[Publib] Re: Bilingualism and Job Search

[Caravella, David]

Hi Hillary,

After a three year long search for a full-time job (and two years concurrent part-time experience as an adult service librarian at a public library and a reference/instruction librarian at a community college), I am now a general reference librarian/computer literacy instructor/Spanish interpreter at a public library.

1. I am functional in English and Spanish (2nd speaker fluent per national research agencies where I have served as a bilingual field interviewer for various government health and education studies). My Brazilian Portuguese is dormant or dead for lack of use. I know greetings and courtesy words in Portuguese, Polish, Russian, and Tagalog.

2. I use all of the above.

3. We have a small but useful and growing Spanish language collection.

I am a second generation American of Italian and Polish ethnic heritage who simply has used Spanish his entire work life, as well as having a B.A. and M.A. in Latin American Studies. I was probably hired primarily because of my previous career as an adult educator, as well as being bilingual.

P.S. I am a mid-life career changer, and went back for an MLIS at age 55, being told of the wonderful window of opportunity of 8-10 years when all those librarians would be retiring. Then 9/11 hit. Stock portfolios shrunk; people held off retiring. Budgets were cut. Surprise! Sorry about the flaming you've gotten. Take the good advice that's been given.  I'll pray you find your niche as I have found mine.

Dave Caravella