Just when I think I'm out...

Well, I am truly speechless. I received a very surprising phone call yesterday afternoon. It was the director for the library I had interviewed at 2 weeks ago. He was calling to offer me the job. I truly thought they had already offered the job to someone else. You see I interviewed for the job on a Wednesday, and at the end of the interview I was told that I would hear something if not Monday then definitely Wednesday. So when I didn't hear anything, I assumed that they had given the job to someone with more teaching experience, like had happened with the other job I interviewed for that week. I am so glad I was wrong. After he said they wanted to offer me the job, all I could say for a full minute was OK. I know I sounded like a complete idiot! :) But who cares, we are moving to VA!!! I will be a reference and instruction librarian there. Now the real fun begins...

The Temp Job

The temp job that I started in June has been a colorful garden in a bleak landscape for me. I am really enjoying the work I am doing on the NC DOCKS project. I find a great deal of satisfaction in being able to work on a certain article or profile and then I can go to that item in the IR and see the result of my hard work. It's always nice to have something to show for the time an effort you invest. I'm glad I took that Digital Libraries class in during the Fall 2009 semester. I feel that it gave me a good foundation to build upon as I progress in this position. Thank God for this job and this library.

The Job Search

Anyone who tells you that looking for a job is a rewarding experience is a liar. I've been applying for jobs since December 2009, 37 in all, and this whole experience has not rewarded me in the least bit. I have had 4 phone interviews and have been on 4 job interviews. I have not had a single job offer. I have also turned down 2 other in person job interviews, because this whole process is too taxing and difficult for me to go for interviews for jobs that I do not want or are in places I do not want to live. This job search has left me more frustrated than I have ever been in my life, with very little confidence in myself, and at times, to question my faith. But I'm in good company, many of my fellow graduates have not fared much better. I can count on 2 fingers the number of library school friends that now have professional jobs.

While this experience has not been rewarding, I have learned a few things.

1. Never go on a job interview without knowing what they are going to pay you (at least get a range) or what benefits they offer.
2. Do not schedule 2 interviews 2 days in a row, especially if they are day long interviews. Not a good idea.
3. Never go on an interview for a job you do not want. These interviews are very stressful and taxing on the psyche. It is not worth the stress and aggravation to go through the interview process for a job you would turn down if offered.

With the Fall semester approaching there will be fewer and fewer academic jobs available. I am very unsure and confused about what my place in the library world should be. I'm trying to stay positive though. I really wanted to leave NC, but it looks like fate is trying to keep me here. We'll see how it plays out. I am a very impatient person and this summer has been torture for me. I'm disappointed that I will not be leaving NC. I really wanted to get out of here and experience new places. But who knows, I may look back on this in 5 years and say this was the greatest thing that could have happened, staying in NC. I hope so.

One positive thing that happened this summer is the temporary job that I have in Technical Services at Jackson Library. It is wonderful. I am working on the North Carolina Digital Online Collection of Knowledge and Scholarship (NC DOCKS) project. NC DOCKS is a cooperative effort to make the scholarly output of the University of North Carolina System more available to the world. Current institutional participants include Appalachian State University, Eastern Carolina University, UNC Greensboro, UNC Pembroke, and UNC Wilmington. NC DOCKS includes many full text articles, audio recordings, dissertations, and other formats. All materials are indexed by Google and are freely available to scholars and researchers world-wide. I have been retrieving articles, reformatting them and then uploading them to the IR. I've also been preparing an IR follow-up report by reviewing what has been uploaded and what still needs to be uploaded for the faculty members that the staff have been working on. I'm really enjoying my work there. I've always wanted to work in Technical Services. I hope this leads to a future in cataloging for me. Cataloging is what I always wanted to do anyway.

Reference Questions, 5/8/10

This is my last shift ever at Jackson. It's Saturday, and graduation is less than a week away. Yay!

1. Looking for a color printer
2. Needed guest login

This library was empty tonight. I can't believe I only got 2 questions. The only excitement was when a student walked past the desk in a Speedo and a t-shirt. I do not know what he was thinking. What a great story for my last shift. :)

Reference Questions, 5/5/10

Well this is my last weekday on the desk. Only one more shift left in this reference internship. Graduation is in 9 days.

1. Looking for Barry Miller
2. Looking for the microfilm of the News & Record
3. Looking for novels in French
4. Needed to compress a folder on their computer so they could send it to their professor
5. Looking for a water fountain
6. Needed to know how to put money on their ID
7. Looking for children's books
8. (Chat) Question about borrowing books over the summer
9. Guilford County school teacher needed to know where to go to get a library card
10. Looking for the Mossman Building
11. Looking for a color printer
12. Looking for a fax machine

It was a slow Reading Day in the library. Traffic all over campus is down. I guess everyone has finished up all their work.

Reference Questions, 5/2/10

May is finally here and graduation is only 12 days away. This is a Sunday on the ref desk, and finals start next week. I've been told it's been a slow day. Let's hope the trend continues. I only have 2 more ref shifts after this one. :)

1. Wanted an audio book for Shakespeare's The Tempest. Got the impression that she just didn't want to read it, because when I told her that she couldn't check it out because it is on reserve she started asking about a DVD of it
2. Looking for scholarly print journals on the economy
3. Had a question about whether or not the Journal of Education for Business is a scholarly journal
4. Looking for a scanner
5. (Chat) Having trouble finding journal articles on public health; they were trying to use the journal titles line on the library home page and that is only for finding specific journal titles
6. (Chat) Wanted to know what would happen if they stole a book; i wish I had told them they would go to jail; they just had never heard the security alarm go off and didn't believe it worked; i assured them that it does work
7. (Chat) Wanted to know why the chat handle is iMinerva; listen people I am the goddess of wisdom; duh
8. (Chat) Wanted to know where the ILL link is located
9. Computer problem in the reading room

It was another dead night on the desk. I guess no one is getting ready for finals yet. This coming week will probably be slammed.

Reference Questions, 4/30/10

Well it's the last day of April and one of my last shifts here at Jackson. I only 2 more shifts after this one. How sweet it is.

1. Looking for articles and books on Sly and the Family Stone
2. Guest log-in
3. Helped patron with Facebook, um yeah...
4. Looking for an article in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry from 1988 (even had a screaming toddler with her, lovely)
5. Guest log-in
6. Looking for HEAT bus schedules
7. Question about saving to the R drive
8. (Phone) Address lady wanted the address to the Daily Telegraph in London; a shift is not complete without a call from her

Talk about a slow shift. They may really want to reconsider not having this shift staffed. This is the second Friday 5-8 shift that I've had this semester that has been completely dead.