The Future of Music and Libraries

A few weeks ago I was contemplating visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. While checking out their website I came across a neat list of what the curators there consider the top 500 most important songs in the history of Rock and Roll. I created a new playlist in iTunes of the songs that I already had. It's a fantastic playlist to listen to. Every song is a "classic". I was missing a bunch of the songs however. I would like to download some of the particular songs and all of this got me thinking...

Libraries are WAY behind the times when it comes to how to deliver music to their patrons. CDs are more and more becoming a thing of the past. While this is a generalization, it seems that almost everyone under the age of 20 downloads music from the internet. Furthermore, more and more people are interested in single songs and not entire CDs. For eBooks and Video there are tools available to libraries like My Media Mall. But as far as I know there is no music delivery service available at this time for libraries.

In large part I blame the record industry. They literally have NO idea how to deal with the way the world is changing because of the internet. They are grasping at straws, trying to stay afloat with old ideas, and suing everyone left and right for copyright infringement.

In a perfect world libraries should be able to digitize their collections and make them available to their patrons. Patrons should be able to browse a list of full CDs and individual songs and listen to what they like. The record companies don't see it that way however.

Perhaps libraries could do something like "watermark" songs and CDs? When the song is almost over a message would play over the end of the song saying something like "this CD/song was made available to you by the Chicago Public Library". Maybe patrons could stream music from library servers but not be able to download the actual files? Even streaming seems to violate ASCAP-BMI public performance clauses.

If CDs disappear what are libraries going to do then?

The story of setting up our iPad

Techno lust won out in our house once again. My lovely wife Julia figured out a way through her work to purchase an new iPad through a payroll deduction of about $25 a paycheck. Her Windows based notebook had been giving her problems (battery didn't work anymore, hot, and heavy) and was ready for a change. We both have been dying to play with an iPad and it seems like a great thing for her to use in the evening and something I could play with during the day.

She came home last night with the box at around 6:30 and we were ready to play with our new toy! We opened the box and it seemed pretty easy. Just plug it into an existing Mac computer with iTunes and we would be ready to go. I've always loved how simple Apple products are.

Although the thought hit me right off the bat... hmmm.... I didn't know you had to own a Mac machine with iTunes to be able to use an iPad? It's not really a computer right out of the box like a notebook that you can just use.

We plugged it into our Mac mini and quickly discovered we had a problem on our hands. We were running an older version of iTunes and it was telling us we had to have a more recent version to install the iPad. ok... not a big deal. We had to upgrade iTunes and that might take a bit of time. But we would playing with the iPad soon!

We clicked on the buttons to install the update to iTunes and discovered our next problem. We needed 7.5GB of space to do the upgrade and we only had about 2.5GB free. Somehow we needed to find about 5GB of stuff to trash on our machine. oh no... this was going to take some time.

Meanwhile the iPad just sat there next to the computer. Dark and silent. Tempting us... Looking vaguely like the monolith in 2001. It was torture!

We started to look for files and apps and crap we could delete from our computer. In the meantime everyone was getting grumpy hungry because dinner hadn't been made so I started to make dinner while Julia started to delete files.

After a bit a light bulb went off in my head. Why not use my MacBook instead of the Mac mini? (we love our Macs in our house!) I knew I had to upgrade iTunes as well but I was pretty sure I had the room. I got my machine out and started to upgrade iTunes. I did have the room and I thought we were finally over the hump. It took about 10 minutes to finish all the software updates but I was ready to go. We would be playing with the iPad soon!

We plugged the iPad into the MacBook and found we had yet another problem! We got an error message telling us that we needed OS X 10.6 to install the iPad and my machine was still on 10.4. We paid the bucks to upgrade the Mac mini awhile back but we didn't bother to spend the money to upgrade the OS on the MacBook. gee wiz... so you not only need a Mac machine but a brand spanking new machine with all the very latest in software. They don't really say that in the ads do they?

So we were back to the drawing board. I made dinner while Julia deleted files. We took a break to eat and found a few more files to delete and we were finally ready to do the iTunes update at around 8. I was hoping it wouldn't take too long and we would finally be playing with our new toy soon.

But the iTunes update took forever... almost half an hour. It was a huge file and then it needed to rebuild my library and album art. I have a LOT of CDs in my iTunes collection so that took a long time also. It finally finished and we were ready to install the iPad!

