Librarianship as a Career
Librarianship is a rewarding profession. Many healthcare professionals (and those from other fields) have chosen librarianship as a second profession--you can too, without abandoning your current field, if you wish. There are many work settings and different specializations so you can never get bored. Burnout appears to be quite low in this profession, and many librarians retire rather than leave the field. In fact, a huge percentage of librarians are expected to retire within the next 5 years or so. Check out the links below for additional information about this exciting field.
Graying of the Profession
Library schools with health sciences courses
US News rankings of health librarianship schools
US News rankings of library science schools
Directory of accredited library schools
Generic information about the library science field
Careers in Archeology: Librarian
Librarian awards, scholarships, and grants--click on the links at left to access these financial resources
"Medical Librarianship: Help Save a Life!
Library Interview of Tanya (and librarian tips) some of the links may be broken, but there's some good tips in there!
Librarian Interview: R. Lee Hadden I interviewed this fascinating librarian while in library school; it's a fun read
Preparing for the Public Library Interview some tips that I wrote; many can be applied for any library setting
I highly recommend the book, The Physician in Transition: Managing the Job Interview, by Donald L. Double, published by the American Medical Association. Although it�s written for physicians, it covers the basic type of interview questions and what the interviewer really wants to know. Example: �What they may ask: �What do you want from your work that you haven�t been getting?� What they really want to know: How realistic are your expectations? How insightful are you in matching your expectations to your qualifications? Hints: Every job has pluses and minuses, so the challenge is to delineate one or two realistic career objectives without resorting to recitation of a gripe list. A special word of warning: Never, under any circumstances, say anything that may be construed as critical of your current employer.� (Double p 18).
Essential Areas of Knowledge breaks down the knowledge areas of libarians; helpful for most any library setting. It's good to note down which areas you aren't as knowledgeable about AND how important that knowledge area is for your current job.
Point Index even if you aren't planning a career in medical librarianship, this is a wonderful tool that you can use to guide and enrich your career path.
Job of a Lifetime check out the articles in this regular column (scroll down the page)
Role of Expert Searching in Health Sciences Libraries
MLA's Librarian Survival Kit: Step One--Survival I've heard there's plans to update this page, too
Take advantage of mentoring opportunities in your library association; many associations offer this valuable service to their members: MLA Mentoring, SC/MLA Mentoring Program, and the AHIP Mentoring Program are just a few examples. Check out the different MLA Chapters to see if they offer mentoring. You can also find mentors at library conferences and library listservs--network, network, network! We're a friendly bunch!
Frazz comic strip from 9/18/2004 about reference librarians I have a mug and t-shirt from them and can vouch for their high quality and quick delivery, and they offer other items with this comic strip on it--great gifts for those librarians in your life!
PhinisheD you don't need a PhD to be a librarian (though it helps if you want to be a library director or full-time professor); this site offers support for people doing their PhD dissertation
Piled Higher and Deeper comics for graduate students
This site � Copyright June 25, 1999, Tanya
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