Rebekah Black - Career Development Plan

Career Development Plan

Job Hunting Plan

I love working in public libraries. I have already begun applying to director and assistant director positions in South Georgia. Because typically only the director and assistant director positions require the MLIS, I face competition for these coveted positions from my graduating class. However, because salaries may be lower in these semi-rural areas, perhaps my competitors will be tempted to go elsewhere. This will be my first time going into a professional library position requiring the MLIS.

Skills

Discussions with board of trustees during the interview process have revealed that board members tend to be interested in Librarians with computer knowledge. The nature of small public libraries means that the director is sometimes the one-stop-shop for all expertise. Having technical expertise (on top of the MLIS) is a special bonus for these types of libraries.

Although the board of trustees may lack a specific strategic plan, they indicate strong interest in a director or assistant director who “gets out into the community.” Board members have stated that their ideal candidate is someone whose face is seen and voice is heard. Strong community building skills are desired.

Knowledge

PINES is the statewide Integrated Library System (ILS) used by virtually all of the small public libraries in the area. There are a few library systems that do not belong to the consortium, but they are clustered in the urban areas of Atlanta and Savannah. I have multiple years of experience using PINES as a library assistant.

Before meeting with a particular board of trustees, I familiarize myself with the demographics found through the Census and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Board members may or may not be aware of their publicly available online profile, and showing them how we can make improvements based on the reporting mechanisms helps them think about future growth and strategy.

Finally, I emphasize my knowledge of planning, applying for funding, and gaining community support for summer reading programs. As a Georgia educator for K12, my knowledge of how to align literacy-based impact measures with programming and materials enables access to grants and promotes continued learning for children between years.

Applying for Jobs

I have already begun my job search, and I have applied for several director and assistant director jobs. I look at job boards such google jobs. I scan my inbox from American Library Association (ALA) and the school listservs for job alerts. I have two mentors. One mentor is employed here in Georgia. The other is based in Arkansas, and we work together through ALA’s Social Responsibility Round Table (SRRT).

Strategy and Approach

After spotting a job description that matches, I apply for the job crafting a custom cover letter and resume for each position. Because of the nature of the small public libraries, the application process is typically to email the resume. The board of directors may or may not use a staffing service to source candidates.

Long-Term Goals

Involvement with ALA as the world’s largest professional organization for libraries has influenced my perception of the social responsibilities that libraries have towards their communities. To better serve the particular needs of small public library patrons in South Georgia, a director’s generalized education across many disciplines can provide incredible benefits to the community. As I pioneer this approach towards leadership, I hope to mentor other “lifelong learners” into generalized professionals. My own generalized education includes a combined BS/MS in computer science through the honors program at the University of Georgia with a master’s thesis in artificial intelligence (Summa Cum Laude), a MS in management science and engineering from Stanford, and a Georgia educator teaching certification. After graduation with my MLIS from Valdosta, I hope to attend the JD program at Mercer in Macon, GA.

I plan on continuing and increasing participation in ALA’s SRRT social media committee, ALA’s Emerging Leader Committee, and Association of American Law Library’s (AALL) social responsibility (SR) special interest group. My hope is that alignment between ALA’s SRRT and AALL’s SR group will lead to increased advocacy and sustainable partnerships.

Another goal of mine in the next year is to make the switch to a mentor within the profession. There are many avenues to mentorship, whether state level through Georgia Library Association (GLA) or national through ALA. I have enjoyed enormous benefits from being involved in both formal and informal mentoring programs, and I hope to be able to give back within the next two years.

Reflective Essay for “Career Development Plan”

Course: MLIS 7800 Capstone
Competency: Professionalism
Learning Outcome (1): construct a career plan based on personal and professional goals
Learning Outcome (2): engage with a professional network of colleagues via professional associations and communities of learning and practice

Purpose: The career development plan I developed encompasses the next two years and outlines my continuing engagement with ALA while I pursue a law degree at Harvard. I am a member of the SRRT social media committee, on the ALA emerging leaders committee, and a member of the United for Libraries round table. I plan to continue those activities and pick up the association for American Law Librarians, too.

Analysis: After constructing a career plan based on my personal and professional goals, it is clear I have taken plenty of advantage of the professional networks available to librarians. I am also part of the Georgia new mentors/mentee trial program.

Reflection: I hope to continue to engage in the professional development of the upcoming MLIS leaders. I recently have begun informal mentorship of SRRT social media new members. I did not realize that there were so many opportunities to participate in librarianship for social justice. Although my time at VSU is drawing to a close, as a life-long learner, I want to inspire others towards generalist educations and mentorships.

Vision

ALA governs our profession and establishes the requirements to become a degreed librarian. The quality of knowledge that degree represents is honored in number 8 of the ALA code of ethics.

Professional Beliefs and Ethics

The ALA code of ethics resonates with me. Valuing privacy, the rights of others, the differences of others, the requests of others; these things embody the service profession of Librarians. Within the ALA code of ethics is the need for the library workforce to reflect the diversity of the community which it serves (Allard et al, 2007). However, Conner-Gaten et al's research indicates it is a field still largely dominated by white women (2017). The argument is that a lack of representation in management affects the lack of diversity across everything, including collections, for example.

Professional Role of the Information Specialist

The best practices employed by a librarian are only acquired through a lifetime of continuing education. During my time in MLIS school, I have taken many courses I thought should have been core for everyone (Human Resources, Websites, etc). Jaeger et al highlighted the importance of education in the context of social justice and advocacy (2015). Diversity is important, but so are the qualifications of management.

MLIS Knowledge, Growth, and Experience

The MLIS is required in Georgia to be a certified librarian. Burke and Boggs argue in the “E-government Study” that the quality of information on library websites is largely determined by the presence of a degreed librarian. In “Raised by Wolves,” Neal argues that while it may be possible for an individual without the degree to encompass the totality of the plurality which the MLIS represents, it is highly unlikely.

Professional Development & Goals for the Future

In the next two years, I hope to get accepted and begin law school at Mercer. I hope my SRRT work will begin to overlap with AALL SR work. In addition, my role as Liaison to the Emerging Leaders committee will bring me into contact with mentoring many of the library field’s future professionals. I would love to pursue formal professional development through continued classes at Valdosta in a non-degreed program.

References

Allard, S., Mehra, B., & Qayyum, M. A. (2007). Intercultural leadership toolkit for librarians: Building awareness to effectively serve diverse multicultural populations. Education Libraries, 30(1), 5-12. https://doi.org/10.26443/el.v30i1.231

American Library Association (2021). ALA’s code of ethics. https://www.ala.org/tools/ethics

Burke, S. Boggs, M. (2015). EGovernment Study. Public Libraries. https://publiclibrariesonline.org/2015/06/e-government-in-public-libraries/

Conner-Gaten, A., Caragher K., & Drake, T. (2017, November 13). Collections decoded: Reflections and strategies for anti-racist collection development. Brick & Click Libraries Conference Proceedings. https://digitalcommons.xula.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=fac_pub#page=159

Georgia code. (retrieved 2023). Certified Librarian Law. https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2020/title-43/chapter-24/section-43-24-4/

Jaeger, P. T., Cooke, N. A., Feltis, C., Hamiel, M., Jardine, F. & Shilton, K. (2015). The virtuous circle revisited: Injecting diversity, inclusion, rights, justice, and equity into LIS from education to advocacy. Library Quarterly, 85(2), 150-171. https://doi.org/10.1086/680154

Neal, J. G. (2006). Raised by wolves. Library Journal, 131(3), 42-44. https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/raised-by-wolves

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