Library Interviewing Ideas

Holly Hibner and I were lucky enough to talk to a new MLIS graduate on making connections and preparing for interviews. This led to a great discussion on competencies in public librarianship as well as what supervisors are "looking" for in new hires. Here are some things we thought were important for potential hires to know about working for us.

First, we assume you know some library science or you wouldn't have graduated. We also don't care about your favorite book or your hobbies. We want to know if you geek out about library work. Further, what kind of librarian are you? What we like to do for interviews is present "scenarios" and see where you fit. There are no right or wrong answers, just ideas that help us see if you fit into our style! Our library is very much about public service so we are looking for that kind of attitude.

Here are some scenarios we have used in the past:

• In your limited budget for kids materials you have to make a choice between Captain Underpants or an award winning youth title. What do you choose and why?
• A couple of kids are skateboarding in the parking lot which is completely against policy. How do you handle?
• A parent complains that one of the teens on the computer is doing some gaming and her child needs to use the computer for homework. How do you handle?

There is no right or wrong. Simply reiterating the policy is not enough for us to "like" you. We want to sense your philosophy of librarianship and customer service. The flip side of this is that you get to see how the library in question handles this as well. Fit goes both ways!

Here is some other advice. You have to do homework on your future library. Look at the website, visit the library. (Pro tip: we often ask where our website can be improved just to see if you have any good ideas to "borrow" and also to test that you actually did some preparation.) We also like to hear some solid ideas for programming, especially if you are interested in youth or teen services.

Short answer: be prepared and know who you are as a librarian!

ALA Countdown

I have started obsessing and counting down to ALA. Holly Hibner and I will be presenting two programs. If you are around, by all means drop by. (I am deathly afraid no one will come and I really don't want to stand in the room listening to crickets chirp!) Check the ALA official program for details, but here is the preliminary information.



Thingamabobs and Doodads: Why Tech Support IS Reference
Monday 10:30am-12:00pm


Not Just for Kids: Promoting Library Services Through Adult Summer Reading Programs
Monday 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

See you there!

Mary

Asking the right questions!

I have been doing a lot of thinking about the reference interview—especially when talking to teenagers. I remember my class in library school communicating what I think is the obvious: ask open ended questions. I watched a now retired, (thank GOD!), do a reference interview just like a script—complete with disdain for the patron’s ignorance on the subject matter. This really is one of my pet peeves! You really can’t script these things; they are organic and need context. So with this in mind, I have a few tips for reference interviews with teen students.

Ask some pointed questions to get started:
· Is this for an English class or a science class?
· Is this teacher a “pain” or picky or are they pretty relaxed about topics and format?
· If I sense some reluctance or contempt for this whole project, I might ask if this is a project they want to get done quickly without a lot of fuss, or are this something they are truly interested in.

I sometimes start with these types of questions for a couple of reasons. First, ask a question that a student can answer easily. Remember, they probably were nervous approaching the reference desk. I also ask about the teacher to remind them I work for THEM, not the school. Generally, these kinds of questions can get the ball rolling and communication comes a bit more easily.

Second, from the librarian point of view, this can put the student’s project in context. If the class is a general topic for a standard English research paper, then we can guide students to a variety of sources and do some general “bib instruction” on the right tool for the job. Since papers of this nature tend to be general, I also counsel on trying to “narrow” the topic and we usually engage in a “what do you want to say about this topic” kind of discussion.

Here is an example: Student in 9th grade English is going to write a big research paper on child abuse. Teacher is picky about sources and citations. After you have established this much info, now bring on your open ended questions. This is a big topic, so what are they thinking about? Give them some ideas to start the conversation. Do they think it is a big problem? Is catching abusers an issue? What do you think causes child abuse? In my experience, you can usually get a student to hypothesize or give an opinion on an aspect. Don’t talk source materials yet, just ask what they think. Move the conversation to the basics of a thesis statement. After a student has articulated the idea, then you can move into sources and regular discussion. My real point is to lay some groundwork with a general conversation.

A reference interview is more than just asking questions on topic. It is part counseling and part information manager. Help that student ask the “right” questions that will get the job done. Think of it as helping the student solve his or her problem, not just answering questions. Remember, that student didn’t hear your reference interview lecture in library school so they might not know the script!

Collection Management or avoiding the Awful Library Books Blog!

The sucess of Awful Library Books has been amazing. The troubling part of that blog is I just don't think I am going to run out of material! What is this resistance to weeding? I have had many professional discussions and the answers vary from patron resistance to just plain laziness. I am not sure anymore.


Anyone who hangs out with me for more than 5 minutes will have to listen to my diatribe on the virtues of regular physical inventory. Shelf by shelf, librarians need to go through the collection and reconcile the the actual physical items to catalog holdings. Naturally, this sounds daunting, but honestly, this is the best prevention on earth if you don't want to be a featured post on Awful Library Books. If every day, professional librarians devoted 15 minutes to a shelf or two of the collection, you would be on the right track to a "clean" collection.


What everyone in your library must embrace is, like weeding, or shelf reading or cleaning, an inventory is never "done". A dynamic collection is just that--dynamic! Therefore, you can't do a weed or an inventory and pronounce it finished. There are new items coming, new sytems, new technologies and the library must keep up.


This is where someone would say "ok lady, I will give you 15 minutes a day-- now what". Never fear, the Practical Librarian is here to help!


Select a collection or obvious "group" of materials. Get a list of materials for that section, group or collection. (No, you don't need a print out of the entire catalog, but you do need a list of stuff that is supposed to be on the shelf where you are doing your inventory) If you need suggestions on places to start try medical, legal, financial, computers/technology and careers.


Now, verify your list to what is on the shelf. If it is checked out, make a note to either request it or check back when it is returned. I found things still checked out on patron records, items in such bad shape I weeded them on the spot, and a few missing items. Every day I pick at a section of the library.


That's it folks! All you need to do is compare the holdings to what is actually in your library and confirm that it actually exists! Everyone can participate! Your boss will love you, your board will love you and your patrons will love you because the catalog says what you really have.

PS As you move through and really get to know your collection, you will be even more amazing at reference and reader advisory!