Thank you so much, K.T. I appreciate this insight with how your applicants indicated they had found the posting. Our HR department is trying to be as creative as possible with all our job postings and expanding the reach. We are members of ACRL Diversity Alliance but I didn't know about their libguide. Now that I'm looking at it, our 2019 recruitment news story is listed there as a "past" job posting as a reference for residency coordinators.
I was genuinely curious about how the jobs posting policy on ALA Connect is working for folks. I like to send job postings to communities that are most likely to be interested in the jobs and I worry that we have lost that ability in the ALA Connect communities. For example, I always used to appreciate jobs from peer libraries being shared on the Undergraduate Librarians Discussion Group list/community because I could recommend those jobs to library school students who worked in my library and had an interest in continuing undergraduate library services. Now I never see those job postings because we aren't allowed to "connect" with our direct peers for job listings in these communities. I'm not on the job market and have no interest in subscribing to the Job list in ALA Connect as almost everything would be irrelevant.
Maybe they are under the impression that only job seekers are using the Jobs list. I've been a member of RIG for years because we offer residencies at UW-Madison and I learn so much about the residency experience. I also used to learn about how residencies are being defined and promoted through job postings, and that part of the community is lost through the centralization of the jobs list. It's such a specific type of position reaching a very specific audience, so I feel like the centralized jobs list is a loss for that reason.
I also have received a couple of private replies to this now, and I greatly appreciate everyone's contributions to the discussion.
-Carrie
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Carrie Kruse
Director, College Library, User Experience & Library Spaces
University of Wisconsin - Madison
She/Her/Hers
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Original Message:
Sent: Mar 09, 2023 09:29 AM
From: K.T. Vaughan
Subject: How are people finding Resident Librarian jobs?
Hi Carrie,
We just hired a resident for a somewhat similar research services position (W&L is much smaller than UW-Madison, so our positions are more generalist than yours in general). Here is the breakdown of where they reported they found the position (31 total):
- 16 - ALA JobList
- 4 - HigherEd Jobs
- 2 - Indeed
- 1 each (postings) - ACRL Diversity Alliance libguide, State chapter jobs board, University jobs board, the Chronicle, Inside Higher Ed, Archives Gig, school jobs list
- 1 each (direct/network) - forwarded email from one of my contacts, responded to my outreach based on resume in the ALA bank
We have another position in process, and although it has a smaller pool the referral sources are similar; most candidates are applying from ALA JobList, with a smattering from professional sites like Indeed and LinkedIn. The difference with the other search is that more of the candidates came into the pool because I reached out to them based on ALA JobList resumes and other contacts.
ALA and ACRL are cutting down on allowing job postings to many of the boards, preferring that those go to centralized sites. I have a vague memory of getting "in trouble" with one of the mods that I tried to post these positions to. I can't remember if I even tried to post them here, assuming I'd get my hand slapped again.
KT
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K.T. Vaughan
Hal F. and Barbra Buckner Higginbotham University Librarian
Washington & Lee University
She/Her/Hers
kvaughan@wlu.edu
Original Message:
Sent: Mar 08, 2023 08:22 AM
From: Carrie Kruse
Subject: How are people finding Resident Librarian jobs?
I haven't received any replies to this question and I'm still curious as to how the best way to post job openings for residencies is managed. On the ACRL RIG website, I see a recent posting from early February this year, and the next most recent one appears to be from October, and then January 2022.
Here is info about the current residency at UW-Madison:
The
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries is now seeking candidates for a new
Public Services Diversity Resident Librarian, which is part of the Diversity Resident Librarian Program that was established in 2013. This program provides an opportunity for entry-level librarians from diverse backgrounds to begin their professional careers and develop skills and experience in academic librarianship. As members of the ACRL Diversity Alliance, we are committed to "increasing the hiring pipeline of qualified and talented individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups." (ACRL Diversity Alliance Website). This is a three-year placement designed to encourage and promote professional growth and development of recent graduates.
This residency will offer an opportunity to support student research and learning, with a focus on strategic undergraduate student engagement at College Library. The Public Services Diversity Resident Librarian will provide generalist research support and instruction with expertise in undergraduate research topics and resources. The librarian will gain a breadth of experience in public services and will strengthen College Library's student engagement efforts through consistent and targeted outreach to campus programs aligned with undergraduate student success.
For more information and to apply for the position, please click on the following link:
PVL 274909-AS. The deadline for applications is 11:55pm on Monday, March 13, 2023.
And we have two more residency openings coming soon. Would love to know the best way to reach the folks interested in residencies.
Thanks,
Carrie
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Carrie Kruse
Director, College Library, User Experience & Library Spaces
University of Wisconsin - Madison
She/Her/Hers
Original Message:
Sent: Feb 24, 2023 01:42 PM
From: Carrie Kruse
Subject: How are people finding Resident Librarian jobs?
Hi all,
I'm curious to know if people seeking resident librarian positions are navigating the ALA jobs discussion successfully? Ever since ALA connect has shifted to requiring that all jobs be posted to the ALA Jobs community and are no longer allowing job postings to other community discussions, is there a better way to connect residency seekers with residency jobs? It feels like the targeted approach to connecting people with jobs of their interest might be lost in the big long list of all jobs. Or am I wrong and all job seekers are using the ALA Jobs community just fine?
Also, do the job postings on the ACRL RIG website get pulled from the ALA Jobs postings? Or is there a separate process to get jobs posted on the RIG website?
Thanks for any advice you have about spreading the word for Residency jobs. (yes - we have one open now at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and two more coming soon!)
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Carrie Kruse
Director, College Library, User Experience & Library Spaces
University of Wisconsin - Madison
She/Her/Hers
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