Whether you are planning to enter the field of librarianship or are a seasoned veteran, your success requires conscious planning. With its big picture approach, this guide shows you how to manage your career to optimize professional fulfillment.
This book is a practical and straightforward approach to finessing your practice, with easy-to-implement takeaways. Covering topics that range from determining a career vision and cultivating relationships to using narrative to make connections and employing mindfulness, compassion, and self-forgiveness; this book will help librarians at all stages of their careers to take charge and forge their own way in the vast and shifting landscape of information science.
You will discover new perspectives, gain knowledge, and prepare to take decisive action to further your professional practice. You also will be prompted to consider new ways of thinking about your current practice as well as where you want to go. By developing a deliberative approach to building a practice, you will come away ready for action and with a new perspective—on yourself, your work, your organization, and the community your serve.
Features
- Outlines a deliberate approach to building a successful practice, offering librarians a clear direction for advancing professionally
- Encourages targeted exploration of seven essential components of professional practice
- Helps librarians to connect the material to their own professional lives through conceptual framing, reflective prompts, and action-oriented exercises
- Can be adapted to any stage of a librarian's career and for practice in any type of library
Susanne Markgren is assistant director of the Library for Technical Services at Manhattan College, in Riverdale, NY. She has written articles, reviews, and chapters for a variety of publications and is coauthor of the book Career Q&A: A Librarian’s Real-Life, Practical Guide to Managing a Successful Career. She serves on the boards of local and national committees, associations, and consortia, and coordinates a mentoring program for a local ACRL chapter. She holds an MLIS from the University of Texas at Austin and an MFA in creative writing from Manhattanville College.
Linda Miles is an assistant professor and librarian at Eugenio María de Hostos Community College – City University of New York. She previously served as Public Services and User Experience Librarian at Yeshiva University, and began her career in the library of Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education. She has published widely, most recently in Urban Library Journal. She received an Early-Career Librarian Scholarship from ACRL (2017) and an IMLS Laura Bush 21st-Century Librarian Scholarship (2009–11). She holds an MLS from St. John’s University and a PhD in theatre history and criticism from the University of Texas at Austin.
Reviews
"At less than 150 pages, this book would serve as a great introductory textbook to librarianship as well as a valuable resource for mid-career librarians looking to reflect on their career and grow as a professional. It would make a fine addition to professional development collections."—School Library Connection, May 1, 2020
"There is something for everyone in this book and something different each time it is revisited."—C&RL News, May 1, 2020
"How do you create a meaningful and sustainable professional practice in today’s constantly changing library world? That’s the challenge Susanne Markgren and Linda Miles successfully address in their guide to navigating your library career lifecycle. A terrific combination of “how to” and “why to,” this book will help you find your footing—and your meaning—in whatever place you find your career today, whether you’re just starting out or considering that next management position."—Kim Dority, Author, Rethinking Information Work
"This book is an excellent resource for those interested in discovering or rediscovering their career opportunities and passions in LIS. Markgren and Miles infused this guide with helpful vignettes, recommendations, critical exercises, and activities for readers to reflect and consider as they pursue these opportunities. In addition, LIS schools and associations will greatly benefit from adapting this book to create professional development programs for their stakeholders."—Raymond Pun, Instruction and Research Librarian at Alder Graduate School of Education and Co-Editor of Career Transitions for Librarians: Proven Strategies for Moving to Another Type of Library
"A book that thoroughly engages the library professional toward reflection, intentionality, and proactivity, leading to greater meaning and potential in their positions. A tour de force of personal and professional development with an ethic of care for librarians contained in one volume!"—Michelle Reale, Professor, Access Services and Outreach Librarian, Arcadia University
