Old librarian needs new job!
November 14, 2022 9:37 AM Subscribe
Please help me find (or at least start looking for) a library (or at least library-related) job in Calgary, Alberta.
My situation is this; last July my wife started a tenure-track professor position at the University of Calgary (yay!). The only problem with this was that at the time we both lived in Toronto. She moved out there in August and began teaching in September. At the time we didn't think it was prudent, financially and/or otherwise, for me to up and immediately quit my job and move with her, but now that she is sorted out there and things seem to be going well it's time for me to start job-searching in earnest.
I'm currently a public librarian working in the special collections and rare books department of the Toronto Reference Library. I've been working for the Toronto Public Library for over 16 years, and my current position is far and away the best job I've ever had. Career planning and job-searching, etc. have never been strengths of mine, and until my wife got her new job I was assuming that I would retire in this position and never have to look for another, which made me happy because I hate, hate, HATE everything about job searching and the thought of having to go through with it fills me with great anxiety and foreboding. I haven't applied for a non-TPL job since the early 2000s, so my job-search skills and experiences are effectively non-existent and I have no idea how to even get that ball rolling beyond googling "LIBRARY JOBS CALGARY." All of this makes me very reluctant to begin the process, but I at some point I *have* to and the sooner the better, I think.
A few other potentially-relevant factors:
- I would love to move into academic libraries or another special collections-type department, and I think some of the skills and experiences I have obtained in my current position are relevant/applicable, but most of my "training" has been informal and/or self-directed (i.e. maybe not the easiest thing to quantify on a resume) and I haven't attended any library conferences (not once, ever), which I am led to believe would probably be a mark against me if I were to apply for jobs of this sort? Is aiming for a plum gig like this just wishful thinking on my part?
- We don't have kids, so that is not an issue, and as such I don't have a deadline in terms of how quickly I need to find a job, but again, I don't want to put it off too long.
- I'm 49, so I'm definitely...not at the beginning of my career, shall we say. Part of the reason I love my current job so much is that my exposure to the public is limited; due to extensive negative experiences in the past I am pretty burned out on public service and have no desire to start out at the bottom rung of another public library system.
Hopefully this isn't too Chatfilter-y, but basically I'm asking for any advice or guidance, general or specific, that anyone could or would be kind enough to provide so that I can begin moving forward with a bit more confidence.
My situation is this; last July my wife started a tenure-track professor position at the University of Calgary (yay!). The only problem with this was that at the time we both lived in Toronto. She moved out there in August and began teaching in September. At the time we didn't think it was prudent, financially and/or otherwise, for me to up and immediately quit my job and move with her, but now that she is sorted out there and things seem to be going well it's time for me to start job-searching in earnest.
I'm currently a public librarian working in the special collections and rare books department of the Toronto Reference Library. I've been working for the Toronto Public Library for over 16 years, and my current position is far and away the best job I've ever had. Career planning and job-searching, etc. have never been strengths of mine, and until my wife got her new job I was assuming that I would retire in this position and never have to look for another, which made me happy because I hate, hate, HATE everything about job searching and the thought of having to go through with it fills me with great anxiety and foreboding. I haven't applied for a non-TPL job since the early 2000s, so my job-search skills and experiences are effectively non-existent and I have no idea how to even get that ball rolling beyond googling "LIBRARY JOBS CALGARY." All of this makes me very reluctant to begin the process, but I at some point I *have* to and the sooner the better, I think.
A few other potentially-relevant factors:
- I would love to move into academic libraries or another special collections-type department, and I think some of the skills and experiences I have obtained in my current position are relevant/applicable, but most of my "training" has been informal and/or self-directed (i.e. maybe not the easiest thing to quantify on a resume) and I haven't attended any library conferences (not once, ever), which I am led to believe would probably be a mark against me if I were to apply for jobs of this sort? Is aiming for a plum gig like this just wishful thinking on my part?
- We don't have kids, so that is not an issue, and as such I don't have a deadline in terms of how quickly I need to find a job, but again, I don't want to put it off too long.
- I'm 49, so I'm definitely...not at the beginning of my career, shall we say. Part of the reason I love my current job so much is that my exposure to the public is limited; due to extensive negative experiences in the past I am pretty burned out on public service and have no desire to start out at the bottom rung of another public library system.
Hopefully this isn't too Chatfilter-y, but basically I'm asking for any advice or guidance, general or specific, that anyone could or would be kind enough to provide so that I can begin moving forward with a bit more confidence.
