Job Hunting for Information Professionals

Jobs for librarians aren’t just in libraries anymore. The library and information profession now extends into a variety of specializations and newly established fields including information architecture, knowledge management, and competitive intelligence. As we find ourselves further entrenched in an “information age” our career opportunities expand as more industries recognize a need for information professionals in their organizations. Sifting through vast amounts of data and deciphering what is mere noise from what is critical to the survival of an organization is fast becoming a sought-after skill. Whereas in the 1980’s the job title “Chief Information Officer” was rarely heard of, today the individual in this position is considered vital to an organizations’ success. Thus it seems clear that as technology continues to change, and successful information management remains one of the keys to survival in the business world, future information professionals will enjoy a healthy and diverse employment outlook.

Whether you’re looking for traditional library employment or non-traditional information-related work, these websites will give you a great start to your job hunt.

Library Job Postings on the Internet http://webhost.bridgew.edu/snesbeitt/lib...

Compiled by Sarah Nesbeitt, this great guide has been helping librarians find jobs since 1995. The outstanding geographical searching feature - with coverage of the US, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia - is one reason it’s so useful. You can also search for jobs by type of library (public, academic, federal government, subject specific) or by individual library.

Jobs for Information Professionals http://web.syr.edu/~jryan/infopro/jobs.h...

Joe Ryan’s encompassing site is one of the best places to begin your search, especially if you want to get some background on the information industry in general. Besides listing many job posting sites he also provides links to sites on relevant career trends, valuable background and general interest information, how to research prospective employers, career and job hunting guides, library employment-related listservs, and relocation and salary information. I think his section on “Researching a Future Corporate Employer – Competitive Intelligence” is an especially useful resource.

Lisjobs.com – Jobs for Librarians and Information Professionals http://www.lisjobs.com/

Rachel Singer Gordon’s excellent job search site links to individual library job advertisements, nationwide job databases, state job banks, and subject-specific/specialized library jobs. You’ll also find a discussion forum, career advice, articles, and employment-related email lists. Also gives instructions for signing up for the new professional development newsletter Info Career Trends.

Librarians in the 21st Century: Finding Employment http://istweb.syr.edu/21stcenlib/becomin...

With an impressive “Employment Webliography”, this site provides links to job postings as well as nice overviews of different types of library jobs in the Career Possibilities section. This would be a good place to visit if you wanted to find out what it’s like to be a corporate librarian, public librarian, information broker, or academic librarian, what the salaries and benefits are, the educational requirements, the challenges you might encounter in the job, etc. This informative site was created by MLS students at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies, and is definitely worth a look.