One thing that was nice is that it took so long to do the updates and stuff it hit me at one point that almost certainly during the install process, we would be asked what we wanted to name the iPad. So we had a fun family discussion about what to name the iPad! We really wanted to think of a name that all of us would like. The name that won was... "Elvis" :-)

We hooked up the iPad and with the new version of iTunes finally installed it came to life! It looked super cool. We wanted to start playing with it but once again we got a message. Did we want to install the latest software/updates for our iPad? This was a tough call for me... I really wanted to play with it. It was 8:45 at this point. But the IT guy inside of me knew the "right thing to do" would be to install the updates before we used it. Plus I didn't think it would take that long to do the updates.

So I hit the install button in iTunes and the iPad turned dark again. In the iTunes window it started to say that the install would take 10 minutes, then 15, then it said 30, and finally settled on about 35 minutes. Crap! So we stared at the dark screen again and sighed... The kids needed to get to bed at 10. I was hoping they would get a chance to see it up and working. I wanted to get to sleep early myself and get a good night's sleep as well.

Finally at around 9:30 the iPad updates were done. We pulled the USB cable out of the Mac mini and turned the iPad on. Wow, it looked so cool! It was totally working and a lot of fun to play with. But the entire process took us about 3 hours. I'm guessing that even if we had our iTunes updated to start with the entire process would have taken at least an hour. Once it was up and running everything seemed fast and easy, but getting it set up wasn't easy for us.

I also wonder how many people out there will do things like buy an iPad for their kids as they go off to college. The kid gets in the dorm room, opens it up, and realized he can't use it without having a totally updated Mac PC in the room as well?

Scott Pilgrim

Sometimes I think I would make a great Young Adult librarian. A lot of my interests actually fall in that realm. Graphic Novels, music, film, technology...

Once again recently I've had the experience of seeing a film and reading the book at just about the same time. It's always interesting for me to compare books and movies and what worked in each medium. Almost always the book is better than the movie (the notable exception being Field Of Dreams).

This time around it's Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. I went through and read all six volumes of the graphic novel right before seeing the film that was just released. Like usual, the books are better.

Don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed the film a lot. I thought it was great, a lot of fun, and very innovative with its mix of real live action and video game graphics mixed together. But as is often the case there was so much missing that was in the books.

I had my doubts going into the film as I wondered how they could possibly cram the contents of six graphic novels into a film that wasn't even two hours long. Well the answer is, they didn't. A lot was missing. I was upset that they didn't have the battle in Honest Ed's for instance. Envy Adams character really gets the short thrift. In the books she is much more 3D, complex, and comes off as sympathetic, in the film she's just a bitch. (Spoiler alert) In the books at the end we are surprised when Stephen Stills comes out of the closet. This doesn't happen in the film. In fact the guy who he falls for, who is a really cool minor character in the books, doesn't appear at all in the film. The entire sub plot of the band recording their album is completely missing. A huge plot element that is missing is the fact that Ramona disappears for several months leaving Scott to wonder what is going on.

One of the more interesting changes is how Knives Chau comes across. In the books she becomes a stalker and loves Scott till the end. In the film she ends up being a really cool character who we have a lot of sympathy for in the end. By the end of the film she almost seems like the most mature character in the film.

So go see the film. I highly recommend it for the young adult audience and those who are young at heart and still play video games. ;-)

but as always, do yourself a favor and read the book!

Dealing with job rejection

When I was feeling a little down last week my wife sent me a few links to some sites about dealing with job rejection.

I thought this was one of the best ones.

http://www.qualitycoaching.com/Articles/rejection.html

I also took a look at some other sites and one of them mentioned that on average you should expect to get about one interview for every ten resumes you send out. If that's the case I'm right on target. I think the main thing going on right now is it's just a bad time to be trying to find a job as a librarian. It's a numbers game. There are just too many very qualified and experienced people out there looking for work right now. Gosh I hope the hiring freeze ends at CPL sometime soon...

My VisualCV is up

A friend told me about this site. I think it's a great resource for building an online resume/CV! They also have job postings that don't seem to appear in other places. Mine is still a work in progress but I think I'm off to a good start.

http://www.visualcv.com/ij1rbpd

Rant!

Please excuse me while I use this forum to rant for a bit. Sometimes I think just writing things out is good therapy. I know that potential employers may end up reading this someday but hey... I'm a human being and I have feelings. Is it OK that they know that?

so... on with the rant.

I got another rejection letter yesterday and once again I'm really upset. It was an ideal job for me. I know I was completely qualified and would have done a great job. It was a phone interview. I didn't even get to the next step of them inviting me for an in person interview. rejected again.

what is going on????