Sometimes as part of faculty recruitment, academic institutions are able to help place a trailing spouse. The window for this has probably passed, since your wife has already started her job. However, your interest in academic libraries makes me wonder whether it came up at all while she was interviewing, and if so, whether she has any insight to offer about the library at her university.
posted by eirias at 9:58 AM on November 14, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by eirias at 9:58 AM on November 14, 2022 [5 favorites]
Best answer: So, to start with: the Partnership Job Board is the place to go for Canadian library job listings.
I have made the transition from public libraries to community college libraries and am currently trying to transition to university libraries. (Community college libraries can be very good jobs! But I'm in the US currently and it seems like all the community college job ads I see are part-time/no-benefit jobs.) I was not getting any interviews for academic library positions until I had a substantial bit of community college library experience, so my gut feeling is that it's a bit hard to break into academic libraries from outside them, but if anybody can do it, it's somebody who has substantial experience working in special collections and rare books. It seems like special collections and rare books jobs seem a lot pickier about hiring people who have special collections/rare books experience than about hiring people who have academic library experience. So I think that you should apply to those jobs, and just try very hard to write cover letters that speak to the skills and experience you've acquired in an informal and self-directed way.
Think about acquiring formal training that would put an official stamp on your unofficial skills, and think about going to library conferences now. In my experience you're right that it'll be held against you if you don't have that stuff, but it's not too late to start. (And do think about anything that you could put on your resume/cover letter that speaks to your professional development, service to the field, if you serve or have served on any committees, that kind of thing.)
Hiring Librarians is a web site that has interviews with library hiring managers or people on library hiring committees, and it will tell you a LOT about what hiring committees are looking for. (But please take it with a grain of salt and don't get down on yourself based on something one person says. Some of the people they interview have their own very idiosyncratic preferences.)
posted by Jeanne at 10:18 AM on November 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
I have made the transition from public libraries to community college libraries and am currently trying to transition to university libraries. (Community college libraries can be very good jobs! But I'm in the US currently and it seems like all the community college job ads I see are part-time/no-benefit jobs.) I was not getting any interviews for academic library positions until I had a substantial bit of community college library experience, so my gut feeling is that it's a bit hard to break into academic libraries from outside them, but if anybody can do it, it's somebody who has substantial experience working in special collections and rare books. It seems like special collections and rare books jobs seem a lot pickier about hiring people who have special collections/rare books experience than about hiring people who have academic library experience. So I think that you should apply to those jobs, and just try very hard to write cover letters that speak to the skills and experience you've acquired in an informal and self-directed way.
Think about acquiring formal training that would put an official stamp on your unofficial skills, and think about going to library conferences now. In my experience you're right that it'll be held against you if you don't have that stuff, but it's not too late to start. (And do think about anything that you could put on your resume/cover letter that speaks to your professional development, service to the field, if you serve or have served on any committees, that kind of thing.)
Hiring Librarians is a web site that has interviews with library hiring managers or people on library hiring committees, and it will tell you a LOT about what hiring committees are looking for. (But please take it with a grain of salt and don't get down on yourself based on something one person says. Some of the people they interview have their own very idiosyncratic preferences.)
posted by Jeanne at 10:18 AM on November 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: > Sometimes as part of faculty recruitment, academic institutions are able to help place a trailing spouse.
UofC asked me to send them my resume, which I did, but there was no follow-up...I've been led to understand that the spouse placement thing does happen, but it's more often a pot-sweetener for someone the school wants to lure away from their current job rather than something offered to people starting out on the tenure track.
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:20 AM on November 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
UofC asked me to send them my resume, which I did, but there was no follow-up...I've been led to understand that the spouse placement thing does happen, but it's more often a pot-sweetener for someone the school wants to lure away from their current job rather than something offered to people starting out on the tenure track.
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:20 AM on November 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
It might be worth your wife having a chat with librarians at her job - not in the "Do you have a job" but "Do you have pointers to the useful networks to be in for library jobs in Calgary or places that might be worth connecting with?"
I'm sure they've got a good idea of local networks, some of which are going to be invisible to someone who doesn't already know they're there.
One thing about academic library jobs is they vary a lot in terms of expectations for publishing/those kinds of academic markers (including conference presentations.) I don't know what the situation is in Calgary, but in the US jobs I've looked at in the past, some places cared a lot, some places cared that I understood that was part of the deal for that job even if I hadn't done it before, and some places didn't care at all. And I had a reasonable chance (my other skills being appropriate) at the last two categories.
The other avenue to check into are special libraries in general - law, but also business libraries, some kinds of medical library jobs (a fair number of medical collections have someone who does special collections/rare books, surprisingly..), or things like my job which is a non-profit that's partly a school and partly less directly student-facing educational. I found it by the state library jobs board, and applied, sure they weren't going to pick me (I didn't have any formal background in the specific area of education we do) and it's been great to me for going on 8 years now.
