Aaron the Librarian

Here’s a rough outline of what I’ll be saying…

Bouncer -> Librarian
Or
How I learned to market my past lives to get a job in a library

• Remember: where ever you go, there you are.
• Bad Academics?
• Spin it
• Bad Job History?
• Spin it
• How?
• Go “Meta”
• Bad academics?
• Worse than mine?
• 1.7 HS 1986
• 2.3 UG 1990
• 3.0 MSLS 1994
• 3.0 “because we don’t give “C’s” in Grad School”)
• 3.9 MSM 2005
• Many years later (after ~10 years of library experience)
• Spin this as a positive
• “I have a history of improvement”
• This is how I got into Grad School.
• Bad job history?
• Is it worse than mine?
• Graduated College
• Unemployed
• Truck Driver
• Bouncer
• Public Libraries
• Page, LTA I, LTA III
• Librarian I, Librarian,
• Unemployed
• Winery Renaissance Man
• Special Libraries
• Information Resource Manager
• Unemployed
• Academic Libraries
• Information Services Librarian (Temporary)
• Network Services Librarian
• Systems and Electronic Resources / Web Librarian
• How to parley into libraries?
• Go “meta”
• Truck Driver developed my map skills
• Bouncer developed my people skills
• Page, LTA I & III developed my library awareness
• LIS School developed my librarian base knowledge
• Librarian positions developed my mad reference skillz
• Unemployed stints developed my desire to showcase my abilities
• Network Services and Systems positions integrated my disparate skills
• Questions welcome

Aaron W. Dobbs
Systems and Electronic Resources / Web Librarian
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania

I will be an ALA Councilor at Large Candidate in 2008!
May I please have your vote?