Before I went to grad school I did some career counseling and it all pointed towards me being a librarian. I got accepted into the best library school in the country. While I was in school my adviser and teachers all told me I had a bright future ahead given my previous job experience and skill set. I would be "in demand" once I graduated. I got straight A's while I was in school and was often one of the "leaders" in my classes. I felt like I was the big man on campus. While I was in school I got a part time job at a library as well as an awesome internship at the Art Institute of Chicago.

The day after I graduated Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers both announced they were in trouble and the subprime mortgage crisis was on. I'll admit however that even in those times I was cocky. I "knew" I wouldn't have any trouble finding a job. I felt like I was a golden boy in the library world. In a few years you would see me on the cover of Library Journal as one of the "Movers & Shakers".

Then the job search started in earnest. I was lucky and got a couple of interviews in the first few weeks after I graduated. One was for a job that in hindsight I still know I would have been great at. but I was rejected by both employers. This was really surprising to me to be honest. In the past I had always had great luck with job interviews. I like to think that I communicate well and have personality. Usually a good combination in an interview setting. In the past it seemed like if I got the interview I had at least a 50/50 chance of getting a job offer out of it. but I started off right out of the gate 0/2. It was the beginning of a trend.

Then things got worse. It seems like the job posting dried up. Weeks would go by with no postings for anything that I felt qualified for. Lots of library director jobs and department heads that asked for 5 years supervisory experience "in a library" and things like that. When a job would show up that I felt qualified for I would send off a resume and cover letter. I was soon shocked once again that my emails and letters would more often than not result in nothing. No interview. Often nothing at all. I was (and am still) amazed at how many institutions allow your attempts to apply for a job to go into a big black hole. From following up I found out that in many cases they would receive over a hundred resumes for the posting, but it's not that hard to at least set up a automated email reply. I think it's highly unprofessional and rude to not offer any sort of response to job applicants. I'm amazed at how many libraries do this.

I know this because in August it will be two years since I've graduated. I really should have kept better track of how many jobs I've applied for, how many responses I've gotten, how many actual rejection letters, and how many interviews I've gotten. I know it's at least 50 jobs applied for. Six interviews. The most important number is how many job offers have I received. That number is 0.

So what is going on? I think my resume needed some work for awhile but I've been consistently tweaking it and improving it. I've seen other people's resumes and I think mine is better than most.

Do my cover letters suck? Once again I've been working on that. I've had a number of people look at my cover letters and offer suggestions. It's not like I've been not following that advice.

With every rejection the whole search becomes harder and harder. It's not fun to consistently set yourself up for failure and rejection over and over again. Every rejection makes me less and less confident. Like something must be fundamentally "wrong" with me.

The rational side of me knows it's "the economy". There has been a hiring freeze at the Chicago Public Libraries for over two years now. This has had a profound effect on the "market" for librarians in the entire Chicago area. When suburban or academic libraries put up a job posting they are literally flooded with resumes. There are many many qualified applicants who have much more experience than me who have been laid off and are looking for jobs. Many of the jobs that are posted are going to be filled internally and the libraries don't even intend to interview outside applicants.

In the meantime I'm paying $265 a month for the next ten years in student loans for this library degree. I feel like I'm paying to be a member of an exclusive club but they won't give me the key to get in the door.

I still love this profession and I so want to make it part of my life and contribute to it. I still know deep inside my heart that I have so much to offer any library that hires me. I have so much enthusiasm, energy, ideas and such a great set of skills and experience.

Will someone please give me a chance? :-(

My other blog

btw... I haven't been as active as I would like on this blog. the big reason why is I started another blog with a very specific focus and it's been taking up a lot of my time. I put stuff up on there several times a week. Almost every day as a matter of fact. So if you're interested in "indie" rock check out my other blog and website.

The Pudge Song Of The Month Project

http://www.pudgenoise.com

Web 2.0 at Libraries

The library I work at doesn't do much of anything with Web 2.0 stuff. It's sort of a shame because I would like to do so much more myself at the library I work at with social networking. It's one of the things I went to library school for. It's also a Catch 22 in my case because I'm looking for a full time library job. Almost every library at this point does Web 2.0 stuff and expects to see examples of your work. Unfortunately the management of my library is a little old fashioned and doesn't see the benefit of social networking.

Because of this I am planning on working on a document about how to use Web 2.0 technology in libraries. If nothing else I would like to do it for myself. I started an online CV and thought it would be a great piece to put up online. I think it would be pretty easy to show how to use Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr in a coordinated way to promote library services.

