Tag Archives: Libraries

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Librarian Salaries and Job Placement Data

Image by Photologue_NP. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons' licensing.
Image by Photologue_NP. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.

A variety of reports, studies, and survey results are now in, and open for your review. The good news or bad news depends on where your heart lies in the library field. Our biggest challenge is finding data that works equally well for academic, public, school, and special libraries. A number of links are provided here to help you hone in on what matters most to you. If you want to review the entire landscape of library types, consider reviewing all of the following links.

Most notable in placement rate was in school libraries. National school library placements dropped from 13.5 percent of the reported jobs in 2011 to 8.9 percent in 2012.  And, in the Midwest, the placement rate dropped from 40 percent of the reported school library positions in 2011 to 21.7 percent in 2012! However,  on a positive note, school media salaries improved by nearly two percent, rising from $44,515 in 2011 to $45,376 in 2012. Also of interest is that about 21 percent of job placements are in organizations other than library or information agencies. This encompasses state and federal governmental agencies, nonprofits, and corporate environments.

So, whether you are ready to celebrate good news or wallow in defeat, there is one last link to consider if you want to hear how others in the library field respond to their investment in their Masters in Library science and/or this data and/or the outlook and advice for the future. Go to the Beer Brarian blog to read and comment on the library landscape. Tip: Working on your degree right now? Read sage advice from those who hire!

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Library Test Kitchen

Image by the State Library of Victoria Collection. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Common's licensing.
Image by the State Library of Victoria Collection. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Common’s licensing.

Three years ago Jeffrey Schnapp, a faculty member at Harvard, began a library test kitchen engaging students in the School of Design to, “create a hybrid [library] space where analog and digital coexist.”  Striving to identify new ways to interact with books and the “material soul”  to blend into one library voice through design for both print and digital materials.

The “test kitchen” was set-up in the location of a former bookstore. Student projects were displayed using pop-up galleries in satellite locations, sharing with the campus community their projects, findings and design suggestions. Click here to read the full article published by Boston Globe, The Library Test Kitchen at Harvard written by Anne Gray Fischer (July 2013.)

Note: The Director of CMLE, Patricia Post, often writes under a subcategory called “Food for Thought” where she identifies articles that pertain to  all librarians and library types. This week she highlights a lecture on libraries by Neil Gaiman. Consider these posts throughout the year to help feed the soul of your library.

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Save the Date: LibTech Conference

LibTech image retrieved online.
LibTech image retrieved online.

Macalester College is hosting the 7th Annual Library Technology Conference on March 19-20th, in St. Paul, MN. This year will focus on changing technology in libraries and how they are affecting patron interactions and resources management. Additional information and conference registration can be found at http://libtechconf.org/

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Free Symposium on Advocacy, Awareness and Archives

Image by Anna-Stina. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons' licensing.
Image by Anna-Stina. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.

The second annual Minnesota Archives Symposium will be held on Friday, November 15th, Making Connections: Advocacy, Awareness and Archives. The symposium is sponsored by Hennepin County Library Special Collections and the Twin Cities Archives Round Table. This free event will be held in the Mary and David Doty Board Room (2nd floor) at Central Public Library in Minneapolis, MN from 1:00 – 5:00 PM.

Contact TCART at tcartmn@gmail.com or Elissah Becknell at elissah.becknell@minneapolis.edu for additional information.

Click here to register.

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Libraries and Reading Love: Neil Gaiman Lecture

Image by moriza. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons' licensing.
Image by moriza. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.

If you love libraries, books and reading, you are in for a real treat! As I read the text of a  recent lecture by British author Neil Gaiman, I fell in love all over again with these worlds. The funding, politics, and expectations  in library land can feel brutal at times, and far from the love relationship many of us feel with books and the world of books and reading.  Lectures like this are a treat, a reminder, a breath of fresh air.  Gaiman’s talk reminded me of what initially caused me to want to be a librarian. He  talks about fiction as having two uses. First, he describes fiction as  being the “gateway drug to reading”, which is endearing. He goes on to describe how reading fiction also builds empathy, which helps us function as more than self-obsessed individuals. The first time I experienced total escapism, I was hooked for life! Throughout this piece, Gaiman brings home the important  role of libraries and librarians too. Not a short read, definitely not a sound bite, but an absolute must read!