New Library Career Books

In late April, publisher Libraries Unlimited will bring out a new book entitled A Day in the Life: Career Options in Library and Information Science (Shontz, Priscilla K. and Richard A. Murray, editors).

From the description:

"Many people, not just those new to the field of Library and Information Science, are curious about their career options. The editors of liscareer.com have assembled 95 authors, each of whom describes a 'typical' workday or work routine, sharing joys, sorrows, and annoyances in refreshingly candid fashion. In the process, they offer those interested in finding a similar job exposure to useful skills and advice across a wide variety of traditional and nontraditional jobs. In addition to public, academic, school, and special libraries, consortia, associations, LIS programs, vendors, publishing, consulting, and other non-library fields are also covered. This is a perfect guide for library and information science students, prospective information professionals, new librarians-or anyone considering a career change".

Also, author Rachel Gordon, who maintains the LISjobs.com site, is working on an upcoming book on alternative careers for librarians and she has posted an online survey looking for people's experiences in non-traditional fields:

"I'm interested in hearing from a broad variety of people, including: those who have embarked on a new career after working for some time in libraries, those who earned an MLS but never worked in a traditional library setting, those who pursue alternative opportunities as a supplement to a traditional library career, those who work in a traditional setting but do nontraditional work, and those who do library work in nontraditional settings. Basically, if you think you might have/had some sort of nontraditional career, I'd love to hear from you -- thanks!"