[Publib] FW: Employment Laments

[John Leonard]

Dear Lamenter

I've been there. Hell, I am there. Seems like the freelance thing is the 
way things are going. Benefits are non-existent, but I guess sometimes 
you have to learn to live on next to nothing. I'm hanging in there. 
After all, this is the only job I've ever liked.

It sucks that you feel you've been discriminated against, but the fact 
of the matter is that cultural and personal issues play a huge part in 
your success or lack thereof on the job. Making a move in search of a 
more welcoming environment sounds like a good idea. There is no support 
for library services in the governments of the smaller towns in the 
Boston suburbs, none; I don't care what anybody says. "Just use the 
Internet" is all I ever hear. I'm sick of fighting against it. We're 
moving to Chicago for my wife's job, but I'm also hoping to find someone 
out there who agrees that trained librarians (I don't have the degree 
yet -- that's next) add value by sorting through that Sargasso Sea of 
mostly useless information.

The only criticisms I could offer, in the spirit of being constructive 
and collegial, regard two points you make. The first is about not being 
able to get any responses after sending out résumés. "50 résumés" 
doesn't really sound like all that many, and if all you're doing is 
sending out résumés you could have a long wait regardless of where you 
live. I've been in this and other rackets long enough to know networking 
is absolutely essential. It probably hasn't always been that way in the 
library profession, but I think it's getting more so, and it would have 
to be in a competitive job market like Seattle.

The Seattle library system is doing things with regard to stacks 
management that we probably won't be doing for another 10 years back 
here in sleepy old New England, even though we could save a hell of a 
lot of money and have a much better idea of what's in our collection if 
we implemented these new technolgies now. You have to at least be open 
to learning some information managment software. If you just say, "I 
can't" or "I won't," don't be surprised when employers give you the cold 
shoulder.

I'm not especially fond of computer hardware or software, either. Some 
of it is interesting, some of it is boring, some of it is useless and 
stupid. I much prefer talking to patrons and helping them learn their 
way around the library over immersing myself in MS Office for Dummies, 
but you have to know these kinds of things. You have to adapt, to push 
yourself outside of your comfort zone and accept the job market as it is 
rather than how you want it to be. That's all there is to it, at least 
in my experience and IMHO.

That does not mean you have to go it alone. There is plenty of free 
training out there on helping older workers adjust to the new economy. 
Some placement services specialize in it. And the descriptors "older" 
and "tech-savvy" are not mutually exclusive, any more than the terms 
"younger" and "tech-savvy" are inextricably linked. Younger workers may 
know the difference between Ubuntu, PHP, SQL and ASP, but they often 
don't have the slightest idea how to explain those terms to anyone else, 
or why anyone should care what they mean, at least not judging from some 
of the horrendous blogs I've read that seem to celebrate technology for 
its own sake. Older workers are often much better at connecting to 
patrons in meaningful ways, gauging their needs and really listening to 
them, simply because they have more life experience and can read people 
much more quickly and accurately than some snarky, self-absorbed kid 
with square glasses and a goatee. The placement services I'm talking 
about can help you identify those kinds of people skills in yourself. By 
all means, use them.

JL

>
>
>     *Laments of a Public Librarian:*
>
>     I first off would like to apologize about the “laments” part of
>     the focus of this essay, letter, and plea. I have always tried to
>     be a positive librarian, and in general I have a happy sunny
>     disposition. I love library work and am dedicated to the
>     profession. But this last year has me wondering about the library
>     profession I have chosen in which I been working in for 18 years.
>     I need to express my rejections and ask other librarians why? I
>     wonder why it has been so very hard to get a full time job! I
>     think I have been discriminated against and because of ageism, and
>     being white.
>
>     I have spent a year trying to break in to the Public Library
>     systems or in any librarian job in the Pacific Northwest with no
>     easy road, or with much support professionally. I am an
>     experienced, dedicated, and recommendable librarian. I have sent
>     out over 50 resumes to various companies and libraries including:
>     Microsoft, Boeing, King County Library System, Tacoma Public
>     Library System, Art Institute of Seattle, Seattle Public, and many
>     colleges and Universities in the area. Now any normal librarian
>     would probably be thinking something is definitely wrong with
>     their resume, cover letter, or interviewing skills, however I was
>     stalwart and persistent because I had a great education at San
>     Jose State Library School where I got good grades. I have had
>     fantastic experience, varied skills from management, reference,
>     special libraries, and archival skills, and I have good resume. My
>     references I believe are behind me and have given me the nod of
>     approval, and I have had successful jobs in different states
>     before returning to my hometown, Seattle. Since I was a graduate
>     from the University of Washington, I went to the career center and
>     got career counseling, did mock interview, took classes, and
>     attended job fairs to improve my chances. Believe me my ego would
>     slump each time after I would get an interview and then a
>     rejection letter, e-mail, or call. It has been really horrid to
>     have to go through the process of trying to get a job and never
>     having any success or support in the process.
>
>     Finally after 6 months I did get hired for a substitute (they
>     called it Intermittent) position with Seattle Public Library and
>     worked a hectic weekly schedule filling in at several branches in
>     one day. I worked between 22-30 hours a week with no benefits and
>     no pension fund. At my age pension in very important and I miss
>     having it. The cost of living in Seattle is very high and on my
>     wages I can not be independent and support myself. I did like the
>     mutability of jumping around and serving various communities with
>     an excellent collections, and in the new “Libraries for All” the
>     nation’s largest public Library renovation to date. The
>     intermittent position lasts only 2 years and I have been not
>     offered any alternative or full time employment even though I have
>     been reliable and able. I wondered and was in awe at the community
>     diversity, the art, and well thought out architecture of the
>     branches. I was not selected to work in the Central Library’s Ram
>     Koolhaus building. But the branches were very stimulating and I
>     did a great job keeping the questions answered at busy reference
>     desks. Still I await an opportunity for full time work. I have
>     interviewed for over 5 jobs at this system. It is extremely
>     competitive to work in one of the most literate cities in the
>     country.
>
>     The George Bush administration, with proactive Librarian, Laura
>     Bush acclaimed as a bright leader in the promotion of
>     librarianship, has supported Institute of Museum and Library
>     Services funding education and outreach for new librarians.
>     According to the professional librarian’s library literature the
>     aging librarians in the field need replacing. However, I have felt
>     the cold chill of being discriminated against because of my age
>     with the flooding of the librarian market of jobs with new tech
>     savvy and eager librarians. I really felt I was competing with
>     youth and multiculturalism. Being in my mid fifties and white
>     offering valuable experience was not regarded but ignored by
>     employers. Most of the jobs I had applied for were filled with
>     younger and culturally diverse librarians. I do not resent other
>     younger, multicultural librarians, I resent that various library
>     managements who promoted nepotism, eager naive youth, and have
>     over looked my skills, abilities and valuable experience. I am
>     discouraged by the non inclusive feeling of these Northwest
>     Libraries and am saddened by the lack of opportunities in a field
>     I always thought was unbounded, full of opportunities, and
>     limitless in job options. We are relocating due to job limited
>     opportunities here.
>
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