NMRT (New Members Round Table)

Dear NMRT Colleagues,

We have approached the months when many LIS students are graduating and perhaps embarking on a new profession.  For the online discussion this month, the NMRT Online Programs Committee wanted to seek input from members regarding advice that you would share with someone new to the field of library and information science. 

What is the best piece of advice or a recommendation that you would share with a recent graduate or a new professional in the LIS field?  What is something you wish you knew before entering this field?

Looking forward to your responses!

I have been a librarian (public and academic) for 13 lucky years now, and I think I have a few pieces of advice for new grads. 

1.) Enter the field with an open mind towards your eventual "forever" path. When I graduated from library school, I started in a grant-funded position at the State Library of Florida cataloging highway maps. Then, I very quickly found a paraprofessional job in my hometown as a library programming assistant. In a few months, I was able to take a part-time librarian position and then quickly promoted to full-time Librarian. I was in that position for over 4 years and then found myself applying to jobs far away from my home. I relocated to Texas and took a job (lateral move with a significant raise) to be a children's programming librarian. Throughout my time there I found a niche with large-scale field trips, building (branch) management and STEAM programming. However, especially after COVID reopenings, I chafed at continuing to work nights/weekends/outreaches and I found a job at an academic library as a K-12 Librarian. This job allowed me to drastically expand upon my repertoire and within a year I was promoted to a director position. Throughout this journey, I  never limited myself to one type of librarian role, or even one type of library. I think that flexibility of thought has helped me tremendously.  I really love my current position, I like supervising people and providing student users with the access and resources they are looking for at our school. 

2. ) Always seek the professional development opportunity! Early in my career, my supervisor and mentor encouraged me to write book reviews for School Library Journal and VOYA. These book reviews opened my eyes to opportunities to write articles about programs I created, to join professional societies and be on book committees. I have been involved with YALSA (Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers committee member for two terms) and TLA (Bluebonnet Book List Selection Committee) as well as board member opportunities with YALSA (Board Fellow) and NMRT! As a public librarian, these responsibilities helped me make great connections with other librarians across the US and gave me content to implement in my job. As an academic librarian, it also has helped me create a deep professional dossier I can use for promotion in rank. There are so many opportunities now (volunteer for NMRT!) to flex this professional muscle, and the contributions of all our librarians at varying levels of expertise are what make this career so fulfilling. 

3.) This may be contradictory to my first point, but don't be afraid to dig deep into aspects of the field you love! If you are passionate about children's services seek out blogs, mentors, discussion groups, local resources to really figure out how to be the best children's librarian you can be! I think there is an incredible capacity in this field for special interests and to be "the expert" in your workplace on any given topic. My book committee work really helped me become a resource for my work peers about collection development choices for YA or juvenile fiction. I really knew almost every book that came  out in these fields for a few years! It was so rewarding to really dig in and use those things I was doing for committees outside of my workplace and bring it back to my day to day work. 

I'm always happy to chat or email if you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out and good luck! 

Dear NMRT Colleagues,

We have approached the months when many LIS students are graduating and perhaps embarking on a new profession.  For the online discussion this month, the NMRT Online Programs Committee wanted to seek input from members regarding advice that you would share with someone new to the field of library and information science. 

What is the best piece of advice or a recommendation that you would share with a recent graduate or a new professional in the LIS field?  What is something you wish you knew before entering this field?

Looking forward to your responses!