the secretaries wanted elocution tapes to teach their attorneys how to dictate, I could quickly find them. I was fortunate in that my office was a few blocks away from the public library -- and I always welcomed the chance to walk down there. My understanding of online databases, the ways that information is organized, and the ways that people search for information far outweighed any deficit in my understanding of civil procedure. I soon learned that one of the difficulties facing solo librarians is the feeling of isolation. Because I was new to law and because I learn through conversation and interaction, I began actively to seek opportunities to meet other law librarians. I was fortunate to have colleagues in our offices in other cities, and I quickly became part of a network of law librarians in my city. But in my office, I was still alone in trying to coordinate training, educate users about the library, make cataloging decisions, and justify my professional development. After four and a half years, for various personal and professional reasons, I decided to quit my job. It was something I had been thinking about and planning for a long time. I wanted to relocate and knew that my self-imposed five-year deadline was approaching. I was mindful of the valuable experience I had gotten while at the law firm, and anxious to build on this experience. I wanted to work with a more diverse group of users, and with other professional librarians, in more varied subject areas. I had an intuitive feeling that I could satisfy my needs in an academic library. The Academic Job Search After satisfying my wanderlust for a few months, I began to look for another job, concentrating on academic library positions in mild climates. I was a bit concerned that my lack of a subject master's degree might hinder my job search, but it turned out that most jobs I applied for did not require one. What I found was that my practical experience proved more valuable than I had anticipated. My job search began in earnest at the end of October 2000, although my resume and vita had been completed a few months earlier. I spent many hours each day searching for job openings and writing application letters. By January 3, 2001, I was starting my new job. Just as my experience in the public library had helped me immensely as a law librarian, so did my experience in the law firm help me in my job search. I had created and managed operating budgets, built and managed collections, and maintained web pages. These are skills that can benefit any librarian in any setting. Further, to combat my feelings of isolation as a law librarian, I had made it a personal policy to accept every public speaking invitation I was offered. Not only did this give me good exposure in the community, but it put my stage-fright to rest and helped me become accustomed to preparing and delivering presentations. This, I believe, was what ultimately led to the offer I accepted. When I started to get invitations to interviews that included the requirement that I prepare a presentation for a group of librarians, my initial gut reaction was fear. But then I quickly remembered that I had done plenty of presentations -- to groups of paralegals and lawyers, no less! And, while I had no firsthand experience with academic librarianship, I am a professional researcher. There is no topic that is out of my reach. Thus, I used all of my professional experience in a practical, professional way. The Payoff: An Academic Dream Job I am now working in my dream job. I am a reference librarian in a medium-sized public university, with liaison responsibilities to the Health Sciences, Nursing and Social Work departments. These departments were chosen based on my experience with legal research and knowledge of government and regulations, experience that I'd gained as a law librarian. I now have many colleagues in the library, including two ex-law librarians, all of whom have welcomed me, and eagerly shared their experience and expertise. I have contact with faculty in designing instruction, and with students both in providing reference assistance and information literacy instruction. I have found that many of the "rules" of librarianship apply to job hunting. For example, I begin my instruction by telling students that effective research begins by listing search terms and choosing the appropriate database. The same could be said of job searching, you must determine what you are looking for and where it is likely to be found. As librarians we have skills that can be used in a wide variety of settings, and one of the most rewarding ways to use them is in finding the right job. Jennifer McCabe is a reference librarian at James Madison University (http://www.jmu.edu) working in the CISAT library (http://library.jmu.edu/cisat). She found her current job through the LIBJOBS mailing list. -------- *** Remember, job postings at Lisjobs.com are searchable -- see http://www.lisjobs.com/jobs.htm#search After your search, sort by date to see the most recent ads first. -------- They're All Special: From Special Librarian To Public Library Director... And Back Again! by Karen Botkin (kbotkin@buckconsultants.com) What do you call a person who is part concert booker/promoter, part civil engineer, and part politician, who shelf reads books with a library staff and writes pithy articles for a local town newspaper? The answer is not a riddle from a children's book: A public library director does all this -- and more. After fourteen years in the world of special libraries, all