Then I'll go ahead and follow the protocols at my library. I'll submit my proposal to my department head. She'll decide to approve it, or not. If it is approved it will be sent to the correct committee. After several months it will come up for discussion, or not, depending on if there's any interest from management. My fingers are crossed...

I was wrong about Twitter

When I first started this blog one of my posts was about Twitter. I ragged on it to be honest and wrote that I couldn't think of a way that a library could use Twitter effectively.

I was wrong!

One of the things about me that I feel is a strength is to always try to keep an open mind about technology advances. I think it's always a good thing to keep an eye on things and reevaluate them over time. When I first saw twitter I saw it as a more superficial version of something like Facebook that limited itself to only texts of up to 140 characters. It seemed to me that it had limited potential for libraries.

As I said I was wrong. If I could have my way I would set up a Twitter account for the adult reference area of the library I work at. I would post tweets that look like this.

"Today is Earth Day. Come in and check out our display of Green books."

"Zeitoun is a fantastic non-fiction account of the days of hurricane Katrina. One of the best new non-fiction books in awhile. Check it out!"

and so on and so on...

I think the Teen area in particular could reach young people this way.

Regarding the previous post

So I was thinking about my previous post and the impression it must have made on any readers who don't know me personally. Like usual I was being hard on myself. I was upset that I had let this particular CD slip through the cracks. I made it sound like I have no clue when it comes to music. The fact of the matter is that I have a collection of several thousand CDs and LPs. I know music VERY well.

What precipitated all of this was an excellent article I found online about the 50 Best CDs of the Decade.

I've been wanting to increase my collection of more current bands and find some new music. I discovered this list and while I had a bunch of the titles already there were a lot of things on the list that I had been meaning to check out. I ended up ordering about 20 of the titles through inter-library loan. So expect to see a bunch of CD reviews soon.

Review of Yankee Foxtrot Hotel

I have a "problem" in life that has been a recurring one.

My problem is that I often find out about great albums and bands after the fact. Once the band has broken up or is no longer "cool" is when I'll finally discover them. By then it's too late to see the band live in their prime or perhaps even see them at all.

The latest example of this is Wilco and the "Yankee Foxtrot Hotel" album. Sometimes the reason I don't listen to things when they first come out is because of the hype. There was a lot of hype about this album when it came out. The story behind its release is now an internet legend. I remember reading about it at the time and thinking, "how good could this album be?"

It's simply one of the best albums I've heard in years. I'm kicking myself that I denied myself the pleasure of listening to this album for the last 8 years! When will I ever learn that sometimes you should believe the hype?

Facebook and patrons and religion

So I've been having some "issues" with one of our regular patrons.

As a librarian one of my job duties is to talk to the lonely people who come into the library. After awhile you learn who the "regulars" are. Some of these people just want to be left alone and want peace and quite. Some of these people want to come and chat with you for a bit every single day.

Well, one of my groupies has asked me several times over the past year to become his friend on Facebook. I can tell that he's a lonely guy and he wants more friends. I've really thought about this and decided awhile ago that as a professional librarian I needed to make certain "rules" regarding my behavior in the Web 2.0 world. For instance, I try to never explicitly say where I work in my blog. I never try to talk about specific issues at my work. The wild and crazy internal politics that could, quite frankly, make this blog a LOT more interesting! but could also get me fired and/or make a bad impression on any potential employer.

One of my other "rules" I made for myself was that I would not accept friend requests from patrons. I dunno... it just seems to cross some sort of "line" for me. Of course all of this Web 2.0 stuff is new and it seems like the rules are still being worked out but I'm doing what I feel comfortable with. I have pictures of my kids up. Personal info about my work and school history. I have all of this set to private so only my friends can see the good stuff. It just doesn't seem right to me to open up this level of personal information to whoever walks in off the street into the library. Even if they do want to come up and chat with me each day.

This same patron recently asked me about a Facebook "issue" he was having and wanted my advice on. He had put up a series of questions that were all sort of philosophy/religion 101 sort of stuff. Most of them were quasi religious questions. He was upset because not a single one of his Facebook friends had bothered to put up a single answer/response to any of his questions. He first wanted me to become his Facebook friend so I could contribute some answers to his questions. I explained to him again that I have a "rule" about that. Then he wanted me to read his questions and let him know what I thought and why nobody was answering them. Where they bad questions? I read them and I thought there were somewhat thought provoking and I told him so. He really wanted to know why nobody had answered them. I didn't know what to say and really didn't want to be involved in this mess in the first place. Fortunately it was closing time so I got off the hook.

