Thursday, October 16, 2008

And how will you be paying for this?

According to this article from American Libraries, the stock market collapse will have consequences for many libraries that rely on endowments for funding, which means cuts to library hours, as well as, library staff. This could mean layoffs--but it could also mean decreased hiring in the coming year. It could also mean keep the people but fewer books and licenses, so don't despair about job offers yet.

One thing you can do is some research to figure out how your prospective employers are funded. The American Library Association has a section on their site dedicated to library funding, and Library Journal also offers a roll of articles about library funding from their pages. The state or provincial library site should have information about how the libraries within that area are funded (state name + library in Google should get you these websites).

So don't lose your nuggets over the news, but do a dig into the money sources of your prospects. This should also be part of your basic employer research that you take to an interview.

No comments: