Spotlight

• Using Your Intelligence: How One Librarian Secured a Job Securing Her Country

  By Virginia Sanchez
  The Intelligence community needs librarians and the skills we bring. My experience accessing and manipulating multiple databases; evaluating and identifying the most relevant search results; packaging my findings into PowerPoint presentations and reports; and making oral presentations on my findings has been invaluable. Invariably I am asked to teach my colleagues how I “find all that stuff so fast.” I once handed an archived news article in full text to a colleague within 24 hours. When he … Read the rest

ALA-APA News

• Suburban library janitor gets probation for theft of books and DVDs

  By Dan Rozek, Chicago Sun-Times: October 27, 2011

  Former library janitor James F. Jackson pled guilty to felony theft after being charged with stealing thousands of dollars of library materials to sell online. Jackson will pay will pay the library $2,500 in restitution and has been placed on two years’ probation. Jackson is barred from the library while he is on probation.… Read the rest

• Library janitor finds ‘unassuming’ wooden box and discovers treasure hoard of ancient Roman coins worth ‘millions’

  By Chris Parsons, The Daily Mail (London): December 12, 2011

  German library custodian Tanja Hols has discovered a stash of ancient and antique coins that might be worth millions of dollars. The box lay unopened in an archive of Germany’s historic Passau library for over two hundred years; research indicates that the coins were hidden in the library in 1803 by tax-dodging aristocrats and clergy. Library officials praised Hols for her honesty and sleuthing skills, and have promised her … Read the rest

• USF library discovers live grenade in box of donated war memorabilia

  By Kim Wilmath, Tampa Bay Times: December 8, 2011

  A live bomb was accidentally donated to the University of South Florida Library earlier this month. The grenade, included in a box of donated military relics, was discovered December 7. The Tampa Police Department evacuated library employees and students on three floors, and Tampa’s bomb squad safely removed the grenade and detonated it in an isolated location. Authorities do not believe that the donation was a malicious act.

  … Read the rest

Career Advancement

• The Invisible Job Ladder

  Editor’s Note: The following article is an excerpt of Jeanette Woodard’s A Librarian’s Guide to an Uncertain Job Market, published by ALA Editions. Woodard’s book advises librarians on what to include and what to leave out of your resume, as well as how to navigate the current job market.

  Years ago, a friend who held the title of director decided she needed a change. When a new and more interesting position was created within her own library system, one … Read the rest

HR Practice

• The Weather Outside is Frightful: Inclement Weather Closing Policies

  Winter is here, bringing with it marshmallows and cocoa, scarves and mittens – and the administrative headache of inclement weather closings. Library Worklife surveyed academic libraries across the nation, asking them how they handle weather-related absences.

  LW asked libraries the following questions:

  1. If you close early due to bad weather, do you still pay employees (exempt and nonexempt) for the full day?
  2. What if employees come in late or leave early — do they receive their full pay?
  3. Do you make

  … Read the rest

Statistics

• Women’s Employment Gains Stagnant Between October 2009 and August 2011

  Analysis by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) indicates that as of August 2011, the employment gap between women and men in the wake of the economic recession has continued to grow. Data for the analysis is pulled from the Current Employment Statistics Program’s September 2 report.

  The following are included among IWPR’s observations and conclusions:

  • In October 2009, employment for men and women reached parity as a result of men’s job loss.
  • In the recovery, however, men’s employment

  … Read the rest

Support Staff

• LSSC Announces Financial Assistance, LTA Cooperative Agreements

  The Library Support Staff Certification (LSSC) Program announces two new initiatives: financial assistance for fifty LSSC applicants, and a program of cooperative agreements with Library Technical Assistance (LTA) programs.

  Financial Assistance
  The Library Support Staff Interest Round Table (LSSIRT), in cooperation with LSSC, now offers offers financial assistance to LSSC applicants. Recipients of LSSIRT’s Registration Assistance Awards will receive $175, half of the LSSC’s $350 registration fee. Fifty recipients will be selected; 114 applied. The fifty recipients will be announced … Read the rest

Work/Life

• Managing Holiday Stress, Courtesy of Georgia’s Department of Corrections

  Black Friday sales, flight delays, rafters-to-basement housecleaning, elaborate recipes, a roomful of family members with outsized (and conflicting) opinions: little wonder a season dedicated to peace can leave our nerves as tangled as hastily stored holiday lights.

  Fortunately, Georgia’s Department of Corrections website links to excellent advice on managing, simplifying and reevaluating our holiday obligations. (We also imagine that employees of the Department of Corrections know from stress.)… Read the rest

LW Tip

• December 15 Webinar Offers Interview Tools

  Whether you’re in job-search mode, promotion mode or opportunity-seeking mode, your goal is the same: get that interview! The interview is the place where you can showcase your talents and demonstrate why you are the best candidate for the job. Join the ALA JobLIST Placement Center for the next online chat to share ideas and resources and to learn the essential tools you need to be interview-ready. We’ll cover the research you need to do before the interview, materials you’ll want to bring with you to … Read the rest