“We hadn’t hired for this position in more than 12 years, before I was here.”

Please note: This is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling hiring practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. If you are someone who hires Library, Archives or other LIS workers, please consider giving your own opinion by filling out the survey here. 

Current Hiring Practices and Organizational Needs

These questions are about your current hiring practices in general – the way things have been run the last year or two (or three).

Where do you advertise your job listings?

ALA Joblist, library & university website, CHE, subject-specific listservs, regional and state library websites, consortium websites

Do you notice a difference in application quality based on where the applicant saw the job ad?

Somewhat

Do you include salary in the job ad?

√ Yes

Do you use keyword matching or any automation tools to reduce the number of applications a human reads while considering candidates?  

√ No

Do you consider candidates who don’t meet all the requirements listed in the job ad?

√ No

Does your workplace require experience for entry-level librarian positions? (Officially or unofficially…)

√ Other: Preferred only, not required

What is the current most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?

They do not meet enough of the priority requirements.

Does your organization use one-way interviews? (Sometimes also called asynchronous or recorded interviews)

√ No

Do you provide interview questions before the interview? 

√ Other: Only within the last 1-2 years

If you provide interview questions before the interview, how far in advance?

2-7 days

Does your interview process include taking the candidate out for a meal?

√ Yes

How much of your interview process is virtual?

√ Other: Depends on the committee.  Most are first round virtual, where we used to do first round phone interviews. 

Do you (or does your organization) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?

√ No

What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve their hirability?

Tailor their cover letter to the position requirements.

I want to hire someone who is: 

Self-motivated

Is there anything else you’d like to say about hiring practices at your organization or in current trends?

As an academic institution, we are seeing too many resumes and not CVs.  We need more than 1 page to evaluate a candidate.

Your Last Recruitment

These are questions about the last person you hired (or the last position you attempted to fill). This person may not have been a librarian, and that’s ok.

Think about the most recent time you participated in hiring someone (or an attempt to hire someone) at your organization. What was the title of the position you were trying to fill?

Catalog Librarian

When was this position hired?

√ More than a year ago, but less than two years ago

Approximately how many people applied for this position?

√ 25 or fewer

Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?

√ 25% or less

And how would you define “hirable”?

Did not meet the minimum requirements, as this was not an entry-level position.

How did the recruitment for this position compare with recruitments in previous years?

We hadn’t hired for this position in more than 12 years, before I was here.  But I have been told the last hiring round for the position was difficult.  Not enough applicants with ANY experience, even internships, practicums, etc.

Your Workplace

This section asks for information about your workplace, including if you have lost positions in the last decade.

How many staff members are at your library/organization?

√ 100-200

Are you unionized?

√ No

How many permanent, full time job openings has your workplace posted in the last year?

√ Other: Not sure across the library, but probably between 5 and 10.  We have a new dean (8 months) and they are combining multiple vacant positions into single, more advanced positions.

How many permanent, full time librarian (or other “professional” level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?

√ 3-4

Can you tell us how the number of permanent, full-time positions at your workplace has changed over the past decade?

√ There are fewer positions

Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with part-time or hourly workers over the past decade?  

√ No

Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with non-librarian, lower paid staff positions over the past decade?   

√ Yes

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ No

Why or why not?

The terminology may change, but there is still a need to organize, acquire, and maintain information resources, educate users, and facilitate research needs of patrons.

Demographics

This section asks for information about you specifically.

What part of the world are you in?

√ Southeastern US

What’s your region like?

√ Urban area

What type of institution do you hire for (check all that apply):

√ Academic Library,

√ Archives 

What type(s) of LIS professionals do you hire? 

Catalogers

Are you a librarian?

√ Yes

Are you now or have you ever been: 

√ A hiring manager (you are hiring people that you will directly or indirectly supervise),

√ A member of a hiring or search committee

Do you have any other comments, for job hunters, other people who hire, about the survey, or for Emily (the survey author)?

Some questions are unclear whether the answer should be from/about me or my workplace.  We have procedures for interviewing and hiring, but there is some flexibility.  But especially #35, where I answered about the librarians who work for me, not for the entire workplace.

