Four Tips for Job Seekers

I've been able to be involved in a lot of public library hiring and training so far in my career, and I always meant to write up a post about some of the suggestions I have for library job seekers.

Today I read this great post over at Letters to a Young Librarian, and it inspired me to share a couple of gentle reminders.

 

1. Personality matters. A lot. A huge part of working in the library these days is customer service. We look at an enthusiastic friendly personality as a key skill that can't be taught, and for anyone who works with the public this is a huge factor. If you're someone who is quiet and nervous during interviews practice practice practice.

2. For public libraries, the core answer to every question is basically the same: Consider your users.
(Know your community/engage with your community/we do this to improve patron experience/to make it easier for patrons to___) I absolutely LOVE Cari Dubiel's take down of the "I like to read" response. She just nails it with this sentence, "The interviewer does not want to hear what the library can do for you.  She wants to hear what you can do for the library." So true, and extrapolating that answer out even further, everything you do for the library is for the benefit of your users/community. There's a reason it's called public service.

3. Your cover letter is too.damn.long. Librarians! Come on! You don't need to list everything that you've ever done in your cover letter. I know we're a long-winded bunch but if your cover letter is longer than this blog post you're not doing yourself any favors.

4. Read the Ask a Manager blog. Honestly everyone who needs a job, has a job, or ever will have a job should read this blog.

Choosing Books for Storytime

Creative Commons photo by Ozyman

I love love love reading other people's posts on how they put storytime together. In the spirit of fairness, I thought I'd share my process.

I use themes in storytime, but I don't start by choosing a theme. I'm sort of ridiculously picky about books I'll use in storytime. If I'm not feeling it, I just can't fake it--and that goes for some classics that just don't resonate for me.* I got burned a few times early on in my career by picking a theme first and trying to fit books to match it, but doing that made me miserable, so I came up with my own method.

I read all the picture books I can get my hands on. When I find books I like, I think about what themes they would fit well, and brainstorm if there are any other awesome ST books I could team them with.

Once I have an idea, I start a ST outline for that theme/idea. I do this digitally. I have a Storytime folder, and in that folder there are folders for finished storytimes and one for work-in-progress storytimes. Sometimes a theme/idea will sit in the work-in-progress folder for months and months before I find enough books to create a whole storytime. Often, once I have a book or idea, I will order a bunch of options using the library catalog, and fast-forward the process. Sometimes I don't find enough books I like and I scrap that idea or theme (Camping ST, I'm looking at you). Once in a while I'll do a no-theme storytime to catch all the orphan books I've wanted to read in ST, but couldn't build a whole program around.

What do I look for in a storytime book choice?

1. Do I like it? 
2. Will it suit my audience? As much as I L-O-V-E books with off-the-wall humor or abrupt jokey endings, many of those books are more suited to class visits than my particular storytime crowd. I look at length, storyline, and amount of dialogue as key factors here.
3. Can I make it interactive? Is there room in the story to add sounds or actions? This is a big factor in adjusting a book to work with a wide age range. I can read a longer, more complicated book in family storytime if I can make it interactive for both the older kids AND the younger kids.
4. If it won't work 'as is' but I really like it, what can I do to make it work (and is it worth the time)? Here's where I look to see if the book is too long (if it's repetitive, maybe I can cut out a few verses) or if the pictures are too small (can I project it? Flannelize it? Puppetize it?).

For any given storytime I will identify at least six books that would work with my group. I make sure I have a variety of lengths and storylines.  It's amazing how many good books I will find on a theme, but they all tell the same basic story. Unfortunately that makes for a boring storytime, so I have to make some tough decisions, sometimes!

Once I have my books chosen it's time to write a storytime outline.

To be continued...


*for example, I know lots of people love "Brown Bear Brown Bear" and all its iterations, but that one just doesn't work for me. On the other hand, "When Sophie Gets Angry, Really Really Angry" by Molly Bang is like magic for me; every time I've read that book to a group of kids you could hear a pin drop--but I know some other storytime bloggers just don't connect with that one. It's so personal!

Flannel Friday--Anna's Coworker Edition

Welcome to Flannel Friday! I'm delighted to be hosting again it has been a while. If you're not sure what Flannel Friday is, check out the blog to find out how to get involved!

Since I'm calling it "Anna's Coworker Edition" for a reason, we'll start off with this darling song for the flannel board created by my crazy-talented co-worker Monica over at Ram Sam Storytime--she even includes a bonus video of her performing the song!

Next up is Tami, one of my library school bff's/now coworker with her darling story, The Hair-Raising Adventures of Shanice Suzanne (hosted by me since Tami doesn't blog).

Anne at So Tomorrow continues to inspire us with her fun draw-and-tell stories. Bookmark this one since it's perfect for those spring storytimes--Jane's Garden

Lisa at Libraryland presents a great way to highlight the names of storytime kids while letting them get hands-on with the flannel board. T-Shirt Song

Miss Mary Liberry inspires me to re-do MY careworn flannel song Five in a Bed with her utterly charming Five Bears in the Bed

Trails and Tales shares a whole bunch of activities related to woodpeckers and bird beaks

The Library Lady shares a simple Turkey Hat Craft with great visuals that illustrate the importance of individuality and creativity

Storytime Katie spreads the love by sharing two ideas inspired by others, both of which deal with a favorite theme among young patrons--Horses!

Ooh, here's a super fun creation from Linda at Notes from the Story Room--Whose Tail? Guessing Game
(apologies to Linda for the typo I fixed--totally my error!)

A fantastic and original idea from Andrea at Roving Fiddlehead Kidlit Art Vocabulary Cards. I love how this reuses something that would otherwise be tossed or recycled, familiarizes kids with famous works of art, and has many uses.