My daughter is about to graduate from a major university with a
Masters in Information Science (Library Science) degree. She wants to
begin her career in a public, private, or college library setting.
(She will NOT have the education classes or teacher certification
needed to work in an elementary or secondary school.)

Nearly all of the job openings she has found online are looking for
librarians with 3 years experience or management experience. She does
have a lot of part-time library experience from her undergraduate
days, which is where she became interested in this field of work. She
loves to organize things and has a lot of computer and database
experience. She's open to working in many but not all parts of the
U.S.

What I'm looking for is detailed information on how someone with her
new degree can identify and apply for librarian jobs. For example:

What are the best online sites for this specialty?

What are the best sources for mail or email lists of libraries and the
people who do the hiring?

Looking beyond traditional libraries, what kinds of businesses might
hire people with this type of education.

What libraries or other institutions are known for hiring new MLS
grads with no full-time library experience?

What kind of job search program is most likely to lead to job offers?

Thank you.

---

Request for Question Clarification by politicalguru-ga on 27 Mar 2006 09:03 PST

What sites have she already tried?

---

Request for Question Clarification by politicalguru-ga on 27 Mar 2006 10:30 PST

Ooops "has she". Sorry

---

Clarification of Question by digitome-ga on 29 Mar 2006 17:14 PST

Sorry, it took me some time to get the answer. Here are the sites she has checked:

American Libraries Hot Jobs Online:
http://www.ala.org/ala/education/empopps/careerleadsb/hotjobsonline/hotjobsonline.htm

College and Research Libraries:
http://www.ala.org/ACRLTemplate.cfm?Section=crlcareeropps

Society of American Archivists:
http://www.archivists.org/employment/index.asp

LISjobs:
http://www.lisjobs.com/jobs/index.asp

General Job Sites:
www.careerbuilder.com
www.monster.com

She is also checking her university's job site and the newspapers in certain cities.

Hello digitome-ga,

Your daughter is correct in her review of the current job market for
newly graduating librarians. Finding an entry-level librarian job is
extremely tough. To help your daughter I?ve included a variety of
links to help with her job search.

First, I?ve provided some articles and resources on the current state
of the job market for entry-level librarians and some suggestions for
how to maximize the likelihood of getting hired. Next, I?ve provided a
large selection of library job posting sites. Finally, I included a
collection of blogs, journals, discussion forums and lists where your
daughter can sample what is going on the library field and to find
some kindred spirits who might be able to help her with her job
search.

I wish your daughter great success in her chosen field.

~ czh ~


=======================================
ENTRY-LEVEL LIBRARY JOBS AND JOB TRENDS
=======================================

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA527965.html
The Entry Level Gap 
By Rachel Holt & Adrienne L. Strock ? May 1, 2005 
Breaking in to the profession is harder than ever--if you're fresh out
of library school

http://lisnews.org/articles/05/05/05/0926249.shtml
The Entry Level Gap 

***** This site offers a forum discussion of the above Library Journal article.

---------------------------------------


http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6250888.html
Finding a Library Job 
By Rachel Singer Gordon ? June 1, 2005 
This exciting job market can be tough to break into, but these steps
to success should help along the way

---------------------------------------


http://southernlibrarianship.icaap.org/content/v05n02/sproles_c01.htm
Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship
v.5 no.2-3 (Fall 2004)
An Analysis of Entry-Level Librarian Ads Published in American Libraries, 1982-2002

***** Although slightly dated, this is a long and detailed article
that addresses hiring trends and might be useful to your daughter.

---------------------------------------


http://www.liswiki.com/wiki/HOWTO:Apply_for_a_library_job
HOWTO:Apply for a library job
From LISWiki

If you're new to the profession or haven't searched for a library
position in a while, this guide is designed for you. It contains some
checklists, guidelines, tips and tricks for how to get a library job.
Questions candidates should ask are also listed.

***** This is a very comprehensive link that offers lots of resources
to help with every aspect of the librarian?s job search.


============================================
JOB POSTINGS AND JOB BOARDS FOR LIBRARY JOBS
============================================

http://www.liscareer.com/jobhunting.htm
The Library & Information Science Professional's Career Development Center

Job Hunting
This topic deals with finding jobs, job ads & resources;  the job
market; resume writing; cover letters; references;  interviewing;
portfolios; marketing yourself; assessing potential employers;
negotiating contracts or salaries;  resigning a job; dealing with
termination; and more.

***** This site offers links to dozens of articles about every aspect
of job hunting for the librarian.

---------------------------------------


http://www.libraryjobpostings.org/all.htm
Welcome to Library Job Postings on the Internet! This site first came
into being on May 1, 1995, and was originally hosted on the web space
of the University of Michigan Libraries. As of May 1, 2005, this site
receives an average of 11,500 hits and 1700 sessions (unique visits)
every weekday.

***** There are about two dozen resources listed here including a
large number of library schools. I suggest that your daughter go
through all of these for herself. I reviewed most of them and
discovered that some of the sites are very primitive and take a lot of
effort to review job postings. Other sites are well designed but the
job postings don?t seem to be current. Some of the sites require
registration. Below I?ve included the links to the ones that seem most
promising for your daughter?s job search.

---------------------------------------


http://www.infocurrent.com/resource_links.htm#library_assc
Library and Records Management Links
http://www.infocurrent.com/searchlines/joblist.asp?job_type=284
Information Management Staffing -- Library Jobs 

***** Some of the job postings are for entry-level jobs.

---------------------------------------


http://www.slis.indiana.edu/careers/view_job_titles.php
View jobs in all states

***** This site offers lots of current job postings and are worth a
review to spot organizations that are hiring or to discovered general
hiring trends.

---------------------------------------


http://www.libraryassociates.com/index.php4?page=jobs
Library Associates is a specialty staffing and recruiting
organization. We most often seek candidates with backgrounds in
information science, including those with Master's degrees in Library
or Information Science, but we also recruit archivists, writers,
editors, indexers, taxonomists, library technicians and many others.
Most of our positions involve working with information: print,
digital, photographs, journals, books, manuscripts, documents,
correspondence and much, much more!

---------------------------------------


http://jobs.collegegrad.com/MKT/Content/JS/Channels/EducationTrainingLibrary.asp
http://jobs.collegegrad.com/JS/Action/Searchresults.asp?q=y&key=Librarian&SType=1&I1=24&explvl=2125
Librarian Jobs (30)

---------------------------------------


http://www.sc.edu/career/?id=library
University of South Carolina
Websites for the School of Library & Information Science

The following sites include information about topics or careers in the
field of Library Science.

Additional sites listed may provide related career development or
salary survey information.

* Sites that post or link to actual job listings are designated with a star. 

---------------------------------------


http://www.librarysupportstaff.com/libjobs.html
Online Job Fair

***** This site offers lots of links for every aspect of finding a job
in a library.

---------------------------------------


http://www.libraryspot.com/libshelf/jobs.htm
LibrarySpot.com, a free virtual library resource center for educators
and students, librarians and their patrons, families, businesses and
just about anyone exploring the Web for valuable research information.

***** Offers librarian job postings from a variety of sources. You
must click on each resource and then search or browse the jobs
offered.

---------------------------------------


http://www.mlanet.org/jobs/index.html
MLANET
 
MLA's job postings help individuals locate quality jobs and aid
institutions in their search for top-notch employees. Jobs are listed
alphabetically by state. Updated on the 10th and 25th of each month.

---------------------------------------

http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/hum45.60.00/
The Internet Public Library
Library Employment



==================================================
LIBRARY AND LIBRARIAN BLOGS, LISTS, FORUMS, GROUPS
==================================================

http://tametheweb.com/
Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
A Weblog by Michael Stephens

***** Lots of links to other blogs by and for librarians.

---------------------------------------


http://www.techsource.ala.org/blog/2006/03/on-the-20-job-description-part-1.html
ALA TechSource

On the 2.0 Job Description: Part 1
Posted on 03/21/2006 at 11:31:21 AM by Michael Stephens
Evaluating Our Institutions and Education

The posting of a job at Wayne State University Libraries back in
January was worthy of note to me because it was the first time I'd
seen Web 2.0 tools specifically mentioned in a job ad. The 2.0 meme
was indeed unfurling into many facets of libraries. A few weeks later,
Jenny Levine posted about another job?this time for a school media
specialist with definite 2.0 duties.

***** Interesting blog posting about skills needed by future librarians. 

---------------------------------------


http://technorati.com/tag/library+education
Technorati: Tags: library education

http://lisnews.org/about.shtml
LISNews is a collaborative weblog [aka blog] devoted to current events
and news in the world of Library and Information Science. A dedicated
team of international bloggers scour the World Wide Web to find
stories they find interesting. You'll find links to news stories and
Web sites, along with original writing, interviews and reviews.
LISNews is updated frequently, usually 7 days a week. We are a
non-commercial site, supported by our users.

---------------------------------------


http://community.livejournal.com/library_grrls/
http://community.livejournal.com/library_grrls/profile
Name:Library Grrrls! 
About:We are Library Grrrls United. Hear us Roar. Hear us Bitch.

Do you work in a library or just look like you do? Are you currently
enduring the tortures of Library School? This is a grrrl (but bois are
wlcome, too) focused arena for discussing libary work issues, women's
evolving roles in libraries, and general library bitching or exalting.

---------------------------------------


http://rochellejustrochelle.typepad.com/copilot/
Tinfoil + Raccoon
Looking for the new and shiny in libraryland and beyond

***** Also check out the links under ?We Speak Library Here.?

---------------------------------------


http://keotag.com/
Tag search engine. 

***** Enter search term and look for results in selection of
directories for blogs, tags and forums. I searched for < librarian >
and got some of the above resources.



===============
SEARCH STRATEGY
===============

library OR librarian jobs
entry level library OR librarian jobs
library OR librarian "job search OR hunt"

Although I have not yet followed up on all the links, it appears that
this was a thorough, well researched answer. I appreciate it.

I am a librarian who graduated from a Canadian library school 13 years
ago. You are quite correct that most libraries prefer to hire
librarians with experience. There are some large systems, however,
that do recruit and hire newly graduated librarians. The Queens
Library in New York is one of these. I suggest that your daughter
consider contacting this library to see if she could gain valuable
experience there. The cost of living is very high in New York, but
this need not be a permanent move. There are also many online sites
for librarian jobs - these have probably changed since I looked at
them but I am sure a google search of "librarian jobs" or "library
employment" would yield results. Once she has 3 years experience, she
should be able to get a job just about anywhere in the U.S. or Canada.

There is most likely a job placement or career counselor at her
college .  That is where she should start.