Thursday, October 12, 2006

Odd Jobs

As always, there are plenty of library jobs around, not great jobs, mind you, but plenty of them. I suppose that's an argument for the alleged "librarian shortage," though it's certainly possible that a lot of the open jobs are just jobs no one would want, except those poor souls who just stumbled in from the pea factory and are pleased to be safe and warm.

Anyway, I'd like to take a brief look at some of the jobs currently available. This isn't a "Library Jobs that Suck" post, by the way, since I don't know if any of these jobs would suck. (LJTS is the category almost all new AL readers go to instinctively, I've noticed. I haven't posted in a while, but only because I haven't seen any other really offensively bad job ads. Send some my way and I'll see what I can do.) No, these are just jobs that caught my eye for one reason or another.

Reference/Computer/Program Librarian
I like this one because of the catchy job title. You might need a jumbo business card to fit it all on, though. I suggest they rearrange the letters and try to form a nice acronym. How's this: Computer Reference And Program (CRAP) Librarian. Now that would look good on a resume!

Adjunct Sciences Librarian
You could follow in the footsteps of the Beverly Hillbillies and head to Californy to be the librarian for all of the Adjunct Sciences. I've heard of hard, soft, and social sciences, but I'm not sure what the adjunct sciences would be. Astrology, perhaps?

Brain Research and Information Specialist
Apparently this is something you can do with a background in library science. I'm not pooping on you. Go apply now! You could live in the desert in Arizona. This could be just the opportunity for you! It's not clear whether you'll be a brain research specialist AND an information specialist or perhaps just a specialist in brain research information. Either way, it won't matter. With a background in library science, you can do anything!

Senior Coordinator
Another Arizona job, this time in a public library helping coordinate the seniors. it's not clear whether these would be seniors in high school or oldsters. Either group would probably be hard to coordinate.

1431 Department Librarian
Sounds like it would be some cool secret service job, but it's just at a public library in South Carolina.

Gov Docs/ Reference Librarian/Information Consultant
Here's another catchy job title, this time from Alabama. I can't think of a good acronym, but surely they could shorten this a bit to, e.g., Gov Docs Librarian. I hear some libraries have such things.

Video Metatagger
This has two advantages. It sounds really cool, and most people wouldn't know what the hell you were talking about. Definitely better than "librarian."

Semester at Sea Librarian
I'll end with this one from the University of Virginia. You don't see jobs like this every day! It sounds niftier than it actually looks, but you would get to spend a term at sea every three years. If you're a nautical lad or lass, you might want to apply for this one!

Update:
Loose Leaf Filer
This one came out today, and it grabbed my attention immediately. The ad says, "This would be an ideal position for a library student interested in making some extra money while getting invaluable exposure to the inner workings of a major law firm." Of course it would be! If I saw a new MLS grad with "Loose Leaf Filer" on her resume, I'd snap her right up!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

What do you think about this one : "cyberdocumentaliste indépendant" (in english: free cyberlibrarian") (here: http://www.igedmedia.com). So cool job !! perhaps he looks like arnold schwarzy with such a job, no ?

Anonymous said...

AL, be on the lookout for this exciting new study:

http://libraryworkforce.org/tiki-index.php

"This is a two-year study sponsored by the Institute for Museum and Library Science (IMLS) that will identify the nature of anticipated labor shortages in the library and information science (LIS) field over the next decade; assess the number and types of library and information science jobs that will become available in the U.S. either through retirement or new job creation; determine the skills that will be required to fill such vacancies; and recommend effective approaches to recruiting and retaining workers to fill them. The study will result in better tools for workforce planning and management, better match of demand and supply, and improved recruitment and retention of librarians. The study is led by Dr. José-Marie Griffiths, Dean of the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and includes researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, Syracuse University, the Special Libraries Association (SLA), the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), and the American Society for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T).

AL said...

Thanks for the tip. I will indeed look out for that.

Anonymous said...

Having been a paralegal for a long time and done the "loose leaf filing" (a horrible task for an educated person) I can tell you that if you are expected to simply file loose leafs in binders all day, you are not learning the workings of a law firm library. This is a perfect job for an undergraduate who needs extra bucks, not an LIS student seeking professional type experience.

Anonymous said...

I don't know about Video Metatagger. It sounds vaguely clerical.

Anonymous said...

Just stumbled across this site while surfing. Hilarious! Keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

Great chance for good publishers which can do more work easly and less time, and Earn Nice Amount. Its time to jobs in chennai very information post i like it.