#1

“Some experience is desirable, but if the position is truly entry-level, then we only require an MLS”

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?

LlinkedIn, Inside Higher Ed, local newspapers, regional consortia or library groups.

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

Not really.

Do you include salary in the job ad?

√ No

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?

√ Yes

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

√ Other: Some experience is desirable, but if the position is truly entry-level, then we only require an MLS

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

When the applicant clearly has NO credentials.

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?

√ Not sure.

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?

√ No

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

Address the job requirements!! This can be in your cover letter or in your CV. And if you’re asked for 3 references, don’t just send 2 names. Additionally, even if you don’t have expertise in a “required” or “preferred” area, show how another skillset still makes you marketable.

I want to hire someone who is: 

Engaging.

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?

Cataloging and Technical Services

When was this position hired?

√ Within the last three months

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”?

Having a basic skillset in cataloging.

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

Don’t know, as I’ve been here just 2 years.

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?

√ 0-10

Are you unionized?

√ No

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

√ 1

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?

√ 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?   

√ I don’t know

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ Not necessarily.

Why or why not?

Certain outward-facing skills, like the ability to collaborate outside of the library, are increasingly important at smaller libraries. Traditional types of work are dying.

This section asks for information about you specifically.

What part of the world are you in?

√ Mid-Atlantic US

What’s your region like?

√ Urban area,

√ Suburban area

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

√ Academic Library 

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

Subject / collection management / outreach

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

#1 #14 #25 #35 #books #GLAMJobs #Librarian #librarians #libraries #Library #libraryHiring #libraryInterview #libraryJobs #libraryWork #LISCareers #lisJobs

“I’m not a fan of those “I’m different from everyone else”resumes when you begin to write a short novel on how awesome you are and then don’t provide any previous work experience to back that up.”

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?

City HR posts on City website and Indeed

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

No

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: Depends on the type of job

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

√ Other: Not sure.

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

No skills or experience similar to the job requirements and duties.

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?

√ None

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

√ Other: I’m the only direct hiring authority for the library department and I do not have the time to do so.

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

Gain experience in the field or have worked in a similar environment in which the skills can be easily transferable.

I want to hire someone who is: 

Flexible

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

The city has one person in HR and I’m the only one in our department that has to set up interviews, conduct interviews, provide training and set up the new employee. I’m also the director, so on top of that I lose time from my own duties such as management, budgeting, facility upkeep etc.

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?

We lost half the staff in a month, so two Library Clerks and one library assistant

When was this position hired?

√ Within the last three months

Approximately how many people applied for this position?

√ 75-100

Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?

√ 25% or less

And how would you define “hirable”?

Someone that can actually write a resume, has had work experience, shows that they are not a job jumper, demonstrates flexibility and the ability to learn tasks on their own without being micromanaged.

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

More applications than a year before, but fewer qualified.

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?

√ 0-10

Are you unionized?

√ No

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

√ None!

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?

√ There are the same number of positions

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

√ I don’t know

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

√ I don’t know

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ Other: Yes and No, depends on what part of the country you’re in.

Why or why not?

It will be if people continue to bar Librarians from doing their job and if tax payers don’t pay enough in taxes to sustain Libraries.

This section asks for information about you specifically.

What part of the world are you in?

√ Southwestern US

What’s your region like?

√ 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? 

Besides the Director, 1 Youth Librarian.

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)?

My comment is for the job hunters: For me, the hiring process starts with your resume. I look for clean and detailed information about your previous work experience, especially if you have never worked in a library before. Please spell check your resume too. It’s a “no” for me if you can’t take the time to check your work, especially being that library workers have to take the time to check the little details to find things and problem solve! You need to sell me on how those skills would translate to the library. Also do a cover letter to explain any gaps in your employment and tell me why you want to work for my library and what you can bring to the team and the community to make it better. Im not a fan of those “I’m different from everyone else”resumes when you begin to write a short novel on how awesome you are and then don’t provide any previous work experience to back that up.

I’m always looking for people who want to contribute something, are a team player, can be flexible, and want to learn through making mistakes. Even if you don’t have experience yet, people with integrity will get a place in the library over someone who may have the desired skill set. Certain qualities just can’t be trained into someone, while learning a new skill set can.

#1 #14 #25 #35 #books #GLAMJobs #Librarian #librarians #libraries #Library #libraryHiring #libraryInterview #libraryJobs #libraryWork #LISCareers #lisJobs

“My organization makes a big effort to hire diverse staff members.”

