Summary
In this conversation, Karen Holt, a library director in a national lab for the Department of Energy, shares her journey and experiences in the field of librarianship. She discusses the different types of libraries and the various roles within the profession. Karen explains her daily responsibilities as a library director.
She has also worked in diverse roles all over the world. She shares insights into her career path and the value of her diverse experiences. Karen goes on to provides advice for aspiring librarians and shares ideas on job searching and what skills she looks for when interviewing potential job seekers.
Highlights
- Librarianship offers a wide range of career opportunities in different types of libraries in the U.S. and abroad, including schools, college academia, museums, corporate companies, law firms, medical libraries, Congress, and even international organizations like NATO and the United Nations.
- Librarians often have diverse responsibilities, including managing, removing, and adding new collections, assisting patrons, conducting research, and implementing new technologies.
- Building relationships and providing excellent customer service are essential skills for librarians.
- Librarians can benefit from a variety of educational backgrounds, and there are different paths to enter the profession, including obtaining a master’s degree in library science or information studies.
- Networking, reaching out to professionals in the field, and being open to new experiences can help aspiring librarians navigate their career paths.
- Being a librarian allows for flexibility to relocate to many different geographical locations over ones career.
Karen's Bio
- Bachelor’s Degree in English and German, U.S.
- Master’s Degree in Art History, U.K.
- Managed private art collections in the U.S.
- Taught English in Germany and Italy
- Master’s Degree in Library Science (a.k.a Information Studies), U.S.
- Academic Librarian at Universities in the Middle East and the U.S.
- Library Manager in the U.S.
- Non-Librarian role at a startup in Germany for an online related business, Adblock Plus
- Medical Library Director in the U.S.
- Library Director in a Research and Development Lab in the U.S.
Some typical librarian duties
- Help research and locate items (books, maps, information, art, whatever the library subject material may focus on.
- Train library users on how to use systems in the library.
- Manage library collections. Decide what stays and what goes over time.
- Work on funding for the library.
- Research new technologies and keep library systems up-to-date with modern technologies.
Career Advice
- Reach out to someone whose job you think would be really cool or reach out to somebody who’s the head of something and tell them you want to work there or have questions about the career field. For example, connect on LinkedIn.
- Treat everything happening in your life as an experience and take advantage to learn from each of them. For example, learning how to talk to people working in a coffee shop or dealing with unhappy customers can be a skill to develop that may help later in your career. Finding ways to cope with rejection letters while still pressing on can build up resilience useful in the present and later.
- Don’t put limiting beliefs on yourself. If you can dream it, you can do it. Just Go for it.
Educational Requirements
Income and Salary
- A Master’s Degree in Information Studies is typically required to work as a librarian. However, it is possible to work as an assistant without a degree.
- University of Texas Information Studies website
- University of Texas School Librarian Specific Information
- The University of Alabama Library and Information Studies and website
- Glassdoor is showing $46k – $72k for Librarian salaries and $127k – $203k for a Principal Librarian.
- Salaries on a LinkedIn search for Librarians ranged from $50k – $180k.
- A search for Librarian at the Library of Congress showed: $164k – $192k for a Supervisor Librarian and $59k-76k for a Library Technician.
Job Search Terms
job search examples
- Library Assistant or Circulation Assistant (no degree required)
- Law Librarian
- Library Specialist
- Librarian Archivist
- Research Librarian
- Reference Librarian
- Technical and Electronic Services Librarian
Podcast Chapters
- 00:00 Episode Introduction – How many kinds of librarians are there?
- 02:19 Karen’s Introduction – Her Career Journey and the Role of a Library Director
- 02:58 What is the role of a Library Director?
- 06:06 What are different places librarians can work?
- 07:33 How do you allocate your time and do you travel?
- 11:45 How did you know you wanted a career as a librarian?
- 26:43 What would surprise people to know about you?
- 29:02 What are your likes and dislikes about working in a library?
- 30:16 What is the work-life balance like for a librarian?
- 31:13 Is there anything unique that sets you apart from other librarians?
- 32:37 What kind of education is required to be a librarian?
- 37:02 How to search for librarian jobs
- 40:08 What hiring managers look for in librarian candidates
- 40:53 What is the income for a librarian?
- 45:26 What advice can you share with listeners about career exploration?
- 47:14 The wrap-up