#14 #25 #35 #books #GLAMJobs #Librarian #librarians #libraries #Library #libraryHiring #libraryInterview #libraryJobs #libraryWork #LISCareers #lisJobs

“Managers like me are not equipped to lead so many people with mental health concerns on both sides of the desk”

Please note: This is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling hiring practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. If you are someone who hires Library, Archives or other LIS workers, please consider giving your own opinion by filling out the survey here. 

Current Hiring Practices and Organizational Needs

These questions are about your current hiring practices in general – the way things have been run the last year or two (or three).

Where do you advertise your job listings?

Library job line government jobs indeed

Do you notice a difference in application quality based on where the applicant saw the job ad?

Yes

Do you include salary in the job ad?

√ Yes

Do you use keyword matching or any automation tools to reduce the number of applications a human reads while considering candidates?  

√ Other: City HR screens first

Do you consider candidates who don’t meet all the requirements listed in the job ad?

√ No

Does your workplace require experience for entry-level librarian positions? (Officially or unofficially…)

√ Other: Yes – typically at least some associate level work or equivalent

What is the current most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?

Not qualified or not best qualified in the pool

Does your organization use one-way interviews? (Sometimes also called asynchronous or recorded interviews)

√ No

Do you provide interview questions before the interview? 

√ Other: Sometimes

If you provide interview questions before the interview, how far in advance?

When they arrive to interview location

Does your interview process include taking the candidate out for a meal?

√ No, and I don’t think we ever have

How much of your interview process is virtual?

√ First round/Initial Screen

Do you (or does your organization) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?

√ Other: If they ask

What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve their hirability?

I want to hire someone who is: 

Emotionally intelligent. We can teach hard skills to nice people.

Is there anything else you’d like to say about hiring practices at your organization or in current trends?

Covid has made people so much more emotionally volatile (staff and patrons). Hiring feels like a huge gamble. People are not the same.

Your Last Recruitment

These are questions about the last person you hired (or the last position you attempted to fill). This person may not have been a librarian, and that’s ok.

Think about the most recent time you participated in hiring someone (or an attempt to hire someone) at your organization. What was the title of the position you were trying to fill?

Adult services librarian

When was this position hired?

√ Between three to six months ago

Approximately how many people applied for this position?

√ 25-75

Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?

√ 25% or less

And how would you define “hirable”?

Qualified and a possible match to org culture / worthy of at least one interview

How did the recruitment for this position compare with recruitments in previous years?

Yep – more applications than 5 years ago, but fewer were from people I would consider qualified

Your Workplace

This section asks for information about your workplace, including if you have lost positions in the last decade.

How many staff members are at your library/organization?

√ 10-50

Are you unionized?

√ No

How many permanent, full time job openings has your workplace posted in the last year?

√ 3-4

How many permanent, full time librarian (or other “professional” level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?

√ 3-4

Can you tell us how the number of permanent, full-time positions at your workplace has changed over the past decade?

√ Other: A few more FT positions by way of reallocating FTE. Nearly no new FTE/hours in almost 20 years

Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with part-time or hourly workers over the past decade?  

√ No

Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with non-librarian, lower paid staff positions over the past decade?   

√ No

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ No

Why or why not?

No – no matter how digitized the world gets, people need navigation, discernment, community, and kindness. We need greater funding and emotional support after going through peaks of covid. Managers like me are not equipped to lead so many people with mental health concerns on both sides of the desk. Feels like false authority and we get beat up and paid for the jobs we held 4 years ago… not the psychological Wild West we are and have been navigating. Libraries before and after are not dying, but they are NOT the same.

Demographics

This section asks for information about you specifically.

What part of the world are you in?

√ Other: Colorado – west edge of Midwest

What’s your region like?

√ Urban area,

√ Suburban area

What type of institution do you hire for (check all that apply):

√ Public Library 

What type(s) of LIS professionals do you hire? 

Primarily public services staff – clerks, shelvers, circ supervisor, supervising librarians, librarians, associates (children’s teen adult)

Are you a librarian?

√ Other: I manage a branch but still consider myself a librarian

Are you now or have you ever been: 

√ A hiring manager (you are hiring people that you will directly or indirectly supervise),

√ A member of a hiring or search committee

#14 #25 #books #GLAMJobs #Librarian #librarians #libraries #Library #libraryHiring #libraryInterview #libraryJobs #libraryWork #LISCareers #lisJobs

“These skill sets compliment each other and working together can deliver great results that librarians can’t do on their own”

Please note: This is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling hiring practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. If you are someone who hires Library, Archives or other LIS workers, please consider giving your own opinion by filling out the survey here. 

