Tiny update

I've changed the tag line. Also, I will be working on a resources/links page over the next few days, along with a couple of other projects, as I've got an unexpected "vacation" from my seasonal job. This is all providing I'm not called into work. One more week and I start my new librarian job. Hopefully I'll get my sleep schedule back on track by then :)

Holiday break

Okay, I've decided to put the TYL blog on a short hiatus for the holiday season since this is down time for many, many people. This is not to say that I won't post if something catches my attention, but I'm not going to make a concerted effort to find/think of things to post. However, before I head off, here's a couple of things to keep in mind over the break:

1. I'd really like to start the new year off with a bang and post a few more articles. I plan on writing one more myself. I really need more contributors though. A few have said that they will send in articles for the "A Day in the Life of (insert job title here)" series. Thank you to those people. If this site is going to be a continuing resource though, this can't be all on me.

2. I'm running out of ideas for polls. Send poll topics to me.

3. I may be working on adding sections to the site, oh say a resources page, so keep an eye for that. I'll also be doing general maintenance (like fixing the last updated script so it shows the real day last updated, not the current day you are viewing the page, and sticking redirects in to the old pages that have been moved).

4. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday season. See you next year!!

Creative financing

Yes, I know that, if you're in the US, the end of the fiscal year is coming up soon and I'm not talking about getting creative with the feds. Though after the most recent debacle with my student loan stuff, I'm tempted.

What I'm talking about is, since this is geared towards people who are going to be on the low end of the totem pole, salary-wise, how do you afford to go to professional development opportunities like conferences? I've just applied for three grants, two of which are specifically for the ALA Annual Conference next year. PLA is coming up in the spring. ALIA just had their new librarian symposium. State/local library associations have meetings year round. How do you afford to go to these? Especially if, like me, you have a brother getting married at the other end of the state, a cousin getting married halfway across the country, and an annual gathering of friends halfway across the country, among the many things scheduled during a three-month period over the summer.

This, of course, all costs money, and I'd really hate to give any of it up. Especially the professional development opportunities since I've yet to make any of them since I started library school, once again due to personal funding issues. So, does anyone have any suggestions on how I, and others, can make the most of our dollars without going any further into debt?

Yes, I know the "Weekly" Polls haven't really been weekly for the last month or so. With the holiday season and a correspondingly insane schedule, I think I'm just going to let the current one sit until after the new year. Please contact me if you have any suggestions for future polls. I'm at the end of my current list and am looking for new topics.

Available jobs

I was skimming through job ads tonight to see what's out there. It's striking me that I'm seeing less postings now for entry-level positions than I did even two months ago. I'm not sure if that is because of the mid-school year timing or worse, there really aren't that many entry-level jobs available anymore. I'm very grateful for the chance I now have because 1. it's professional experience and 2. it's with a library that is currently in a building program for a new and bigger library. That means I'll have a foot in the door for any new full-time positions that might be created when the move happens.

I've said it before, I do think that the ample supply of jobs for new librarians is a myth. I don't believe that it was a myth when this concept was first discussed in 2000. With the market crash, however, people are holding on to the jobs they have and are not retiring and other jobs are just not filled or are eliminated due to budget crunches. I saw someone say, on one of my listservs, that the abundance of jobs for new librarians is not a myth, but only the jobs are not available due to lack of funding. In my opinion, that statement has just reinforced the argument that an abundance of jobs IS a myth. If there is no funding, there are no jobs, and therefore there is no abundance.

On a slightly related note, as I was cruising through the listings, I came across an ad for a reference supervisor, requiring 5 years experience, in a major metropolitan area. The pay, minimum $32K DOQ. Personally, even if I was totally debt free, I don't think I could in good conscience apply for a position that paid that little and required that much experience, let alone be a supervisory position, which according to the job description may as well be a department head position for that particular library, for the area where the library is located. Admittedly, the library is definitely not in one of the financially better areas of the metropolitan area, but still. *Sigh*

Okay, down and up day. Open the mail to find a thin envelope from one of the institutions I had some hope for. Of course, the letter is saying that I was not selected to interview. Darn it. Go to work for a few hours, spend some money and save lots of money as it's the employee appreciation weekend. Yeah! Come home to find an e-mail from the supervisor for one of the part-time positions I had applied for back in August. The person they had hired had accepted another position and was leaving, was I still interested? YES!!!! LOL So, now I just have to work out my availablility with the part-time position and I've got a professional position. Watch me do the happy dance!! LOL

I got this from Jessamyn of Librarian.net and I thought a few of my readers might be interested ;) Check out Jessamyn's original post about it in the 9 Dec 03 post.

MTV.com - Onair - Castingcall

The new poll and poll results were posted late Monday night. Be sure to let me know if there's a topic you'd be interested in seeing in the poll.

Quick idea for a fun article for YL: Cosmo-like quiz on how to spot if you might be a closet librarian.

Examples:

1. When in a bookstore or library, do you get the urge to alphabetize books if they're out of order?

2. Do you keep track of what books/movies/clothes/shoes your friends borrow from you?

3. If you do the above, do you have due dates and overdue fines to encourage the return of your items?

I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still alive, barely. Between working both jobs and then having my computer go a bit schizo on me when I have had time to work on my various computer-based projects, I haven't had much time to update anything. As I'm once again working both jobs tomorrow, I'll try to update the poll when I've got a break between them, otherwise, the next poll and the results of this week's will be posted on Tuesday.

I hate this. I'm starting to feel very disconnected from the library world. I know I'm not, and that what I'm currently doing job-wise, is related to the field, but I miss working in a library. I try very hard not to sound maudlin about my "unemployment" status, which is why I haven't posted too much about my job search process lately. I'm finding it to be very depressing because I feel like there's a wall out there that I can't get beyond. I know that a lot of people who know me believe in me and my abilities. It's great that I have these believers, but it keeps eating at me that I can only get to a certain point and not beyond. I feel like I must be doing something wrong, but everyone who reads my cover letters and resumes can't find a thing that would hurt me. I guess it's just time for some deep breathing exercises :)

Just a reminder, I am looking for contributors to the website, so please check out the submission guidelines, and get in touch with me.