But his questions and concerns nagged at me when I got home. Why hadn't any of his friends answered his questions? Then it hit me. They were all about God and religion. I for one won't touch religion in Facebook. It's to personal, to controversial... If I see one of my friends post something of a religious matter in Facebook I don't post a comment on it. I think because I feel religion is so personal and controversial I would be worried about possibly offending one of my friends. Even if it wasn't intentional.

So I've been wanting to talk to this particular patron again about this. I feel in a funny way like things were left hanging the last time because we closed. Although I was glad about it because I was able to think about it all a little more and articulate my thoughts. I expect I'll see him soon.

Julie & Julia and Blogging

I just finished watching the film "Julie & Julia". It was an interesting film to watch given that I read the Julie Powell book several months ago. While I was watching it I thought about the whole blogging "thing". First of all, it's very clear to me that nobody reads my blog. So why should I bother? I've been told over and over that it's a good thing to do if I'm looking for a job. Some potential employer might be out there checking me out.

right!

I'll try not to laugh to hard!

I suppose it could happen though... and I suppose more people would read this blog if I actually posted to it more frequently.

I can't think of a "theme" that I could right about every day however like Julie Powell that is interesting and will keep people coming back day after day. I would like to write about technical issues in libraries but it would hard for me to write about that every day.

So I've decided to write about what I know best. Music and movies. I always wanted to be a music or film critic. I'm also very interested in getting an adult reference job working with music and film. So why not go with what I know and love? If nothing else it should improve my writing skills. I'm going to try to start putting something up on the blog almost every day. We'll see how this goes.

Challenger Comics

I've been noticing something recently. Every day I read articles about the death of the printed word and how books are disappearing. Yet, here in Chicago at least, I've noticed something strange. It seems that there are new comic books stores opening up all over town. Comic books at least seem more popular than ever. Maybe it's the recent slew of superhero movies?

I think the real reason is that right now there is somewhat of a comic "renaissance" going on. Comics are better drawn and better written now then perhaps at any time in history. The plots and stories are so much more interesting and well developed compared to the comics that were available with I was a kid in the 60's and 70's. There is perhaps a danger in that many comics are more "mature" now and feature more adult oriented plots. But both Marvel and DC use a rating system on their comics that is much like the rating systems kids are used to with video games. Comics are rated as E for everyone, T for teen, and T+ for more mature comics.

I've visited a number of the new comic book stores but there is one store in particular that stands out and that is Challenger Comics.

Challenger Comics Website

I think libraries and librarians can learn a lot from this site. It is very well designed and uses a number of Web 2.0 features.

The site features a web cam so you can see what's going on in the store while it's open.

The site also highly encourages customer interaction through the use of message boards and reviews. They've already started to develop a strong web based community that also goes into the store.

The site also features links to all of the most popular Web 2.0 sites such as Facebook and Twitter where Challenger Comics also has a presence.

There is an event calendar that is prominently displayed that is constantly updated with new events. At Challenger Comics they have weekly readings for both kids and adults and other special events as well. I've never seen a comic book store with so many events. They have several things going on every week.

There is a link to sign up for a weekly newsletter that arrives via email. An email then arrives each week with details of upcoming events and all the new releases for that week along with recommendations and reviews.

All in all a site that is very well designed, very user friendly, and obviously helps Challenger Comics do what they want to do, sell more comics.

Funny Library story

So I came into work today and got a doozy from the very first patron who walked up to the desk.

She handed me a piece of paper and said her son was looking for this book and could I help her find it for him. "The Game" by Neil Strauss.

I went to our catalog and did a search for the author as I thought there were probably too many titles out there with "The Game" in the title. I quickly got a list of the books by Neil Strauss in our system and saw the game.

One of the "habits" I've gotten into as a reference librarian is to always repeat the title when I find it to make sure I'm on the same page as the patron. When I see a full title that includes a colon I repeat the full title to make sure I'm getting the correct book for the patron.

So in this case, out of habit, I automatically started to say "The Game : Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists".

As the words slipped off my tongue, my brain started to catch up, and something seemed odd about this particular situation.

The woman in front of me blushed, gasped, and said, "Oh my God, is that what my 19 year old son wants to read?!"

I couldn't help but laugh and said, "well... if he was 13 you might have a problem on your hands! When I was 19 I might have wanted to check out this book myself. Luckily I'm very happily married so I don't think I need it at this point!"

She laughed as well and I asked her if she would like me to put a hold on it for her son as we didn't have a copy in our library. She said, "Certainly not! I'm not going to get this book for him." She left pretty quickly and seemed embarrassed about the whole thing. For me it was one the highlights of my week!

First time for me... Kaballah conspiracy!

On the evenings that I work at the Library one of my responsibilities when closing up is to check and turn off the lights in the bathrooms.

I have no problem with the guys room but I must admit I always find it a little creepy to deal with the woman's room. For virtually my whole life this room has been forbidden to me. On a rational level I know it's not a big deal and I deal with it every day with no problem. But deep inside of me there's a little part of me that would really rather not deal with the woman's room. A guy can get cooties that way don't you know!

Well the other night I had a librarian first for me. While I was checking out the woman's room I discovered that someone had left a pile of Kabbalah literature above the sink. This was fascinating to me. First of all I had no idea that the Kabbalah were into proselytizing like that. I had never seen Kabbalah propaganda like that. It was pretty slick. Much nicer than a lot of the born again Christian stuff I'm more used to seeing. I can see how a Material Girl like Madonna could find an attraction.

I'm very curious who left this in the woman's bathroom. I'm going to be watching for more. Now I have something to look forward to when I check the woman's room. I wish I could spy a little better to try to figure out who left it there. :-)

Library Journal 2009 Placements & Salaries Survey

So now that I'm bitter I'm going to post twice in one day!

I participated in the annual Library Journal Placements & Salaries Survey.

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6699218.html

Wow, the news is grim if you dig into the stats. Illinois seems to be one of the states that has been the hardest hit. Two library schools, a big city with a hiring freeze, and a bunch of librarians looking for jobs has made it really really tough.

According to the Library Journal there were 225 graduates who reported to the survey. 83 of these grads are "employed". This is about 37%. It doesn't break down if those employed are at full or part time. Given that it seems that at least half of the job postings are for part time jobs I think it's safe to assume that only about half of this 37% are for full time jobs. So around 18% have found full time jobs after a year. Wow... according to these stats that means without a doubt 63% of graduates have NO job at all after graduating and about 82% haven't found a full time job.

In a way this makes me feel a little better about not finding a full time job by this point but it also shows just how hard it's going to be.

I'm bitter damnit...

I haven't posted in a LONG time.

and I know the reason why. I'm bitter/pissed off right now and have been for a few months. I've always wanted to keep this blog positive. I try not to be a negative person. But it's been hard to be positive recently.

I graduated from library school in August of 2008 and I've been looking for a full time job since then. I'm lucky that I have a part time job at least but it's been hard to get by, I have no benefits as a part timer, and I'd like to start my career that I went to school for.

The student loan payments started up about six months ago. I haven't done the math but I'm guessing that given what I'm payed as a part timer and what I'm paying each month in student loans means I'm working for something like 25 cents an hour.

I had a job interview in August. After sending out something like 50 resumes over the past year it's one of only 4 interviews I've gotten. I thought the interview went fantastic. All the stars seemed to have finally aligned. They were looking for someone with a lot of IT and AV experience. The person who was interviewing me was married to a fellow who went to college with me and had only good things to say. It seemed like I was finally going to get the job I had worked so hard for.

but NO. I was told I was #2. The person doing the hiring had to go for the person who had more real library experience than me. Someone who already had a full time job, had gotten some good experience under his belt, and was ready to move onto a better full time position.

The more I think about it the more pissed off I get. The person doing the hiring had the opportunity to allow a recent graduate their entry into the field. Instead she chose someone who already had a full time job.

I ended up calling the person doing the hiring and talking to her after I hadn't heard after a few weeks. We ended up talking for about a half an hour about the decision she made. She told me that my resume couldn't have been better. My interview was fantastic. I sent a great follow up letter. I couldn't have done anything better. I made no mistakes. But she had to go with the person with more experience. She got dozens of resumes from qualified people many of whom had more experience than me. She told me flat out that she thought it was going to be VERY hard for someone like me, fresh out of school, to get a job given the current economy.

WTF?!

and Mr. Daley's hiring freeze in the Chicago Public Libraries is on it's second year.

so I wanted this blog to be positive. I wanted to write book reviews, music reviews, talk about technology in library issues. but I'm more in the mood to vent these days.

Since the interview I've sent out about 10 more resumes. All for jobs that I'm completely qualified for. Not a single interview. Rejections from all of them. One of my coworkers also thinks there's an institutional age bias in many libraries. That's a topic for another posting...

Why I'm A Librarian

I am currently a part time librarian looking for a full time job. I graduated about a year ago with my MLS and have had an extremely difficult time finding a full time position doing adult reference in the Chicago area. I got straight A's in school and was always one of the "leaders" in my classes it seemed. My resume is full of a lifetime of experience in IT, and while I was in school my classmates and teachers told me I should have no problem finding a job once I graduated given my previous skills and experience.

I keep telling myself it's the economy. Chicago Public Libraries has had a hiring freeze for over a year now with no end in sight. When the largest employer of public librarians in the Chicago area isn't hiring it makes it that much harder to find a full time job in ANY library in the Chicago area. The competition is intense.

In the meantime I consider myself very lucky that I at least have a part time job working the adult reference desk at a public library.

I've been working at this library for almost two years now and the patrons have gotten to know me well. Many of them greet me by name and I know their names as well. Maybe I'm easy to talk to? Maybe I listen well? Maybe there are just a lot of lonely people out there that need a friend? But I'm amazed at how many patrons seem to go out of their way to spend the time to come in and talk to me. Many of them tell me that I'm the "nice" librarian at the library. It seems like almost once a week a get a comment like, "Wow, you really helped me out! The other librarians aren't as helpful as you."

I recently read the book "Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian" by Scott Douglas. I enjoyed the book, I found it a funny insider look at working in a library. But I couldn't identify with the writer of the book in the sense that he always seemed to be questioning why he was working in a library. He often doesn't seem very enthusiastic about it all. I on the other hand am only questioning why I can't get a full time job so I can contribute in an even more meaningful way to a library. I am extremely enthusiastic about the profession.

A few days ago I had an experience that put it all in perspective for me. One of our regular patrons came in like usual. He greeted each other by name as we know each other by this point. After he was on the computer for an hour or so he came up to my desk.

He told me that he was in serious trouble and was hoping I could help. He told me that he had a serious gambling addiction and was in bad straights. He called in sick to work and lost everything he had earlier that day and wasn't sure how he was even going to eat for the week. He was curious if I knew of a hypnotist in the area that could "cure" him. He was also curious if I knew anything about using a hypnotist for gambling addiction. I told him I would see what I could do, he asked me if I could send him an email with the information I found, and he walked out of the library with his head held down.

I think some people in a situation like this might be judgmental. The first thought that went through my mind was, "gee wiz, he was really brave to ask me that question. I could never do that." I can be stubborn. I like to figure things out myself. I can't imagine going into a public library and revealing my problems like that to the librarian.

I also did my best to help. I found several books about gambling addiction and passed on several recommendations. I also found information about using hypnosis to cure gambling addictions and pointed him to information that both supported the practice but also an article from a medical journal that said that hypnosis doesn't work. I then found information about state sponsored programs to help people with this problem that are free.

I saw the patron today like usual. He came up to me and thanked me so much for actually caring and finding him the information. He told me he had already called some of the numbers and had an appointment to see a counselor next week. I told him, "no problem, it's all part of the job" with a smile on my face.

This is why I became a librarian. To help people. I like to think that in small ways I can help people make their lives a little better by providing them the information they need.

Now, if I could only do this on a full time basis instead of just part time, life would be great!

A public librarian twitters

My father-in-law sent me a great link a couple of days ago to a funny librarian site. "Dispatches from a Public Librarian" by Scott Douglas. I really enjoyed his most recent post "The Librarian: A Twitter Story". It really struck a chord with me.

So I'm going to plagiarize it! Or more to the point do my own attempt at a day in the life of a public librarian. Just like Scott Douglas, all names have been changed, or never even mentioned, for the sake of privacy.

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Lost and found:
1 - Everfresh juice bottle full of water. (I think)
2 - broken sets of headphones.