Current Hiring Practices and Organizational Needs

These questions are about your current hiring practices in general – the way things have been run the last year or two (or three).

Where do you advertise your job listings?

University website, sometimes LinkedIn and usually on X (Twitter) and to Irish and UK listservs and on the CONUL website.

Do you notice a difference in application quality based on where the applicant saw the job ad?

I have not studied the detail but once, when I opened an application on Linked In I got a lot of direct applicants for whom the application process was EASIER but the quality was reduced.

Do you include salary in the job ad?

√ Yes

Do you use keyword matching or any automation tools to reduce the number of applications a human reads while considering candidates?  

√ No

Do you consider candidates who don’t meet all the requirements listed in the job ad?

√ No

Does your workplace require experience for entry-level librarian positions? (Officially or unofficially…)

√ Yes

What is the current most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?

Lack of experience or absence of a visa to work in Ireland

Does your organization use one-way interviews? (Sometimes also called asynchronous or recorded interviews)

√ No

Do you provide interview questions before the interview? 

√ No

Does your interview process include taking the candidate out for a meal?

√ No, and I don’t think we ever have

How much of your interview process is virtual?

√ Other: Since late 2023 all interviews are conducted in person on the campus

Do you (or does your organization) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?

√ Other: If requested, yes, feedback is provided about interviews.

What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve their hirability?

Think about ALL relevant experience and demonstrate it in their application; tailor the application to the post being sought

I want to hire someone who is: 

Enthusiastic

Is there anything else you’d like to say about hiring practices at your organization or in current trends?

Nothing further to add

Your Last Recruitment

These are questions about the last person you hired (or the last position you attempted to fill). This person may not have been a librarian, and that’s ok.

Think about the most recent time you participated in hiring someone (or an attempt to hire someone) at your organization. What was the title of the position you were trying to fill?

Librarian, Student Engagement and Success

When was this position hired?

√ Between six months to a year ago

Approximately how many people applied for this position?

√ 25 or fewer

Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?

√ 26-50%

And how would you define “hirable”?

Held all the necessary qualifications and relevant experience.

How did the recruitment for this position compare with recruitments in previous years?

Better experience and qualifications in the pack, more LIBRARIANS with experience applied, I think there was a weaker cohort in 2018.

Your Workplace

This section asks for information about your workplace, including if you have lost positions in the last decade.

How many staff members are at your library/organization?

√ 50-100

Are you unionized?

√ Yes, at least some workers are union members

How many permanent, full time job openings has your workplace posted in the last year?

√ 3-4

How many permanent, full time librarian (or other “professional” level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?

√ 3-4

Can you tell us how the number of permanent, full-time positions at your workplace has changed over the past decade?

√ There are fewer positions

Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with part-time or hourly workers over the past decade?  

√ No

Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with non-librarian, lower paid staff positions over the past decade?   

√ No

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ No

Why or why not?

The core competencies are still relevant but there is a definite need to diversify the professional positions in academic libraries to meet the evolving needs of our students e.g. more technical roles and educational technology positions will allow us to deliver more in the University’s Virtual Learning Environment where students learn. These skill sets compliment each other and working together can deliver great results that librarians can’t do on their own, we don’t expect librarians to have the pedagogical or technical background and skills that other professions have.

Demographics

This section asks for information about you specifically.

What part of the world are you in?

√ Ireland

What’s your region like?

√ Urban area

What type of institution do you hire for (check all that apply):

√ Academic Library 

What type(s) of LIS professionals do you hire? 

Teaching Librarians, Collections/Resources librarians, Student Success librarians.

Are you a librarian?

√ Yes

Are you now or have you ever been: 

√ A hiring manager (you are hiring people that you will directly or indirectly supervise)

#14 #25 #books #GLAMJobs #Librarian #librarians #libraries #Library #libraryHiring #libraryInterview #libraryJobs #libraryWork #LISCareers #lisJobs

“Within government, we increasingly look to LIS graduates to fill positions in information/records management, data governance, AI planning, enterprise information architecture, etc.”

Please note: This is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling hiring practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. If you are someone who hires Library, Archives or other LIS workers, please consider giving your own opinion by filling out the survey here. 

Current Hiring Practices and Organizational Needs

These questions are about your current hiring practices in general – the way things have been run the last year or two (or three).

