1.
Librarians in the 21st Century:
Designing a Career Strategy for
Evolving Roles and Opportunities
Lisa Chow | Sandra Sajonas
October 18, 2013 Library 2.013 Worldwide Virtual
Conference
http://bit.ly/peopleinteract

2.
Objectives
1. Participants will receive an overview of new and
evolving roles of librarians.
2. Participants will conduct an individualized career
analysis.
3. Participants will be equipped with practical career
strategies for keeping their skills current with the shifting
profession.

3.
We surveyed 10 leaders in the library world...
Consultant
Digital resource librarian
Academic librarians
Outreach librarian
Legal librarian
Children’s librarian
Reference librarian
Research librarian
Instructional librarian

4.
We reviewed professional literature...

5.
We reviewed LIS curricula and
accreditation standards...

6.
We attended events, presentations,
meetings, discussions and webinars...

7.
Trends
● Think micro-careers. The modern information career will
be made up of micro-careers.
● There is no box. Information professionals are doing work
outside of traditional spaces, titles, responsibilities, etc.
● Think tech. The profession and information is going
online/digital/electronic.
● Be a part of the team. The information professional works
collaboratively.

8.
Self Assessment Activity
SWOT
Goals - 1, 2, 5 year goals

9.
Career Strategy
People
Professional Brand
Online Presence

10.
CONNECT WITH PEOPLE
Find colleagues to share & bounce off ideas.
Have a partner-in-crime.
Get to know your fellow librarians/students.
Find a mentor or two.
Be a mentor.

11.
Do you have mentors?

12.
GET YOUR NAME OUT THERE
Find opportunities to
publish and present

13.
HAVE AN ONLINE PRESENCE

14.
Do you have an e-portfolio?

15.
Portfolio on Google Sites

16.
Portfolio on Google Sites

17.
GET OUT THERE
Attend cheap/free events, unconferences,
trainings and meetups.
Attend national & local conferences.
Organize your own event.

18.
GET INVOLVED
Apply to various library programs & initiatives.
Get involved with local and national
associations & groups.

19.
KEEP UPDATED
Keep up with library land
(and the world).
influencers, listservs, blogs, LinkedIn, Google
Alerts

20.
KEEP LEARNING
● MOOCs (Massive online open
courses)
● Continuing education
● Informational interviews
● Ask colleagues to show you
what they know about a topic
or software/tool of interest
● Books, videos (YouTube,
Vimeo), podcasts, the usual...

21.
JOB BROWSE & JOB SEARCH

22.
GO BEYOND YOUR JOB TITLE
Be creative with your name tag

23.
CREATE BUSINESS CARDS
Vistaprint
Moo cards
Local print shop
Print your own on-demand

24.
Do you have a business card?

25.
BE PREPARED
BE OPEN
Update your resume/CV regularly.
Have your business card handy.

26.
TAKE THE INITIATIVE
Propose ideas, start projects, see what happens.

27.
Make it a SMART Goal
Write down 1 goal for each
career strategy area that you
are going to work on.
People:
Professional Brand:
Online Presence:

28.
STEP OUT OF YOUR
COMFORT ZONE
Take 1 step towards 1 SMART goal

29.
Resources
Publish & Present:
Woodhead & Chandos publishing - http://www.woodheadpublishing.com
Information Today - http://books.infotoday.com
Keep Updated:
ALA Mailing Lists - http://lists.ala.org/sympa
Library Link of the Day - http://www.tk421.net/librarylink
LIS Trends - http://listrends.blogspot.com
Slashdot - http://slashdot.org
LibGuides - http://libguides.com
Career:
LISCareer - http://www.liscareer.com
Library Job Postings - http://www.libraryjobpostings.org
I Need a Library Job - http://inalj.com
LinkedIn's Job Seekers webinars - http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/29245941
Alternative LIS Job Titles - http://www.infonista.com/2013/alternative-lis-job-titles-2
Free Courses - http://librarysciencelist.com/free-online-courses-for-librarians
IFLA New Professionals Special Interest Group http://npsig.wordpress.com/webinars

30.
Questions?
Evaluation: http://bit.ly/lib2013cs
Presentation slides and resources:
http://peopleinteract.wordpress.com/blog
Email: peopleinteractconsulting@gmail.com
People Interact
~ It's about people.
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Our Services:
Impact-Based Evaluation | Unconferences | Leadership & Career Development