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Illustration: ©Nuthawut/Adobe Stock *Editor’s note: All librarian names have been changed to protect their privacy. Alex* can pinpoint the day she knew she was done with library work. “I was doing a lot of extra emotional support for people who didn’t have anybody else,” says the public librarian, who is disabled and has been working […]
Illustration: ©Nuthawut/Adobe Stock Last year, career prospects for library workers weren’t looking so rosy. The pandemic had thrust many industries into uncertainty, and library schools, job boards, and recruiters reported a contraction of library jobs not seen since the Great Recession. Luckily for job seekers, that trend seems to have receded. CNBC reported in late […]
Photos: ©Merla/Adobe Stock (coffee shop); ©Monkey Business/Adobe Stock (workshop, kitchen); ©Daria Trofimova/Adobe Stock (garden) No question: The coronavirus pandemic has warped the educational path for today’s young adults, in turn affecting their readiness for the workforce. In the past, many young people have sought out part-time employment in areas such as the food service industry […]
Many things stick with you long after you graduate from college—the education you received, the friends you made, and, too often, the expenses incurred. For thousands of Americans saddled with debilitating college debt, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, established by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, has helped cut down […]
Northwestern University Library workers marched across the Evanston, Illinois, campus to declare their union. Photo: SEIU Local 73 At noon on October 12, 2021, more than 130 library workers at Northwestern University met at the Rock, a well-known gathering space on the Evanston, Illinois, campus. They had decided to march to the provost’s office to […]
The Virtual Interview Lab at Do Space in Omaha, Nebraska, is equipped with a computer, webcam, microphone, and ring light.Photo: Do Space An estimated 19 million Americans—or 6% of the population—still lack access to fixed broadband service at threshold speeds. And as more job interviews have moved online during the pandemic, those without access face a […]
Illustration: Shane Tolentino Mindy Moran* planned on a career as an academic librarian. Since graduating with her MLS in 2016, however, she has not found a permanent position in a university or college library. She also has realized: “I may or may not actually end up working in a library” at all. Even before COVID-19 […]
Illustration: Shane Tolentino Gloria Vela, fresh from receiving her MLIS and earning her Texas school librarian certification, did all the right things when she applied for school librarian jobs. She set up a tidy workspace well-lit for Zoom interviews. She applied makeup, styled her hair, and made sure her 6-month-old miniature Australian shepherd, Olive, was […]
Reference Desk Associate T. J. Rankin (left) and Circulation Supervisor Brenda Choy create “job fairs in a bag” at Tyler (Tex.) Public Library. Photo: Tyler (Tex.) Public Library When in-person programming is unsafe, how do you help community members find much-needed employment? Tyler (Tex.) Public Library (TPL) came up with a novel way: creating a […]
When I completed my library degree at University of Toronto last year, I kept a spreadsheet to track jobs I applied to. Looking through those listings now—part- and full-time jobs across North America in public, academic, and government libraries and archives—I see that all were somehow precarious, with assignment durations ranging from four months to […]