Where do you advertise your job listings?

Organization’s job site; LIS association job sites; LIS school job sites; LinkedIn; Facebook

Do you notice a difference in application quality based on where the applicant saw the job ad?

Yes. The broader the platform’s audience, the lower the quality of applications

Do you include salary in the job ad?

√ Yes

Do you use keyword matching or any automation tools to reduce the number of applications a human reads while considering candidates?  

√ No

Do you consider candidates who don’t meet all the requirements listed in the job ad?

√ Other: We consider all candidates that meet the mandatory requirements

Does your workplace require experience for entry-level librarian positions? (Officially or unofficially…)

√ Other: Yes, but we accept experience gained via course work

What is the current most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?

All candidates who are screened in will be interviewed, especially when hiring entry level positions. If the numebr of screened in candidates exceed 25, a written exercise may be used to lower the number of candidates to interview.

Does your organization use one-way interviews? (Sometimes also called asynchronous or recorded interviews)

√ Other: The organization does but I do not.

Do you provide interview questions before the interview? 

√ Yes

If you provide interview questions before the interview, how far in advance?

30-45 minutes before the interview. The first few minutes are spent going over the questions with the candidate.

Does your interview process include taking the candidate out for a meal?

√ No, and I don’t think we ever have

How much of your interview process is virtual?

√ Other: 100% since 2020. An in-person might be offered if the candidate asks and is located in the same city as the hiring manager.: 

Do you (or does your organization) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?

√ No

What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve their hirability?

Follow the instructions provided in the application process.

I want to hire someone who is: 

Curious

Is there anything else you’d like to say about hiring practices at your organization or in current trends?

My team is reviewing all of our hiring processes with a lens to make them accessible to visible minorities, persons with disabilities, and neurodivergent candidates.

Your Last Recruitment

These are questions about the last person you hired (or the last position you attempted to fill). This person may not have been a librarian, and that’s ok.

Think about the most recent time you participated in hiring someone (or an attempt to hire someone) at your organization. What was the title of the position you were trying to fill?

Information Management Analyst

When was this position hired?

√ More than a year ago, but less than two years ago

Approximately how many people applied for this position?

√ more than 100, but less than 200

Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?

√ 25% or less

And how would you define “hirable”?

Met the screening criteria (education, experience_

How did the recruitment for this position compare with recruitments in previous years?

More candidates who did not have qualifications for the role but that was expected as our corporate HR team promoted it widely using generic channels.

Your Workplace

This section asks for information about your workplace, including if you have lost positions in the last decade.

How many staff members are at your library/organization?

√ Other: Parent organization is 10,000+; the information management are is approx 100.

Are you unionized?

√ Yes, at least some workers are union members

How many permanent, full time job openings has your workplace posted in the last year?

√ 3-4

How many permanent, full time librarian (or other “professional” level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?

√ None!

Can you tell us how the number of permanent, full-time positions at your workplace has changed over the past decade?

√ More positions are staffed with MLIS or library technicians than 10 years ago.

Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with part-time or hourly workers over the past decade?  

√ Other: One maternity leave was filled with 3 part-time workers to fill gaps in multiple areas.

Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with non-librarian, lower paid staff positions over the past decade?   

√ Other: No. We have done the reverse.

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ No

Why or why not?

Within government, we increasingly look to LIS graduates to fill positions in information/records management, data governance, AI planning, enterprise information architecture, etc. We have not hired many MLIS grads in our library but there are far more elsewhere in the organization.

Demographics

This section asks for information about you specifically.

What part of the world are you in?

√ Canada

What’s your region like?

√ Urban area

What type of institution do you hire for (check all that apply):

√ Government department 

What type(s) of LIS professionals do you hire? 

Information Management

Are you a librarian?

√ Yes

Are you now or have you ever been: 

√ A hiring manager (you are hiring people that you will directly or indirectly supervise),

√ A member of a hiring or search committee

Do you have any other comments, for job hunters, other people who hire, about the survey, or for Emily (the survey author)?

The wording in some parts of the survey are awkward to answer for those of us in situations where the entire organization isn’t an information organization.

#14 #25 #books #GLAMJobs #Librarian #librarians #libraries #Library #libraryHiring #libraryInterview #libraryJobs #libraryWork #LISCareers #lisJobs