Info Career Trends

January 2, 2009 - vol. 10, no. 1 - ISSN 1532-0839

Happy new year, all! And what better way to start out 2009 than with an eye toward alternative work arrangements — why not make flexibility your mantra for the new year? Today’s contributors share several ways in which alternative work arrangements have benefited both them and their institutions; use their stories as inspiration for working out your own alternatives or helping build flexibility into your own library.

Write on

Interested in writing for Info Career Trends? You’re in luck: I’m seeking contributors to three upcoming issues:

March 2009: Education
Do you value your MLS? Now that you’re on the job, what do you wish you’d learned in school? Has your non-library education been useful to you in your library career? Have you continued your education post-MLS? Are you pursuing an LTA or post-graduate certification? A PhD? What’s the best way to fund an MLS, or to fund continuing education? If it’s related to the education of librarians and info pros, find it here.

May 2009: Being Proactive
How do you deliberately move your career forward? How do you find leadership opportunities when you aren’t in a management position? How do you spearhead projects, launch initiatives, and ask for what you want? How do you negotiate a raise or promotion? All different ways of being proactive and taking charge of your own career.

July 2009: Keeping up in a down economy
How do you take advantage of professional development opportunities in an environment where your institution may not be able to fund your attendance? How do you ensure your relevance to your organization in an era of downsizing? How do you supplement your income with additional activities or part-time work? This issue addresses the various ways in which we can address or minimize the economy’s effects on us personally.

Check the contributor guidelines, then email your query to editor@lisjobs.com outlining what you intend to write about and why you’re a good person to do so.

If book reviews are more up your alley, I have two titles available:

• A Leadership Primer for Librarians by Suzanne Byke and Dawn Lowe-Wincensten
• Staff Development Strategies that Work! ed. by Georgie L. Donovan and Miguel A. Figueroa

Email editor@lisjobs.com; let me know which title is of interest and why.

Pay it forward

You may have noticed the new PayPal donation button in the sidebar. No? Here you go:

So what’s the deal with that, you may ask? Here’s the deal: Info Career Trends has been live for 8 1/2 years now. At almost 7,000 email and RSS subscribers, I figure it’s serving a purpose — but it also takes a lot of behind-the-scenes time and effort to produce. If you value ICT, let me know that it’s worth something to you — even $5 would be appreciated.

What’s up on the forums?

So what else is going on around the LISjobs.com community? Come talk about:

• Dress for women at interviews
• Making a career change into the library field
• Getting a BA in library science
• Cover letter for a management position
• … or start your own conversation!

Remember that the LISjobs.com forums are there for any job-hunting or career-related discussions.

- Rachel

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