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?

I’m not in charge of advertising job listings, so I’m not sure, but I know we post them on our library website and in library listservs, especially all the ALA affiliated bipoc listservs.

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

The hiring committees don’t know where or how the applicants find the job ads.

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?

√ Yes

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

√ No

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

Lack of experience in libraries or public service/customer service

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: If the candidate lives nearby, we interview in person. If they live far away, we do virtual interviews.

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

√ Yes

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

Write a great cover letter.

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?

I work in a public library and have been on many hiring committees. My organization makes a big effort to hire diverse staff members. We have gotten rid of MLS requirements for almost all positions, except Director-level positions. Even our Librarian positions and Manager positions do not require an MLS. This has helped increase and diversify our applicant pool.

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 Services Assistant (paraprofessional role one step below Librarian in our system)

When was this position hired?

√ Within the last three months

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”?

Someone with library experience and/or customer service or public service type of experience, someone willing to learn and enthusiastic about the position.

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

More applicants than usual were qualified. We also had a lot of internal applicants.

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?

√ 200+

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?

√ 7 or more

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

√ 7 or more

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

√ I don’t know

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

√ I don’t know

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

√ I don’t know

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ I don’t know

Why or why not?

Honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t think libraries (I’m speaking about public libraries here) are dying at all. If anything, they are very much essential to the community. But old school librarianship might be dying. By that I mean, a Librarian position where the person needed to have an MLS degree. Most public libraries are staffing their branches with paraprofessionals who are expected to do the work that MLS-degreed Librarians used to do. Not saying that is good or bad. So I don’t think librarianship is a dying profession, but the nature of the work is changing and the requirements to become a librarian are changing.

This section asks for information about you specifically.

What part of the world are you in?

√ Midwestern US

What’s your region like?

√ Urban area,

√ Suburban area,

√ Rural area

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

√ Public Library 

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

Children’s librarians, adult librarians, teen librarians, catalogers, managers, paraprofessionals who work on the desk at branches

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

#1 #14 #25 #35 #books #GLAMJobs #Librarian #librarians #libraries #Library #libraryHiring #libraryInterview #libraryJobs #libraryWork #LISCareers #lisJobs

“I think library schools need to do a better job of prep and/or not accept as many students”

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?

State Library Boards, Library School listservs, general listserv release from HR, We Here FB group

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

Nope

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: I try to keep the requirements to a minimum, no more than 2-3. But things like degree can’t and shouldn’t be removed

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

√ No

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

They didn’t have the degree needed for the position

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

√ Other: No, I hate them. There are usually no plans/retention conversations regarding the recording

Do you provide interview questions before the interview? 

√ Yes

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

We try to give them 5 business days

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

√ No, but we used to

How much of your interview process is virtual?

√ It is entirely virtual

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

√ Other: If asked, I have given feedback

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

It’s shocking to me how many people don’t prep based on the questions. We provide the questions in advance but interviewees ignore them

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?

I think we are a work in progress but I see the effort to be more inclusive

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?

Graduate Teaching Assistant

When was this position hired?

√ Between three to six months ago

Approximately how many people applied for this position?

√ 25 or fewer

Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?

√ 51-75%

And how would you define “hirable”?

Met the minimum requirements

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

This was the first time this position has been filled in a while

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?

√ Not unionized, but we do bargain/negotiate contracts collectively

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

√ 7 or more

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

√ 7 or more

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?  

√ I don’t know

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

√ I don’t know

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ Other: This is such a complicated question. I think people come into our profession without a clear eyed understanding of the needs of the job. I think library schools need to do a better job of prep and/or not accept as many students

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,

√ Suburban area,

√ Rural area

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

√ Academic Library 

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

library staff/grad students/librarian position

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

#1 #14 #25 #35 #books #GLAMJobs #Librarian #librarians #libraries #Library #libraryHiring #libraryInterview #libraryJobs #libraryWork #LISCareers #lisJobs

Podéis leer cómodamente esta RESEÑA también aquí laquimeradegupta.tumblr.com/post/754071288490999808/oc%C3%A9ano-de-muerte

La vida está irremediablemente imbricada con el soporte físico que la cobija: el planeta Tierra. Solamente esta estrecha unión puede explicar cómo cosas (petróleo, metales y otros recursos naturales) y seres vivos (madera, pescado, etc.) se comporten ante nuestra voracidad de forma similar. En realidad lo que hay detrás es mucho más simple: I) en el caso aquellos recursos o seres vivos que son capaces de renovarse así mismos (bien completando su ciclo biogeoquímico y quedando otra vez disponibles para su uso; bien por que se reproducen y se renuevan las poblaciones), si se excede su capacidad de renovación, éstos se agotan. II) En el caso de los no renovable, simplemente su cantidad económicamente rentable se agotará en uno u otro momento. image

En esta obra Callum Roberts nos va a hablar fundamentalmente de organismos marinos y cómo hemos afectado sus ecosistemas a través de la pesca y del calentamiento global. Sin embargo, detrás de todo el libro bulle como una fumarola de la dorsal mesoatlántica la crisis climática, el Peak Everything y la sexta extinción. Pero, si tuviera que resumir las preguntas que se plantea este libro en una solo diría: ¿Cómo hemos cambiado el océano y cómo podríamos revertir nuestros cambios más dañinos causados?

Roberts comienza su libro desde el inicio de todo. Si, desde el comienzo de la historia de nuestro planeta Tierra. Así demuestra con buen tino, a mi juicio, el inseparable binomio Tierra-Vida. De hecho, la más grande de las extinciones acontecida hasta el momento en el planeta, quizá tenga mucho que enseñarnos en nuestro momento actual: hace unos 251 millones de años desapareció el 90% de las especies conocidas en el registro fósil ¿Por qué? Aún es tema de debate, pero todo apunta a un culpable: un período descontrolado de calentamiento global y acidez en los océanos.

PRIMERA PARTE

¿Realmente es tan dañina la pesca para los ecosistemas marinos? Tratemos de resumirlo en pocas líneas. A finales del siglo XIX se pescaba muchísimo más por unidad de esfuerzo que hoy en día y así se puede observar en la principal potencia marítima de ese siglo: Reino Unido (Fig. 1.). Solamente se ha conseguido revertir esta tendencia ampliando las zonas en las que se pesca (el ártico y norteamérica). Se comenzó pescando a los individuos más grandes, maduros y por tanto fértiles de las distintas especies. Se pasó a pescar con métodos cada vez menos selectivos y poderosos que lo único que hicieron fuer incrementar los daños en los fondos marinos, fondos en muchas ocasiones esenciales para la viabilidad de huevos y larvas de peces y de muchos organismos marinos. Las dragas o los arrastreros destrozan la pesca del futuro. Así, los tamaños promedio de las poblaciones han disminuido a lo largo del siglo XX y la microevolución comienza a favorecer tamaños corporales más pequeños y ciclos de vida más rápidos.

Pero no solamente es la desaparición de poblaciones y especies de peces de todo tipo, moluscos, hidrozoos, corales, algas, etc., no. La desaparición de estos organismos implica que ya no hay nadie que consuma todo el fitoplancton producido en las zonas de afloramiento, en los trópicos y, estacionalmente, en las zonas de clima templado y frío. Ya no existen suficientes peces herbívoros que den cuenta del fitoplancton. El zooplancton se desarrolla algo más lentamente y tampoco puede con él. El cambio climático ha incrementado la potencia de los vientos y éstos son capaces de desplazar decenas de kilómetros los blooms algales, quedadon además fuera del alcance físico del zooplancton. Este es uno de los factores que ha contribuido al incremento de las llamadas “zonas muertas” en los mares y océanos: zonas donde parte de la columna de agua (o toda) presenta muy bajas o nulas concentraciones de oxígeno, produciéndo mortalidades masivas de los organismos pelágicos y bentónicos. La concentración de oxígeno disminuye cuando el fitoplancton va muriendo y una enorme cantidad de materia orgánica desciende por la columna de agua mientras es atacada por bacterias. La materia orgánica es consumida por las bacterias que, en el proceso, agotan el oxígeno. Ocurre algo similar en los deltas y en las lagunas costeras que reciben inmensos aportes de aguas dulces cargadas de nitratos y fosfatos provenientes de la agricultura. El fenómeno es idéntico, solo que en este caso la fertilidad explosiva del fitoplancton no viene dada por un afloramiento de aguas profundas, sino que viene dada por la enorme cantidad de nutrientes y de materia orgánica vertida. El río Mississipi, el Po, el Tamesis, el Indo, el amarillo y otros grandes ríos poseen en sus desembocaduras enormes zonas muertas. En este caso tienden a ser estacionales, pero cada año duran más.

Ejemplos: Namibia y Bengala (aunque hay más de 400 zonas muertas en el planeta, entre estacionales y permanentes). A principios de los noventa, una intensa floración de fitoplancton mató al 80% de la población de merluza del cabo y provocó el colapso de la pesca en la zona. Aun así, no parece haber voluntad política para enfrentar esta situación. Por ejemplo, las cuotas de pesca anual de la Unión Europea son un tercio más altas de las recomendaciones técnicas.

Dos grandes amenazas: la subida del nivel del mar y la acidificación.

Entre 1870 y 2000, el nivel del mar se incrementó aproximadamente 20 cm. La mayor parte del mismo se debe a la capacidad de absorción de calor por parte del agua. Así, el increíle aumento en las emisiones de CO2 —y otros gases invernadero— y su efecto sobre el incremento de la temperatura media del planeta ha sido, en buena parte, frenado por las masas de agua terrestres. Este aumento podría llegar a los 2m en promedio a final de siglo. Esto implica que, ya a mediados de este siglo, temporales marítimos puedan penetrar centenares de metros en tierra firme y que muchas naciones insulares vna peligrar su existencia. Implica la construcción de costosas infraestructuras que protejan a los centenares de millones de personas que habitan tierras bajas. Todo ello en un contexto de energía y recursos limitados. Sin embargo, los ecosistemas costeros naturales son capaces de frenar y/o amortiguar esta subida del nivel del mar y los peores efectos de los temporales: los manglares, las marismas, lo estuarios, las albuferas, las barras y dunas litorales. ¿Por qué no recuperarlos y utilizarlos como sistemas de protección low cost? Obviamente el modelo turístico imperante tendrá que cambiar.

Un escenario posible es el derretimiento de dos grandes casquetes de hielo en Groenlandia y la Antártida Occidental. Si se derritieran, los mares se elevarían 9 metros. Y hay muchos puntos de no retorno que pueden haberse activado sin que lo conozcamos todavía y puede que alguno de los escenarios más pesimistas ya estén en marcha sin que podamos ya detenerlo.

Volvamos al CO2. Además de temperatura, el agua “absorbe” este gas así que la reducción térmica gracias a mar es aún mayor. Pero, ¿a qué precio? Cuando el CO2 se disuelve en el mar, produce HCO3- y H+ disminuyendo así el pH del agua oceánica (recordemos que el pH es la cantidad de iones H+ disueltos). Desde la revolución industrial, el pH del océano ha disminuido en 0.1 unidades. La mayor parte de esta caída ha ocurrido solo en las últimas décadas. Armand y Kim (2020) estiman que, a través de su efecto actual sobre la nutrición y los ingresos, la acidificación de los océanos podría estar detrás de una cantidad considerable de muertes neonatales en países de ingresos bajos y medianos. Además, la acidificación supondrá la desaparición de centenares de miles de especies de moluscos, corales, hidrozoos y organismos unicelulares que utilizan el carbonato de calcio, cuya precipitación sobre la materia orgánica viva es sensible al pH ambiental.

La buena noticia es que en el pasado hemos experimentado periodos de acidificación similares al actual. Concretamente, ocurrió en el Máximo Térmico del Paleoceno-Eoceno, y la vida se adaptó bien. La mala noticia es que este cambio ocurrió durante decenas de miles de años y no durante unas pocas décadas.

Estrés y contaminación. Una combinación letal.

Todas las formas de contaminación representan un peligro para las cadenas alimentarias y los ecosistemas e incluso podrían ampliar el alcance y frecuencia de las zonas muertas y del cambio climático. Debemos considerar contaminantes orgánicos persistentes (como el DDT, los PCBs y otro compuestos), derrames de petróleo, productos farmacéuticos, plásticos y metales pesados como el mercurio o el cadmio. Estos contaminantes se vierten a los océanos desde los ríos y aguas residuales, hasta en cruceros, plataformas petrolíferas y petroleros. Muchos de ellos son bioacumulables (compuestos orgánicos persistentes, microplásticos o metales pesados) y, por tanto, los encontramos en aquellos organismos situados en la cúspide de las cadenas tróficas: justo los animales sobre los que la pesca ha intesificado más su acción. Además, también se acumulan en la fina y compleja capa superficial del océano. La Sea-suface microlayer (SML) es una capa de unos pocos milímetros de espesor que concentra muchas sustancias y que, desde el punto de vista biológico, es muy distinta de los siguientes metros de la columna de agua. Esto es por 2 razones: I) dada la tensión superficial del agua, en esta capa pueden adherirse múltiples larvas y huevos de muchas especies. Esto significa que es una capa esencial para el ciclo vital en lo océanos, y II) concentra sustancias de todo tipo: desde metales pesados, hasta contaminantes o nutrientes (lípidos, nucleótidos, aminoácidos, metabolitos tóxicos como el Dimetilsulfóxido (DSMO), etc.

Especialmente hiriente el problema de los plásticos. Al menos ⅔ de los animales encontrados muertos tienen plástico en sus entrañas y hay al menos hay 6 veces más plástico en peso en el océano que zooplancton. Un problema añadido es que el plástico se fragmenta en diminutos trozos capaces, incluso, de penetrar en nuestras células con holgura. Estos microplásticos pasan mucha parte de su “vida” en la SML por lo que han concentrado en su superficie enormes cantidades de sustancias tóxicas. Ingerir microplásticos es ingerir un cocktail explosivo de disruptores endocrineo, teratógenos y metales pesados.

Para colmo, además, también somos ruidosos. El sonido es una herramienta esencial para la vida marina. Es utilizado por mamíferos marinos, cefalópodos, muchos peces, crustáceos, etc., para la navegación, reproducción, y búsqueda de alimentos. Nuestras ruidosas incursiones en el mar han dejado a muchas ballenas desorientadas y/o con sus sistemas auditivos destrozados.

Otra forma de “contaminación” es la inserción de especies ajenas a un ecosistema dado. Las embarcaciones sacan especies de su hábitat y las introducen en otro cuando descargan ella agua de lastre. Algunas de estas especies exóticas son agresivas e irrumpenen los ecosistemas locales. Tal es el caso del pez león rojo en el Caribe. Al no ser presa de ningún depredador de la zona, ha arrasado con distintas especies. Suele alimentarse de los peces jóvenes de los grandes depredadoresque solemos comer.

Todos este estrés para los peces reduce su inmunidad y expone a la vida marina a enfermedades. Una plaga en el Caribe mató al 75% del coral blando. Se supo con posterioridad que el causante era una bacteria fecal humana proveniente probablemente de los resorts recientemente abiertos.

SEGUNDA PARTE

¿Hay esperanza?

Callum Roberts dedica la segunda parte del libro a analizar las potenciales soluciones a los problemas planteados en la primera parte. Sin embargo, como anticipo decir que es de la opinión que toda “solución tecnológica” genera más problemas de los que resuelve. Veamos cómo lo argumenta.

El primer intento de aliviar la sobrepesca probablemente sea precisamente evitar la pesca y acudir al pescado de acuicultura, una técnica con al menos 4500 de historia. Sin embargo se requieren de hasta 20Kg de pescado salvaje para producir un solo kilo de pescado criado en cautividad si este pescado es carnívoro. La acuicultura es algo más eficiente si el pescado es “vegetariano”, pero éstos no es son valorados comercialmente. La industria ha logrado incrementar su eficiencia y la proporción promedio de pescado salvaje utilizada por cada kilo de pescado cultivado ha pasado de 1:1 a 0.63:1. Pese a ello, la acuicultura puede ser un foco productor de nuevas enfermedades infecciosas: las condiciones de alta densidad y el elevado uso de medicamentos incrementar la probabilidad de que esto ocurra. También son focos generadores de bacterias resistentes a antibióticos. Además, la gran cantidad de nutrientes vertidos en las zonas de cultivo, junto con la enorme cantidad de deshechos de estos animales, suelen producir zonas muertas en el fondo del lugar donde se sitúan las piscifactorias.

Por lo que respecta al plástico, varios países han prohibido los plásticos de un solo uso y otros se utilizan la basura recogida del mar para producir energía, pero ello no ha evitado que la contaminación por plásticos esté llegando a niveles realmente distópicos. No parece que nadie quiera gastar dinero en revertir décadas de uso del océano como vertedero comunitario. No parece que el comportamiento individual y las suaves restricciones vayan a solucionar un problema que requiere fuertes cantidades de dinero y de normativas reguladoras..

Por su parte, la contaminación por eutrofización que causa zonas muertas en estuarios, desembocaduras de ríos, lagunas costeras y zonas de afloramiento es reversible en buena parte si cesan los vertidos. En algunos casos se han propuesto, dice Roberts, soluciones más encaminadas a la “venta de acciones” que a la solución real del problema (como aquellas que proponen bombear oxígeno en profundidad).

Con respecto al calentamiento global, Roberts describe una serie de propuestas tecnológicas que se postulan para intentar reducir o paliar el cambio climático. Parte de la solución son las energías renovables. Ve con bueno ojos especialmente los parques eólicos, ya que son económicamente viables e implica amplias zonas marinas vetadas a la pesca que pueden servir como santuarios en los cuales las poblaciones de muchas especies puedan recuperarse y aumentar su tasa reproductiva y puedan repoblar, así, otras partes del océano. También ve viable bombear CO2 mientras se extrae petróleo y gas natural. Sin embargo, las opciones mareomotrices o bombear CO2 líquido al fondo del mar son, además de económicamente poco viables, peligrosas para la biodiversidad y, en el caso del bombeo de CO2 existe el peligro de aumentar la acidificación. También las opciones de ingeniería climática son poco más que hipótesis de laboratorio que no tienen en cuenta la complejidad de los ecosistemas: crear nubes artificiales y aumentar la cantidad de aerosoles en la atmósfera pueden agudizar sequías, la extracción de silicatos para la producción de bicarbonato por absorción de CO2 es muy costosa y la fertilización del océano con hierro para absorber CO2 mediante el fitoplancton no ha demostrado en décadas ser realmente efectivo.

Las marismas, los manglares y los lechos de algas marinas atrapan colectivamente la mitad de las emisiones de CO2 de la red de transporte marítimo del mundo,y apenas cubre una quinta milésima parte de la vegetación terrestre del mundo. Según el informe del Banco Mundial The Sunken Billions, podríamos producir hasta un 40% más solo con pescar menos. Una red de áreas protegidas cerca de las pesquerías también podría aliviar mucho las presiones que ejercemos sobre la vida marina.

¿Esperanza? Roberts no lo dice, pero su pesimismo en las formas basadas en la iniciativa privada y el “solucionismo de mercado” dejan entrever que, o bien se realiza un cambio profundo en la forma y el modo de producir, manejar y tratar con los océanos y el conjunto del planeta, o bien las cosas va a empeorar mucho antes de, poco a poco, empezar a mejorar aunque, quizá, usted ya no esté aquí para verlo. Ni usted tampoco

“the administration wants to eliminate a librarian position the next time it becomes vacant and make it a lower paid staff position”

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?

Institution website and sometimes Indeed

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

Do you include salary in the job ad?

√ Other: Yes and no. If the institution does post it, they hide behind using the matrix indicator and not the actual dollar amount

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?

√ Yes

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

√ N/A – we don’t hire librarians

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

Not enough applicable experience. Doesn’t have to be library experience, but needs to have transferable skills.

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

√ No

Do you provide interview questions before the interview? 

√ Other: Morning the part, but I’ve asked to do so in current and future postings

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

Plan to provide the day before

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?

√ None: 

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

√ Other: I would if asked. This is something I would explore doing proactively in future postings

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

Follow instructions of application process/provide a complete application package

I want to hire someone who is: 

Teachable

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?

Coordinator of Library Services

When was this position hired?

√ Within the last three months

Approximately how many people applied for this position?

√ 25 or fewer

Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?

√ more than 75%

And how would you define “hirable”?

Applicable experience and education

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?

√ 0-10

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?

√ 1

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

√ There are the same number of 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?   

√ Other: No, but the administration wants to eliminate a librarian position the next time it becomes vacant and make it a lower paid staff position. I’m prepared to vigorously oppose that action leading up to and when the attempt is made

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ No

This section asks for information about you specifically.

What part of the world are you in?

√ Southwestern US

What’s your region like?

√ Rural area

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

√ Academic Library 

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

#1 #14 #25 #35 #books #GLAM #GLAMJobs #Librarian #librarians #libraries #Library #libraryHiring #libraryInterview #libraryJobs #libraryWork #libraryjobs #LIS #LISCareers #lisJobs

“It’s offered but it’s their responsibility to reach out afterward to ask”

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?

Partnership Job Board, Indeed, YMCA Job Board, LinkedIn, Town’s Website, Library’s Website, FB, Instagram, LIS School Job Boards (Western University and Toronto iSchool)

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

Yes – Indeed is often the worst quality. Often no cover letters and a ton of spam.

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?

√ Yes

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?

Meet no requirements, have to relocate (depends on the job and how fast we need to fill it)

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?

24 hours

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: Only if the candidate requests it

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

√ Other: It’s offered but it’s their responsibility to reach out afterward to ask

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

No chapter book applications. Less corporate jargon, use the cover letter to advertise who YOU are and why you love libraries. Don’t just focus on the hard skills or what you think we want to hear.

I want to hire someone who is: 

Adaptable

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?

Coordinator, Programming &Outreach

When was this position hired?

√ Within the last three months

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”?

Meet the basic requirements

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

More applications, more qualified people but many who were very demanding in terms of work from home and more pay despite minimal experience

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?

√ 2

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

√ 1

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

√ There are more positions

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

√ Yes

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

This section asks for information about you specifically.

What part of the world are you in?

√ Canada

What’s your region like?

√ Rural area

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

√ Public Library 

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

Cataloguers, children’s librarians, tech services (website, digital literacy support), CEO

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)

#1 #14 #25 #35 #books #GLAMJobs #Librarian #librarians #libraries #Library #libraryHiring #libraryInterview #libraryJobs #libraryWork #LISCareers #lisJobs

“It’s not dying, it’s being murdered by shortsighted college administrators who have no respect for us or what we do.”

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?

Indeed, college website, state library job site

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

I have not noticed.

Do you include salary in the job ad?

√ other: If it’s an hourly, part-time position

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…)

√ Prefer but not require

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

Does not meet preferred qualifications

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?

√ First round/Initial Screen

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

Follow all of the instructions in the job posting.

I want to hire someone who is: 

Experienced

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?

Library Assistant

When was this position hired?

√ Within the last three months

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”?

Meets at least one preferred qualification

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

Fewer highly qualified applicants

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?

√ 0-10

Are you unionized?

√ No

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

√ None!

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?

√ There are fewer positions

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

√ Other: No, we lost all of our FT positions with no replacement at all.

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?

√ It’s not dying, it’s being murdered by shortsighted college administrators who have no respect for us or what we do.

Why or why not?

See answer above

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 

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

Our librarians do a little bit of everything.

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

#1 #14 #25 #35 #books #GLAMJobs #Librarian #librarians #libraries #Library #libraryHiring #libraryInterview #libraryJobs #libraryWork #LISCareers #lisJobs

“no candidate ever meets all of the requirements. “

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?

On our organization’s web page, Linked In, Indeed.com, specialized email lists, associations, or sites particular to the position

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

Yes.  Broad sites like Indeed can bring in candidates who tend to apply for a job for which they have no qualifications, such as IT people.  However, our job postions automatically go to these sites.

Do you include salary in the job ad?

√ Other: We include a salary range

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 have requirements that people have to meet, such as citizenship if the position requires a security clearance, or a degree or years of experience if the job class requires it.  But no candidate ever meets all of the requirements.

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?

Not matching the KSAs on the job posting in any reasonable way

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, but we used to

How much of your interview process is virtual?

√ Other: Right now it is entirely virtual, but we haven’t had a candidate for a position since the pandemic that has been in the area to be interviewed.  If we did, we’d do in hybrid 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?

Answer the questions that are asked!

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?

Manager, Classified Research Support

When was this position hired?

√ Within the last three months

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”?

Appropriate KSAs

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

Have not recruited for this position in a long time; in comparison with another position recently hired, fewer applications, but it’s a different sort of position.

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?

√ Other: I’m not sure I understand this question.  My workplace as a whole??  We have an organization of  around 2000 people; we hired around 300 new staff

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

√ 1

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

√ Other: If looking at the total workplace, more.  My organization, the same

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?

Librarianship is changing for sure, but not dying. New skills need to be developed and the field needs to be reimagined.

This section asks for information about you specifically.

What part of the world are you in?

√ Western US (including Alaska, Hawaii and Pacific Northwest)

What’s your region like?

√ Urban area

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

√ Special Library 

Are you a librarian?