located in New York City, I made the jump both to working in the public library world and in New Jersey. The Path to Special Librarianship Earlier in my career, I twice had a taste of the public library world, both times before earning my MLS. The best experience was a work-study program in my senior year of high school, in which students had a chance to try out a career by shadowing a professional in the field. The experience of working with that public library director remains a strong influence, as she let me try almost every aspect of the job -- or at least to watch her and her colleagues up close. In spite of that wonderful experience, I entered and graduated from library school knowing I wanted to work in a special library; I wanted to work with one topic or area and really become an expert. For fourteen years, I spent a career with a finite constituency, working in a total of three jobs. Each was in a different subject area. Each could bring a day loaded with reference requests, research, or technical services challenges that emanated from any and every area of the company for which I was working at the time. Getting to know the characters in the company and their information needs and patterns was part of being a valued member of the business. I answered to one or two supervisors, and gained enough confidence in each position to offer suggestions dealing with the library or information center's contributions to improving the business. My skills as a librarian grew, but so did my knowledge of the business world, and its drive toward profit. Then my professional life changed. Special To Public The job I took with a medium sized urban/suburban public library was that of Assistant Director and Head of Technical Services. All of a sudden, I had 45,000 taxpaying bosses. I was thrown into the world of patrons who came to the library for a place to get in out of the weather, to research a life-and-death health situation, to be entertained by light fiction or videotapes or children's story hour. I no longer had the luxury of calling on an IT expert to help wire a new workstation; I did the desk diving myself. After a year and a half, the director retired -- and the keys to the kingdom fell to me. Forty people were reliant on my talents for extracting money from the town council for salary and operating expenses. The slate roof leaked in the children's library? I took bids from three contractors, looking for the best and the most economical one to do the work without disrupting after school craft sessions. (At times like those, I silently thanked my father's civil engineering skills, taught to me at home when our house needed work.) A retirement dinner to be organized for another member of the staff? I became the hostess, though thankfully a great secretary did most of the arrangements. Publicize the library in the weekly town paper, the board ordered. Articles on the most minute parts of library operation followed until the idea of sharing the "fun" with the other professional staff eased the constant publication deadlines. The staff made that place hum. Most of them had been there for years and knew the patrons. The taxpaying patrons felt they had a right to services that would have kept three times the staff running constantly, and I had to develop placating skills that I had never before had to call on, even when working for 300 lawyers! Public relations there was a cross between fund raising, trying to convince some parents that the staff was not a babysitting service for after school care, and guessing at and programming related activities to bring the most warm bodies (statistics) into the buildings. The creative ideas from the staff were only held back by budget dollars stretched to the limits. The non-fiction shelves needed shelf reading? All hands on deck with me there to set a good example. The wonderful reference staff, serving a local patron who happened to be a feature writer for the New Jersey section of the New York Times, found our library to be a Sunday New Jersey section page one story for their troubles. They treated all the patrons that well; the results weren't always so obvious. Full Circle I'm back in a special library now. When the phone rings or an e-mail pops up with a request, I can once again be fairly certain of the range of topics I'll be asked to search. The skills I learned in the public arena transferred with me, just as my special library skills had followed me into that world. Which do I prefer? That depends on the day you ask the question. Some days when I'm holed up in my cubicle, ransacking the Internet or expensive commercial databases that most public libraries cannot afford to offer their patrons, I may be grateful for the range of resources at my fingertips -- but I'd love to be arranging a Sunday jazz concert in the library auditorium, too. Karen Botkin is an Information Specialist for a pension and benefits consulting firm in New Jersey. -------- *** Your ad here! If you provide library-related products or services, reach over 1025 career-minded information professionals simply and affordably. See rate card at http://www.lisjobs.com/ratecard.htm#newsletter -------- Third Time's the Charm: Choosing a Career in Librarianship by Paula McMillen (Paula.McMillen@orst.edu) While many come to librarianship from other careers, I made my third major career change to the profession after a somewhat atypical process. I made myself the subject of a formal assessment process while completing a certificate program in career counseling. One of the first things we learned in the career counseling program is that most people take essentially an opportunistic path to their various jobs and careers, e.g., you know someone who does something that sounds sort of interesting, or someone knows someone else who needs someone... It's often a very generic process and is, in fact, why so many people end up doing jobs that are not a good match for their temperament, interests, and skills. I quickly realized that I was one of those people who had more or less stumbled into my previous careers. Accidental Careers In my case, I became a psychologist because friends of my parents, who were psychologists, thought I would be good at it. So, I abandoned my original plan of getting a Ph.D. in German after finishing my B.A. I took a year of post-graduate psychology courses that allowed me to compete successfully for a slot in a Ph.D. program in clinical psychology, and I was on my way. Several years into that career, traumatic events in my personal life served as the catalyst that brought me to the realization that I was not suited to dealing with other people's problems as the source of my income. I felt, at that point, that I wanted to do something as different as possible -- so I got an MBA. It was certainly different in some ways, but inevitably linked back to my former counseling life. I used the MBA to move into the human resources area, working for a health maintenance organization; I was once again in the role of a helper. When I began to feel intellectually stifled, I started looking around again and enrolled in the certificate program for career development. By this time, those near and dear to me were beginning to think I was going to be the proverbial perpetual student! I needed to get organized and make some purposeful decisions. Self Analysis The career development program involved learning about the whole person, the world of work, and the interaction between the two. Doing a good career assessment is a multi-faceted process, and many would argue that it should be a lifelong one. I decided to be my own guinea pig. To assess myself, I used a number of standardized paper and pencil tools, such as the Career Ability Placement Survey, the COPS and Strong Interest Inventories, the California Psychological Inventory, the Career Assessment Inventory, and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. I also worked with several less formal tools such as priority charts from *What Color is Your Parachute* and "dependable strengths" writing exercises. These attempt to identify your temperament, interests, values, skills, etc., and, in some cases, to align these with patterns typical of certain occupations. It wasn't until I saw the Strong profile with "librarian" way out in the lead that I considered it as a possible career choice. One should never rely on a single measure, and so it was important that the other tools were at least fairly consistent. A consistent note in my careers had been to be a helper. I had always needed a lot of intellectual stimulation and my ambitions lay in personal competence. It all seemed to fit. Mind you, I was not exactly keen to undertake yet another graduate course of study and so I set out to determine whether or not the MLS was really a necessary qualification. This leads to the second major aspect of this process, assessing the workplace. Workplace Analysis I read job descriptions, employment projections and biographies (e.g., in the *Occupational Outlook Handbook*), gathered information about requirements and salaries for jobs from classified ads, and talked to people actually doing library work. By networking, I interviewed a reference librarian in a large public library (a friend's mother), a special librarian (at my current employer, an HMO), and two people from a large academic library in cataloging and automation (names provided by the woman who cut my hair!). This part of the process confirmed that an additional degree in library science was pretty critical in gaining access to the kinds of jobs I wanted to do. It also confirmed that this was a career path that would be a good match for me. The decision making was hardly over at that point, because it was now obvious that the generic term "librarian" could be translated into a variety of actual job duties and settings. During my MLIS program, I explored the various work of technical services and reference, as well as public, special and academic library settings. Consistent with my past careers, I gravitated toward the more service-oriented role of reference. Consistent with my love of continual intellectual challenge, I gravitated toward the world of academic libraries. And here I am, working as a reference librarian in a mid-sized research university. I can honestly say, it feels like a great match for me; I really love most of the work I do most of the time. As I learned in the career counseling program: That's the goal! Change Is the Only Constant What wasn't -- and perhaps couldn't be -- anticipated, was how dramatically the work of librarians would change even over the short two and a half years that I took to complete my degree. The descriptions of library work I read in my initial decision-making process said little about computers, and nothing about the World Wide Web. Knowing how to create web pages or teach in an electronic classroom became desired and expected skills practically overnight. However, the essence of the work remains the same, and I can adapt to the medium. As William