I want to be an academic librarian

"To become an academic librarian you will have to wait for someone to die"
"I am very patient."

"Bad Career Advice" from BNET

Caution: Bad Career Advice Ahead from the Evil HR Lady on BNET is filled with great examples of when to ignore advice--especially when that advice flouts common sense or is unjust.

Academic Librarian at Algoma University

This job posting is from AcademicWork.ca, an initiative of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT)

LIBRARY

Date Posted: December 06, 2010
Region: Ontario
Institution: Algoma University
Discipline: Librarian
Web Link: http://www.algomau.ca

Algoma University invites applications for 3-year, contractually limited appointment, at a junior level, beginning July 1, 2011. The successful candidate must have an MLIS (or recognized equivalent) from an ALA-accredited institution with training and/or course-work in collection development and planning. The position will coordinate and develop strategies for the effective and efficient management for print and electronic collections with emphasis on evaluation, selection and de-selection of information resources to meet the needs of the Algoma University academic community.

Candidates should submit electronically a letter of application, a curriculum vitae, sample publications or relevant, graduate course-work, a statement of their philosophy on the future of collections and collection development in universities, the names of three (3) academic or professional referees and letters of recommendation from said referees to: see job posting on AcademicWork.ca for email address. Application materials should be submitted as a single combined PDF file with the file name identifying the applicant. Applicants must also arrange for three letters of reference to be sent electronically. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

The university web site (www.algomau.ca) offers a good introduction to Algoma University, situated in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, at the heart of the Great Lakes on the Canada-US border. The position is open to all qualified applicants, although preference will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada. The University is an inclusive and equitable campus encouraging applications from qualified women and men including persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities and Aboriginal persons.

The position is subject to budgetary approval.

Events match students with real world projects

The ESADE business school in Spain matches students with real world projects in a speed dating style of match up. This type of idea could certainly work for other schools, to either get students to projects where they can hone their skills, or for non-profits to find students who have skills that they need to get projects done.

How about that collection development project that library students have to complete--I bet there are some non-profits in the area who could use that help--or marketing or knowledge management...the list goes on.

As as aside, if you're in the New York Area, Catchafire to matches professionals with non-profits that need skilled volunteers. 

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Shouldn't there be a digital expiry date?

The Canadian HR Reporter-Employment Law blog had an interesting post about a UFC fighter who would like to become a police officer. The Toronto Police Service had concerns about his schedule as a professional fighter, but it was a previous persona, as "Pimp Daddy", that led to the revoking of the offer of employment.

The fighter/wannabe police officer makes a good point: he used the alias at the suggestion of a promoter over a decade ago and is not currently using the alias. I think this was kind of a silly reason to retract the job officer--are you going to revoke job offers for every hooligan that used/still uses a stupid browser email address? What if a person's military call sign or other nickname--these digital nicknames can persist for a long time and be attached to their owners in a professional sense--makes them a "bad candidate"? The question, as the blog post asks, is this:

Should a name used early in his career still be held against him? Could the Toronto Police be losing out on someone who could turn out to be a good police officer because of it?

End of checking credit history

I've never understood the purpose of checking a potential employee's credit history--do you want to know if I wear boxers or briefs, too? But Inside Tech is reporting that the days for a credit history check may be numbered, which stems from a suit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Kaplan.

And, yes, many people do have their credit checked before they receive a job offer, usually because they will be in charge of money--a budget, a corporate credit card, supposedly be tempted to steal, or dealing with sensitive documents (which you'll notice they did away with the credit check)--so it is possible that a librarian may also be subjected to a credit check.

For more on the subject, check out the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse's Employment Background Checks: A Job Seekers Guide.

Ten Speed's Phil Wood Dies

Notice on PW site: Ten Speed's Phil Wood Dies

The Hipster Librarian from the Lipstick Librarian

Huh.

I think I need more coffee.

2011 Job Board Directory

AIRS and The Right Thing, companies that provide human resource recruiting solutions and training, have just released their 2011 Job Board Directory. If you maintain a list of job board links for your library or would like to look at some of the available job boards for a wide range of industries (special librarians, hey!) this is a useful resource.

Penguin Business Beat for December 2010

What's Your Calling?

Independent Lens will be showing a four-hour documentary entitled "The Calling" about seven young people who are pursuing professions in religious service. There will be a special livestream screening on the Independent Lens Facebook page on December 9, 2010.

There is also a companion website called What's Your Calling? that invites viewers to participate in an online discussion about what they feel called to do.

Copper theft in libraries

Copper theft isn't necessarily a career issue, but I have been more interested in library facilities lately since I read the book, What they don't teach you in library school, and also because there was a good article about the economic impact of copper theft in a recent edition of Businessweek.

• Botched copper theft causes Freon leak at Concord library
• Copper theft leaves library without power
  Copper thieves strike South Knox library
• Copper Thieves Hit Minneapolis Library
• Philly library thieves ignore computers, take copper piping

Other community centers, high schools, colleges and public service buildings, as well as farms, utilities, broadband services and cell phone towers have been hit. It is also an international problem, with reports of thefts from North America, the UK and Europe, and it is part of a larger problem of metal theft, though the high price of copper makes it extremely attractive.

Some communities are fighting back with surveillance cameras (Copper Theft Caught On Surveillance Camera), proposals to use RFID tags and rewards, not to mention the efforts made by police forces to curb the problem.

I think this would make an excellent capping exercise--possibly including resources on how to report and combat copper theft.