√ Director of library, archives, IT applications

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

#1 #14 #25 #35 #books #GLAMJobs #Librarian #librarians #libraries #Library #libraryHiring #libraryInterview #libraryJobs #libraryWork #LISCareers #lisJobs

“I’ve let candidates do virtual if the weather is bad. “

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?

State Listserv (NY),  Local Library System’s Website, We’re civil service so we have to canvas the list first (if there is a viable list)

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?  

√ No

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

√ Yes

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

√ No

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: I’ve let candidates do virtual if the weather is bad. 

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?

Proofread their submissions and meet minimum qualifications

I want to hire someone who is: 

Creative

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?

Library Assistant – Communications

When was this position hired?

√ Between three to six months 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”?

Has the skills needed for the job or shows they’re willing to learn.

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

A good number of applicants, some not qualified

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?

√ 0-10

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?

√ 1

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

√ There are more 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

This section asks for information about you specifically.

What part of the world are you in?

√ Northeastern US

What’s your region like?

√ Other: We have all three areas in close proximity

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

√ Public Library 

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

Childrens, Adult, Tech

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,

√ Human resources

#1 #14 #25 #35 #books #GLAMJobs #Librarian #librarians #libraries #Library #libraryHiring #libraryInterview #libraryJobs #libraryWork #LISCareers #lisJobs

“Candidates need to have a love for working with people.”

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?

County Site, LinkedIn, Indeed, Facebook

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

N/A

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?  

√ Yes

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

√ Yes

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 relevant experience. Incomplete application packages.

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

√ No

Do you provide interview questions before the interview? 

√ Yes

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

A week ahead with interview confirmation.

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?

√ Yes

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

Develop relevant skills such as customer service, programming and experience with children if hoping to work in YS.

I want to hire someone who is: 

adaptible

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

It’s a very competitive market.

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?

full time library assistant

When was this position hired?

√ Within the last three months

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?

√ 26-50%

And how would you define “hirable”?

Relevant skills, some understanding of public library work.

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

More applications with a wider range of backgrounds.

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?

√ 200+

Are you unionized?

√ No

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

√ 7 or more

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

√ 7 or more

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

√ There are more 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?

It’s a viable profession, but there are too many MLIS programs that are creating a pyramid scheme of too many candidates for too few positions.

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,

√ 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? 

YS 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),

√ 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)?

Candidates need to have a love for working with people.

#1 #14 #25 #35 #books #GLAMJobs #Librarian #librarians #libraries #Library #libraryHiring #libraryInterview #libraryJobs #libraryWork #LISCareers #lisJobs

“In my division of 22 FT employees, we had to fill 9 positions (some internal promotions that created vacancies, etc.) – that level of turnover just isn’t sustainable”

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?

Institutional job site, library website, ALA, Chronicle of Higher Education, Amigos

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

No way to know

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: Experience yes, but not necessarily library or professional experience

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

Better applicants 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? 

√ No

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

√ Yes

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?

√ No

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

Use the cover letter to address requirements that might not be obvious from the CV

I want to hire someone who is: 

capable

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

I wish we could attract better candidate pools for some of the positions but not sure what else to do.

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?

Social Sciences & Education Liaison Librarian

When was this position hired?

√ Within the last three months

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”?

Met the required qualifications

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

This was a stronger pool than for other positions earlier in the year

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?

√ 7 or more

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

√ 7 or more

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

√ Other: I don’t know

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?   

√ Other: I don’t know

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ No

Why or why not?

I believe the skills are needed to run a library well. The traditional MLIS may not be necessary, but there is still a skillset required to run a library.

This section asks for information about you specifically.

What part of the world are you in?

√ Southeastern US

What’s your region like?

√ Suburban area

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

√ Academic Library 

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

liaison librarians, instruction librarians, branch library managers, student success librarians, administrators

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)?

I’ve had to hire a stupid number of people the past 3 years and it is EXHAUSTING. It’s hard to maintain a positive attitude for recruiting while also trying to cover the responsibilities created by the vacancies. The survey has just reminded me of that. In my division of 22 FT employees, we had to fill 9 positions (some internal promotions that created vacancies, etc.) – that level of turnover just isn’t sustainable. I know it’s beyond the scope of your study, but it’s a real issue.

#1 #14 #25 #35 #books #GLAMJobs #Librarian #librarians #libraries #Library #libraryHiring #libraryInterview #libraryJobs #libraryWork #LISCareers #lisJobs