#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Feb 4 2018 - 8:30pm ET

crossroads by Carsten Tolkmit via Flikr

TOPIC

Transitioning jobs in the Library and Information Industry

Apologies for the lateness of this post everyone. It was an incredibly hectic month for me at work. Thanks to a suggestion from one of our chatters this week we're going to be discussing transitioning between jobs in the library and information industry, a topic near and dear to my heart as someone who bounced around between areas before finding my niche. Our industry and the work we're capable of doing is so incredibly broad that it makes sense to think about how we can move between realms within it. Here are a whole bunch of interesting articles on the topic:

https://www.libgig.com/librarians-changing-jobs-2018/
http://ala-apa.org/newsletter/2005/04/17/attention-new-librarians-and-career-changers/
http://inalj.com/?p=103224
https://acrlog.org/2014/11/20/transition-making-it-as-a-librarian/
http://www.ala.org/rt/nmrt/news/footnotes/february2014/adaptable-applicants-preparing-change-your-library-path

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 Let's talk about skills first. What are some of the most transferable skills that a library and information professional has in their arsenal?

Q2  How do you articulate in resumes/cover letters and interviewers how you're going to be able to transfer those skills to a new environment and position?

Q3 What advice do you have for people who are transitioning into a new type of library or information work environment? Have you ever done that? How did it go for you?

Q4 Lastly, let's talk about transitioning into libraries and information work from outside the industry. Tell us about any experience you have doing that.

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Jan 14 2018 - 8:30pm ET

via WikiMedia

TOPIC

Libraries, and the US Government Shutdown

Welcome to the first chat of 2019! We're tackling a big topic to get the year started. How is the US Government shutdown affecting libraries? Well, the Library of Congress remains closed. Here are some more resource links:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-what-closed-open-affected-explained-post-office-irs-national-parks-2019-01-05/

http://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/Shutdown

https://libguides.northwestern.edu/shutdown

https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-presidential-libraries-open-during-shutdown-20190103-story.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/01/10/government-shutdown-freebies-deals-and-help-furloughed-workers/2523404002/

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 Are you or anyone you know affected by the government shutdown? Please share.

Q2  Is your library doing anything to help with the government shutdown? Please share.

Q3 What resources can you provide relating to the government shutdown?

Q4 How can we as librarians and info pros advocate for issues related to the government at our jobs and in our community?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, JANUARY 14 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Dec 17 2018 - 8:30pm ET

via Wikimedia Commons

TOPIC

#LISprochat Winter Holiday Extravaganza part 2: Libraries and holiday customer service

As promised it's part 2 of our winter holiday extravaganza and it's all about the unique experience that can be customer service during the holiday season.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 Tell us about your worst holiday-related customer service experience in the library

Q2 Tell us about your best holiday-related customer service experience in the library

Q3 Does your library have a required holiday greeting that you use? If so, what is it? If not, what holiday greeting do you use by default and why?

Q4 Do you feel like your library does a good job of providing inclusionary holiday related customer service overall? What do you think they need to change?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, DECEMBER 17 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Dec 10 2018 - 8:30pm ET

via Wikimedia Commons

TOPIC

#LISprochat Winter Holiday Extravaganza part 1: Libraries and holiday prep/programming

There are so many different holidays that take place in and around December. So Leigh and I want to wish everyone a happy holiday and we hope 2018 ends pleasantly for everyone! In honour of that fantastic diversity, let's take some time to find out what everyone does at their libraries for the winter holidays. We're going to do this in 2 parts as you can tell from the title. Part 2 will be all about the unique experience that can be customer service during the holiday season.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 What kind of prep does your library do for the winter holidays? Do you decorate - if so, is there one holiday that gets prioritised over the others? What are your thoughts about that if you feel comfortable sharing them.

Q2 What kind of holiday programming or community engagement does your library offer in December?

Q3 For my fellow academic library people, how does your library handle the end of the semester and the exam crunch?

Q4 Lastly, if you had complete control and cost were no object and you had infinite resources, how would you celebrate the winter holidays at your library?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, DECEMBER 10 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Nov 26 2018 - 8:30pm ET - #GivingTuesday #GivingTuesday2018

via Penn State on Flickr

TOPIC

#GivingTuesday and Libraries & Literacy

We had such a good time with our Giving Tuesday (which is the day after the chat!) chat last year, that we decided to do it again this year!

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 What are you planning to do for #GivingTuesday? What have you done in the past?

Q2 What creative ideas do you have for #GivingTuesday? Please share!

Q3 What resources do you turn to when trying to locate a library related charity or non-profit to support?

Q4 What advice do you have for supporting charities/Non-Profits?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Nov 5 2018 - 8:30pm ET

via GotCredit on flickr

TOPIC

Financing grad school

We decided to continue what's turned out to be a very good series of chats on applying to grad school. We've covered CVs, references and statements of purpose, so this week we thought we'd move onto the next logical topic - how to finance your MLIS?

On getting references:
Loans for Library School
ALA Scholarship Program
A Contract You Have to Take: Debt, Sacrifice, and the Library Degree
Alternative Ways To Pay For Graduate School

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 What has been your experience funding grad school with student loans?

Q2 What has been your experience with searching for scholarships and grants for grad school?

Q3 What resources do you turn to for financing grad school?

Q4 What advice do you have for a grad school student who wants to go to grad school but money is tight?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Oct 29 2018 - 8:30pm ET

via mohamed_hassan at pixabay

TOPIC

Applying to grad school - writing your statement and asking for references

We had such a great conversation about CVs for grad school in the last chat and it was suggested that we should continue the topic by talking about application statements and finding references. I had been thinking about doing that before it was suggested, so that's what we're doing!

On getting references:
How Important are Letters of Recommendation for Graduate School Applications?
Dos and Don'ts for Requesting a Grad School Recommendation Letter
Graduate School - Letters of Recommendation
How do I get a reference letter?
Tips for seeking academic references

and for those of us who have long graduated before we apply:

How to Get a Letter of Recommendation After Graduation
NonTraditional Applicants to Grad School: 3 Tips for Getting Recommendations
How to convince your current boss to give you a letter of recommendation
How to Ask for Recommendations for Your Graduate School Applications (with tips on approaching a boss/mentor/supervisor)

On writing your statement:
How to Write a Statement of Purpose for Graduate School
11 Tips for Writing a Powerful Statement of Purpose 
Write a Graduate School Essay that Will Knock Their Socks Off
Writing the Statement of Purpose

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 When you apply/ied to grad, did you have all academic references or a mix of academic and professional? If professional, was it your current boss and how did you ask them? (Tell us if you applied straight out of undergrad or waited a few years before applying)

Q2 What kind of information do you think must ABSOLUTELY be included in a statement of purpose for a library school application?

Q3 Is it ever a good idea to cite the low cost of a given program as one of the extrinsic reasons that you're interested in a particular school? Why or why not.

Q4 What information do you think has absolutely NO place being in a statement of purpose for a library school application?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, OCTOBER 29 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG.