1. Employment Profile: What exactly does a Technical Services Librarian do? |
|
 What field is your job in?
Library Science
|
|
What is your job title?
Technical Services Librarian
|
|
Please provide a brief description of the firm or organization that you currently work for
(size and general description of what type of organization it is)
I work for a small graduate/medical college. All of the students study the same medical field, and the program lasts four years. There are also special programs for international students. In total, there are between 450-500 students at the school, plus residents. The library at the college serves students, residents, faculty, and staff.
|
|
How long have you been employed in this position?
1 1/2 years
|
|
How many hours do you work a week on average?
35
|
|
Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)
Because we are a small library (5 full-time staff members) my duties as Technical Services Librarian are varied. In general, I am responsible for: selecting new materials for acquisition; receiving, cataloging, and making new materials shelf-ready; maintaining the current collection and catalog; cleaning up the catalog where necessary; mending and repair of damaged books; maintaining the special collections/archive; and performing circulation and reference duties when necessary.
|
|
What was your gross income last year? Please include any bonuses or incentives received.
$42,000
|
|
What is your expected gross income for this year? Please include any bonuses or incentives you expect to receive.
43260
|
|
Please
list any benefits you have (Please include number of weeks vacation,
sick leave and type of health insurance, retirement plan 401k)
4 weeks vacation, 5 personal days, 1 sick day/month 403B (employer contributes 9% after first year of employment), Harvard Pilgrim health insurance, FSA
|
|
Do you feel you are under/well/over compensated at your current position?
I feel I am well-compensated.
|
|
|
2. Work environment! |
|
Does
your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this
something you like/dislike about your job? Explain
Yes, I work closely with others. Because we are a small academic library, we all work together on common goals and share duties, such as circulation desk staffing. I like the other librarians and support staff very much, so this is something that I enjoy. Any librarian, though, can expect to work collaboratively.
|
|
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
|
|
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
|
|
Describe
your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what
you like/dislike about working in it
I work on projects collaboratively with both my supervisor and my co-workers. For instance, we are currently in the process of updating our website. Though our systems librarian is in charge of the project, we are all providing input.
|
|
Please rank in order of importance from 1-8 (1- most important 8- least important) Assign each number once.
-
2 Income
-
3 Work Environment - co-workers
-
5 Work Environment - supervisors
-
4 Benefits
-
7 Hours
-
6 Level of responsibility
-
1 The actual "work" you do at your job
-
8 Job Title
|
|
3. How should someone new to the workforce get a J-O-B like yours? |
|
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
First, go to graduate school for library and information science. Focus on academic libraries and/or technical services (especially cataloging) as well as collection development. Second, try to find a part-time job doing copy cataloging, or as a tech. services assistant in a larger library, or work circulation at an academic library part-time. I did all three while I was in library school and shortly thereafter, and it helped prepare me very well for the work I do now.
|
|
What
skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a
position like yours? Please be specific and explain why (e.g., social
skills, organization skills, technical skills)
First, you absolutely must have a fine eye for detail. Catalog records should not have any mistakes! Second, you should have a keen sense of knowing whether or not a title is appropriate to add to the library's collection -- or be able to collaborate with those who do know. Collection development is not as easy as it seems. Third, you must be open to collaboration with co-workers and supervisors, but accept the fact that you are not the librarian who gets to spend the most time helping patrons.
|
|
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
Yes -- you must have a Master's in Library and Information Science.
|
|
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Make sure you are detail-oriented -- if not, you will be very bored. Definitely try to find work in copy cataloging, to make sure that it is something you enjoy. Cataloging is not all I do, of course, but it does take up a fair amount of my time, and if you do not find it satisfying, you will not like being a technical services librarian.
|
|
In order to view the remaining sections of this questionnaire please
SIGN IN
or
REGISTER HERE or 
|