In terms of your resume, highlighting any projects you've seen through to completion (even if you weren't the only person responsible for them) and any documentation of being able to pick up new skills/self-teach/figure out how to meet a new need would probably stand you pretty well.
posted by jenettsilver at 11:18 AM on November 14, 2022 [3 favorites]
I'm sure they've got a good idea of local networks, some of which are going to be invisible to someone who doesn't already know they're there.
One thing about academic library jobs is they vary a lot in terms of expectations for publishing/those kinds of academic markers (including conference presentations.) I don't know what the situation is in Calgary, but in the US jobs I've looked at in the past, some places cared a lot, some places cared that I understood that was part of the deal for that job even if I hadn't done it before, and some places didn't care at all. And I had a reasonable chance (my other skills being appropriate) at the last two categories.
The other avenue to check into are special libraries in general - law, but also business libraries, some kinds of medical library jobs (a fair number of medical collections have someone who does special collections/rare books, surprisingly..), or things like my job which is a non-profit that's partly a school and partly less directly student-facing educational. I found it by the state library jobs board, and applied, sure they weren't going to pick me (I didn't have any formal background in the specific area of education we do) and it's been great to me for going on 8 years now.
In terms of your resume, highlighting any projects you've seen through to completion (even if you weren't the only person responsible for them) and any documentation of being able to pick up new skills/self-teach/figure out how to meet a new need would probably stand you pretty well.
posted by jenettsilver at 11:18 AM on November 14, 2022 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Working in special collections and rare books in a public library is an excellent qualification for working in special collections, rare books, and archives in an academic library. You might think about if you'd want to be supervising folks. There likely could be some public interaction, depending on the size of the library, but not as much as at a regular reference desk, for example. You also might find public services/user services in an academic or special library to be pretty different than in a public library.
A great resource that some amazing librarian pulled together: open cover letters. These are all the original cover letters, partially redacted, that librarians who got the job sent in with their CVs.
I also want to offer a reframing: you are a highly experienced, mid-career librarian with extensive experience in a handful of areas. I hear you being a bit down on yourself - you're old, you hate job searching, you haven't attended conferences, your training was informal - and I'd encourage you to try to put that aside, even if you have to fake it, because that kind of thing can creep into your application and interview and become a self-fulfilling prophecy. (Also I am 49 and definitely not old so I'm pretty sure you're not old either. As you likely know, many folks don't even become librarians until they're in their 30s and then work past 65.)
I'd say to ask any friends you have in academic libraries, especially archives and special collections, if you can see their most recent CV/resume, to get a sense of what that looks like nowadays. Do you have friends from library school who work in this field? Do you keep up with any professional lit? Glance through the latest few issues of the most relevant professional journal to see what folks are talking about. Work any loose professional network as much as you can.
This is totally do-able.
posted by bluedaisy at 12:36 PM on November 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
A great resource that some amazing librarian pulled together: open cover letters. These are all the original cover letters, partially redacted, that librarians who got the job sent in with their CVs.
I also want to offer a reframing: you are a highly experienced, mid-career librarian with extensive experience in a handful of areas. I hear you being a bit down on yourself - you're old, you hate job searching, you haven't attended conferences, your training was informal - and I'd encourage you to try to put that aside, even if you have to fake it, because that kind of thing can creep into your application and interview and become a self-fulfilling prophecy. (Also I am 49 and definitely not old so I'm pretty sure you're not old either. As you likely know, many folks don't even become librarians until they're in their 30s and then work past 65.)
I'd say to ask any friends you have in academic libraries, especially archives and special collections, if you can see their most recent CV/resume, to get a sense of what that looks like nowadays. Do you have friends from library school who work in this field? Do you keep up with any professional lit? Glance through the latest few issues of the most relevant professional journal to see what folks are talking about. Work any loose professional network as much as you can.
This is totally do-able.
posted by bluedaisy at 12:36 PM on November 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: If you're into Special Collections and rare books, I certainly think that a position with museums or universities/other educational institutions is a great route to take. I've found that most educational institutions look for qualified candidates to fill roles such as the one you seek. Check with the University of Alberta (a cursory Google search revealed that they are hiring for a librarian at this time). You do have transferable skills, and even if you haven't attended conferences, you will express your willingness to do so to a prospective employer.
Your skills are more specialized, so now is the time to network. Join Facebook groups for museum professionals seeking work, go to the universities and colleges and meet the colleagues in your field, attend mixers for fellow librarians and special collections nerds, introduce yourself to the rare book dealers in the community. Go to museums to talk to the leadership and see what they might need. Get involved with others in your field, because they will be the first ones to understand the situation you're in, and will (ideally) network and advocate for you.