Amazing how quickly the crowd clears out and the library becomes an oasis of calm. Isn't it always supposed to be that way? (6:00)

I just turned off all of the monitors in the computer room. Time to say bye bye. (5:58)

I didn't get a single person asking me where the restrooms were today. This is unprecedented. (5:54)

I just straightened up the "quiet" room. (5:53)

Got a call from a man looking for a book that another library said we would have to order through OCLC. I found it at one of our affiliated libraries so the other library was wrong. (5:50)

20 minutes to go! (5:41)

I just placed a hold for a patron. She changed her password also, but she remembered it. (5:40)

A woman asks for a book on how to write a resume. I hear that a lot these days. (5:29)

One of our regulars keeps calling me "Tim". I wonder if I should correct him? I didn't notice for awhile. Now it's a habit. I kind of like Tim. (5:25)

Circ just called and offered me a piece of chocolate. I'm happy! (5:25)

While walking around the library I just realized that tech services just put out some more of the graphic novels I ordered for the library. cool! (5:21)

A patron wants to use the stand up computers and they're all being used. I ask biker guy and the twin if one of them can please get off. The twin goes quickly. Maybe he isn't a hacker. (5:08)

I check the schedule to make sure I'm not working this weekend. I'm glad I remember correctly that I'm not working. (5:05)

A couple comes in to use the computers. I remember that a few months ago I had to show them how to point and click. Now they surf on their own. (5:03)

I am now reading. It's a graphic novel so in a way I'm doing collection development. (4:55)

Someone just asked when we close tonight. I realize that nobody has asked where the bathrooms are yet today. weird... (4:53)

Time has slowed down to an imperceptible crawl. (4:30)

I'm reading Huffingtonpost to get the latest on what's going on in Iran. I feel like reading the latest news is part of my job. (4:15)

Just tried to place a hold for a book but the default password didn't work. The patron changed her password but can't remember what it is. (4:11)

Hmmm... it just hit me that I'm here alone tonight. The person who is usually here is on vacation. I could take a break but then I would leave the desk unattended. I'll just stay. Not a big deal. (4:03)

Talked about accessibility issues with the patron and thanked him for his great ideas. I'll send off an email to the powers that be after my break. (3:55)

A gentleman just asked if we had any plans to set up an ADA compliant computer station. I think he was surprised that I knew what he was talking about. (3:50)

The first article I found seems to be the best article I found. How often does that happen? (3:45)

A very large person comes to the desk and asks for a book about eating disorders. I actually think this is a brave act and admire the man. (3:40)

Still looking up articles that critique HIPAA laws. (3:35)

A father just came in with his son's 9th grade summer reading list. I chose "Stranger in a Strange Land" for the kid to read. It was on the list. Hope the kid has fun reading it! (3:25)

One of our other "regulars" is now at the third stand up computer. So all three may be busy for the rest of the evening. I may have to enforce the 15 minute time limit. (3:17)

I found my first good article already by using the ArticleFirst Database. (3:12)

I'm thinking of the best approach to this question. The patron would like a critique of current HIPAA laws and how they pertain to family counselling and therapy. (3:02)

Phone rings and the patron asks perhaps the most difficult question I've ever gotten at the reference desk. I tell him I'm going to have to do some research and get back to him. (3:01)

It looks like the sun has come out. All of a sudden the library doesn't seem as busy. hmmm... (2:47)

Contest man needed help printing out a form from a web site. I helped him print it out so he can try to win a new car. (2:45)

The lady on the computer just asked me what the date was next Wednesday. Couldn't she have found that on the computer?! Glad I'm here to help! (2:30)

One of the circulation staff just gave me her way of remembering what room is what. I don't think I'll ever forget now. (2:28)

I found the man and directed him to the right room. I was smiling and he was smiling so we're all good. (2:26)

A man just asked me where we were showing the film today. I told him the wrong place! (2:25)

A lady just came in and saw the twin on the computers and asked him for some computer help. That's my job! She said he was her "friend". Maybe my suspicions are wrong? (2:21)

Sometimes I wonder if the twin is doing packet sniffing and knows all my passwords already? The library would be a great place for that. Maybe he's reading this now? :-) (2:18)

Lady wants a book that she heard about on NPR this morning. I can't put a hold on it for her because it's so new. (2:14)

Phone rings. The man at the other end of the phone is hard of hearing. I have to yell for him to hear me. I hate it when that happens. (2:11)

Biker guy shows up. Two out of the three stand up machines will probably be used all night tonight. (2:10)

One of the twins is here on one of the three stand up machines. I know he'll probably be here till 6. I have fantasies that he's a hacker. (2:07)

I check my email. Looks like I handled the porn "incident" as well as I could have the other night. (2:05)

I log into the computer and bring up the important stuff. Excel, SirsiDynix, and Firefox. (2:03)

A woman with a thick Russian accent asks if she needs to register for the ESL class tomorrow. I tell her to just show up. We're mellow... (2:02)

Dark, cloudy, and thunderstorms outside, but the library is busy. (2:01)

Arrived at work just on time. (2:00 pm)