Friday, July 27, 2012

"The More I Practice, The Luckier I Get" : LLAMA Hiring Webinar

I attended the LLAMA webinar "How to succeed in an entry-level librarian interview: Research and experience-based tips". Here are some of the points they made in the presentation that I thought were particularly interesting and useful:

  • They recommend practicing for the interview, and to put as much time into practicing as you might for writing your resume and cover letter. Preparation can include things like 'getting to know the organization/library' ahead of time.
  • Personality, fit-with-organization, attitude, enthusiasm, flexibility were named as key by many libraries and organizations, moreso than skills.
  • Important competencies for most organizations and libraries are overwhelmingly communication and customer service. Familiarity with any given technology is typically more important than expertise with any given technology.
  • They also named important character traits as rated by various libraries and organizations. Intelligence, enthusiasm and cooperativeness were ranked the most important for entry-level hires.
 They also spent some time discussing things applicants did that made them stand out. Being passionate was one, and asking a lot of questions about the library, such as 'what is the culture like' was another.

I enjoyed this webinar myself, and thought it was very useful for anyone seeking to enter into the library field and anyone else seeking to master their interview skills.

If you would like to view the webinar yourself, a recording is available at: http://www.ala.org/llama/7-25-12-llama-webinar

August 3rd Happy Hour


Webinar: "How to succeed in an entry-level librarian interview: Research and experience-based tips”

Here is a link to the recording of the webinar "How to succeed in an entry-level librarian interview: Research and experience-based tips” and an evaluation form to fill out after viewing.

http://www.ala.org/llama/7-25-12-llama-webinar

Monday, July 23, 2012

SLA 2012

SLA's conference was in Chicago this year

Hi folks, this is Allison.

    Chrystelle and I attended the SLA conference in Chicago last week and it was an amazing experience. I strongly encourage anyone who has the opportunity to participate in a conference for library professionals, whether it's SLA, ALA, or PLA to do so. The week left me with optimism and renewed vigor for my chosen career path.
    A few of the sessions I attended were quite interesting and informative, but I think the most valuable thing I gained from attending was the opportunity to network. Being surrounded by more seasoned professionals who are passionate about their careers was inspiring and educational. Many are eager to provide students with insight into their careers and the paths they followed to get there.
    The most important take away I got from this trip is that as a new professional it is important to not have too narrow a scope on where you would like to work. Librarians are needed in diverse settings; law firms, zoos, chemical manufacturing companies, museums etc. As a new information professional, being aware of and open to pursuing work opportunities in a range of environments is certainly advantageous.
The "Bean" in Millennium Park 
    Your prior educational or professional experience may be a factor in choosing what kind of library job you would like to pursue, but it shouldn't place a limitation on exploring career opportunities outside of your comfort zone.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Omeka Workshop



Date: July 20, 2012
Instructor: Rebecca Goldman, MLS
Supporting Instructor: Jazmin L. Idakaar, MLIS

I attended a two hour workshop on Omeka at the Van Pelt Library at University of Penn yesterday.  Omeka is an open source web publishing service.  Here is the definition of the service from the website:
Omeka.net is web-publishing platform that allows anyone with an account to create or collaborate on a website to display collections and build digital exhibitions. No technical skills or special server requirements are necessary. Sign up, and start sharing. Instructions for using Omeka.net are in the right column.
  • Share Collections
  • Gather Stories
  • Build Exhibits
  • Map Photos
  • Create Simple Web Pages
  • Customize Web Design Templates
  • Share data through feeds
  • Collaborate
We used the free plan, which limits some of the tools you can use, but what is available seems very useful.  For those who would like to set up a website to display collections and do not know a lot about designing a website this service is great.  There are templates with room for control of the design, so you can make it more complex as you become familiar with the tools and/or learn HTML or CSS.
It was a little tricky when I first started designing the practice site, but I can see that if I spent a few hours here and there I would get the hang of it.  I really liked the LOC autosuggest feature that allows you to check the authorities and vocabulary while describing items.  A paid version has a GIS plugin to connect geographic information to your descriptions.
I would definitely like to take another workshop and learn more about Omeka.
If you missed it yesterday, here are some slides to get you started! Many thanks to Rebecca Goldman for sharing them! 

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Library of Congress Visit

DUSLA had a fabulous trip to the Library of Congress this past June. We had the opportunity to tour the main Jefferson building, talk with the law librarians at the Law Library of Congress and had a fantastic behind the scenes lecture on rare books and special collections.

We'd like to especially thank the Philadelphia Chapter of the Special Library Association and the Student Chapter of the American Library Association at Drexel for helping us with funding.

Here are some photos of the trip. If you have any photos, you'd like to add, please email them to duslaonline@gmail.com!

Part of the fountain in front of the LOC

The ceiling of the LOC

Entrance Hall



From left to right: Shawn Woodson, Linda Smith-Cowell, Alexandria Capone, Allison De Weerd, Dev Singer, Maeryn Olbey, Melinda Roberts, Caitlin Gerrity, Sharon Reilly.   

The fountain in front of the LOC


June's Happy Hour


This photo was taken during our June's Happy Hour at the Boilermaker in Center City, Philadelphia. We had numerous folks from the SLA-PHLGPLLAMLA-Phil and Phillybrarians.
This is a great opportunity for Philadelphia based library students to connect and reconnect with professionals in the area. We would like to invite all students to our upcoming August Happy Hour, details TBA.

(featuring: Jazmin Idakaar, Scott De Maris, Nicole Ernst Boris, Karen Krasznavolgyi, Robert Guerrero, Joseph Keslar, Allison De Weerd, and Shiobhan Cerny).