As always, make sure that your CV is sparkling and ready to go!
I'm in a similar field, and in a very close age group, so I sure understand how hard it can be. I hope you find a job that you're happy and successful in! Feel free to MeMail me if you ever need to network with someone down here in the US or need someone to look at your resume for you.
posted by chatelaine at 12:45 PM on November 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
Your skills are more specialized, so now is the time to network. Join Facebook groups for museum professionals seeking work, go to the universities and colleges and meet the colleagues in your field, attend mixers for fellow librarians and special collections nerds, introduce yourself to the rare book dealers in the community. Go to museums to talk to the leadership and see what they might need. Get involved with others in your field, because they will be the first ones to understand the situation you're in, and will (ideally) network and advocate for you.
As always, make sure that your CV is sparkling and ready to go!
I'm in a similar field, and in a very close age group, so I sure understand how hard it can be. I hope you find a job that you're happy and successful in! Feel free to MeMail me if you ever need to network with someone down here in the US or need someone to look at your resume for you.
posted by chatelaine at 12:45 PM on November 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
I don't know anything about the library job market, but just a piece of information. Our Glenbow (history & art museum) re-located much of their physical history archives to the University of Calgary library. So an academic library/archives job could be a possibility at some point. The above advice for your wife to talk to the librarians for advice sounds like a good one to me.
Also, the City of Calgary has an archives collection and I have occasionally seen those jobs posted (calgary.ca/careers).
Welcome to Calgary!
posted by My Kryptonite is Worry at 8:42 PM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
Also, the City of Calgary has an archives collection and I have occasionally seen those jobs posted (calgary.ca/careers).
Welcome to Calgary!
posted by My Kryptonite is Worry at 8:42 PM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for the advice, everyone, I really appreciate it. Part of the reason I haven't been to any conferences is because over the years I have come to realize that I'm a textual learner and retain information much better by reading it than attending speeches or lectures (or classes, for that matter), even if it's a subject I'm interested in, and also because networking in any form kind of brings out a form of social anxiety. I'm actually quite a social person, but networking (to say nothing of job interviews, which are a nightmare) seems like a transactional form of human interaction and as a result I really don't like it (when I worked in the private sector 20+ years ago I had to attend a few meetings and conferences like that and they made my skin crawl). I suppose I'm going to have to get over that, but honestly everything you've all outlined above makes me want to lie under a pile of coats and never come out. I do have a friend who works in career planning/assisting for a living, so I am going to hit her up for advice.
I'll also ask my wife if she knows anyone at the university I could touch base with, but she's still pretty new there and is neck-deep in her own job.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:24 AM on November 16, 2022
I'll also ask my wife if she knows anyone at the university I could touch base with, but she's still pretty new there and is neck-deep in her own job.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:24 AM on November 16, 2022
Look, lots of folks haven't been attending professional events these past few years. See if you can find a few online free professionally-relevant webinars. I don't think it's a huge deal for a mid-career librarian not to be going to every single conference, and I don't think you need to apologize for it at all. Just make sure your knowledge of the latest issues is up to date, you know? You can get that by browsing the table of contents and a few articles in a few recent journals in your area. I think it's common for early career librarians to list conference attendance on their CVs, but I wouldn't expect this of mid-career folks. Like, I think it would be pretty weird if on a CV/resume/job application, a person our age listed every conference attendance. So, I'm going to gently nudge you to just get over this. It's not a thing, especially in this covid era.
You don't need to ask your wife, friend. You are a librarian. You can do this. Reach out to someone at the University of Calgary Archives and Special Collections. "Hi! I'm so and so from the Toronto such-and-such. My wife, hername, just joined the faculty in herdepartment, and I am hoping to relocate there soon myself. I will next be in Calgary on date, and I'm wondering if you might be available for coffee or lunch."
posted by bluedaisy at 2:07 PM on November 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
You don't need to ask your wife, friend. You are a librarian. You can do this. Reach out to someone at the University of Calgary Archives and Special Collections. "Hi! I'm so and so from the Toronto such-and-such. My wife, hername, just joined the faculty in herdepartment, and I am hoping to relocate there soon myself. I will next be in Calgary on date, and I'm wondering if you might be available for coffee or lunch."
posted by bluedaisy at 2:07 PM on November 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
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On edit -- there even seems to be a vacancy within the public-facing Alberta Law Libraries system. Drop them a line! Who knows?
posted by Shepherd at 9:55 AM on November 14, 2022