Bridges, the author of *Transitions,* said in a lecture I attended (I paraphrase here): "If you don't want to continually change and learn in your job, you were probably born at the wrong time." If you don't want to change and learn, you certainly wouldn't want to be a librarian! I recommend this road of self-assessment and work exploration to anyone choosing or modifying a career. What I would do differently is to include questions and reading about future trends for the profession in my information gathering. In today's world of work, the conventional wisdom is more true than ever... change is the only constant. Paula McMillen is a social science reference librarian at Oregon State University. After getting her MLIS -- her 4th graduate degree -- her friends gave her a license plate holder that said, "She who dies with the most degrees wins!" -------- Shifting Gears: Librarian to Management Analyst By Pamela Newsome (pam.newsome@dot.state.mn.us) After fifteen years as a reference librarian for the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) Library, I recently made a career change and became a management analyst in Mn/DOT's Office of Business Planning, Management Analysis Unit. The management analysts in our office are internal consultants to management; they help groups with planning processes, provide group facilitation services, and conduct studies that result in recommendations for operational improvements. I am finding that the skills I developed working in a special library are transferring well to my new position. In a way, I can look at my new projects as complex reference questions, and have the confidence to proceed accordingly. Initial Moves The seeds of this change were sown about four years ago, when our library decided to introduce a new service, called In-Depth Reference and Information Synthesis (IRIS). An IRIS project calls for the librarian to research a topic in depth and write a state-of-the-art paper for the client. At the same time, Mn/DOT was introducing a new program called the Professional Rotation Program. The program was designed to give professionals an opportunity to spend three months in a different, but related, job, the goal being for participants to learn about other areas of Mn/DOT and to learn new skills that they could take back to their own jobs. One of the first rotation opportunities was in the Management Analysis Unit. Analysis was one of the things with which I wanted more experience, in order to do a good job with the IRIS projects. I applied for the rotation, and spent three months working with and learning from the management analysts. New Skills In the Rotation Program, I learned how to write a work plan for a project. I learned how to present the results of a project in a more polished way (in person, with visual aids, rather than just shipping the results out as with ordinary literature searches). I learned that many of the skills I had developed working in a special library translated well to management analysis. And I learned that I like project-oriented work. Much of what we do in the library consists of cyclical, ongoing activities. The IRIS projects that I subsequently worked on gave me a good taste of project-oriented work, and convinced me that it suited me well. I decided that I needed a change, and when an opening came up in the Management Analysis Unit, I successfully pursued it. According to the *Occupational Outlook Handbook 2000-01,* "... analysts and consultants collect, review, and analyze information, in order to make recommendations to managers."(1) Librarians also collect, review, and analyze information, but generally stop short of making recommendations to managers. If you are ready to take that additional step, management analysis could be a good fit. The basic steps in a management analysis project as described in the *Handbook* are to define the nature and extent of the problem, develop solutions to the problem, and report findings and recommendations to the client. Reference work is excellent preparation for those activities. In fact, the *Handbook* lists Information Sciences as one of the suitable educational backgrounds for this profession. Here are some of the things that the management analysts in Mn/DOT do, and how library skills are relevant preparation: * Provide leadership, coordination or facilitation of process improvement (e.g. consult with offices on reorganization, strategic planning, cost improvement strategies, service delivery effectiveness). - The reference interview is good preparation for talking with clients about their needs, clarifying the steps in the proposed project, and determining the timeline and deliverables. The reference interview is also relevant to group facilitation, where you have to keep the discussion on track and reach clear conclusions. - Reference work provides experience in gathering, compiling and organizing data, and presenting it in the format desired by the client. * Provide problem-solving expertise to managers, supervisors, task force chairs, committees, and other work groups. - Librarians are constantly solving problems related to finding information and analyzing it for accuracy, relevance and usability. - Librarians know how to maintain networks of contact people and know whom to call for additional information or expertise. - Develop and deliver training to enhance managers' expertise in business planning, performance management and related areas. * Library instruction, whether formal group instruction, one-on-one, or presentations at meetings and conferences, provides experience for planning and delivering training programs. If you work in a special library and want to make a career change, find out if your organization supports mobility assignments, rotations, or exchange programs, and take advantage of them if possible. They can give you a first-hand taste of what it is like to be doing something different, and are great learning opportunities in any case. Alternatively, use the contacts that you have made with library users in your organization and set up informational interviews. They may recruit you when they have an opening. Watch for advertised openings, and tailor a skills-based resume to each job that you apply for. Emphasize how library skills will relate to the activities of that job. Educate prospective employers to the fact that librarians have a great deal to offer that can be of value in a variety of settings. (1) United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. *Occupational Outlook Handbook 2000-01 Edition.* Washington, D.C.: The Bureau, 2000, p.69. http://stats.bls.gov/ocohome.htm. Pamela Newsome is a management analyst in the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Office of Business Planning. She previously was a reference librarian in the Mn/DOT Library, and before that worked for the New York Public Library. She received her MLS at Queens College, City University of New York. -------- "Non-traditional jobs for special librarians require a fearless, non- superstitious, and forward thinking mind-set coupled with an acute ability to self-promote. In order to succeed and flourish in the non- traditional environment, librarians and information professionals must be able to embrace the fluid landscape and nature of information work. This will require the adoption of new perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and the willingness to proactively sell the organizational, research, and evaluative expertise that belongs to practitioners of library and information science." -- Susanna Weaver -------- What's Online? Recommended Links Today's articles have focused largely on careers in librarianship, but a number of options are open to information professionals who wish to move into related fields. These resources will help those of you who are interested in using your skills as librarians in alternative careers, and give you ideas as to what else might be available. Special Librarians Special librarians may move more comfortably between careers, as business libraries transform themselves and information functions are spread throughout companies. The Western Canada Chapter of the Special Libraries Association addresses non-traditional careers for librarians in their "Wired West" newsletter. See Emerging Careers for Librarians - Part I at: http://www.sla.org/chapter/cwcn/wwest/issue13/car1-13.htm and Part II at: http://www.sla.org/chapter/cwcn/wwest/v1n1/wright11.htm. Special librarians might also be interested in Susanna Weaver's "Non- traditional Jobs for Special Librarians" at http://www.libsci.sc.edu/bob/class/clis724/SpecialLibrariesHandbook/no n-traditional.htm All Librarians Librarians In the 21st Century: Non-Traditional Jobs for Librarians at: http://istweb.syr.edu/21stcenlib/where/nonlibrary.html was created by students at the Syracuse School of Information Studies. Their page gives some background on changes inside and outside the profession that have broadened the possibilities for information professionals, and lists a number of other sites and titles for librarians interested in non-traditional careers. While you're visiting, check out the rest of the Librarians In the 21st Century site -- there is a lot of good information here! Also check out "Job Searching: Widen Your Cast" from About.com, at http://librarians.about.com/careers/librarians/library/weekly/aa041799 .htm A Changing Profession For one look at librarians' changing roles, see Cherrie Noble's "Reflecting On Our Future," at http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/feb98/story2.htm -------- But I Want To Hold It In My Hand! Book Review Sellen, Betty-Carol, ed. What Else You Can Do With a Library Degree: Career Options for the 90s and Beyond. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc., 1997. ISBN 1-55570-264-3. Purchase from Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1555702643/librarisjobsearc/ Sellen has compiled articles from a number of degreed librarians who have put their library skills to good use in a variety of non- traditional settings, from publishing to marketing to consulting. This is not strictly a "how-to" manual that will explain step-by-step how one can move into an alternative career, but the first-person accounts and the advice from many contributors will provide helpful examples for information professionals contemplating similar career changes. An interesting read that may spark ideas in some who are interested in finding non-library opportunities, which may be even more abundant today than when this title was released. -------- Info Career Trends is copyright Lisjobs.com and Rachel Singer Gordon. Permission is granted to forward this newsletter in its entirety as long as the contents remain unchanged and this copyright message is included. For permission to reprint articles in this newsletter, contact the individual authors. If no author is listed, contact editor@lisjobs.com. To subscribe to Info Career Trends, send an e-mail message to imailsrv@lisjobs.com. 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