LibGuides: So You Want To Be A Librarian?: All About Librarians

Guide Authors

This guide was created by:
Barbara Rochen Renner, PhD;
Allied Health Liaison Librarian
brrenner@email.unc.edu

Lee Richardson, MLIS
Information Discovery and Metadata Librarian
richarlm@email.unc.edu

Hee Hee

What is the tallest building in the world?

The library, because it has the most stories.

Allied Health Sciences Liaison

Barbara Rochen Renner, PhD

ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3505-6341

brrenner@email.unc.edu
335 S. Columbia Street Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7585
(Google Maps for directions)

Career Guidance: Start Your Journey!
What you need to know to become a librarian
ALA Library Competencies
Basic knowledge needed for new librarians in a variety of libraries and positions

General Library Career Resources

The books below are available to UNC affiliates only. Check with your library for these books and other resources on library careers.

Rethinking Information Work: a Career Guide for Librarians and Other Information Professionals (PRINT BOOK) by G. Kim Dority
Call Number: Z682.35.V62 D67 2016
ISBN: 9781610699594
Publication Date: 2016-02-22
Guide to the world of library and information. Identifies a broad range of Library and Information Science career options. Identifies professional skills and strengths needed. Helps LIS students and practitioners perform a self-assessment to determine their "best fit" job preferences.
So you Want to be a Librarian! (E-BOOK) by Lauren Pressley
ISBN: 9780980200485
Publication Date: 2009-07-01
Librarianship is a great career. This book is for anyone who is attracted to becoming a librarian and who wants to know more about the profession: what librarians do, what librarians are all about, the different types of professional jobs there are in libraries, and how to get started.
A Day in the Life: Career Options in Library and Information Science (PRINT BOOK) by Priscilla K. Shontz (Editor); Richard A. Murray (Editor)
Call Number: Z682.35.V62 D39 2007
ISBN: 9781591583646
Publication Date: 2007-04-30
Describes a typical workday or work routine, sharing joys, sorrows, and annoyances in refreshingly candid fashion. In addition to public, academic, school, and special libraries, consortia, associations, LIS programs, vendors, publishing, consulting, and other non-library fields are also covered.

How to Be a 21st Century Librarian
From Library Journal - information to consider and pursue a career in libraries.
How to Become a Librarian
Career basics; careers in-depth; salaries & job growth; steps to becoming a librarian; preparing for a librarian career; education; different careers; librarian skills; library science programs
Occupational Outlook Handbook
Salary, environment, education and more.
Librarians - What They Do
Good overview of librarianship and different kinds of libraries and librarians. Includes short videos at end of article.
What is a Librarian?
Includes a lot of different kinds of librarians. Good videos. Further reading – articles and websites. Also has a section on similar careers which isn’t very helpful. Some of them are similar. Some a bit inexplicable. Funeral director?
What Exactly Does a Librarian Do? Everything
Column by Kristen Arnett from Literary Hub, March 21, 2018
Work of librarians from an individual librarian. Includes information on main types of libraries and librarianship.
So You Think You Want to Be a Librarian?
Librarianship today and what to expect when you decided on this career.
Library Careers for Teens from the American Library Association (ALA)
Video at top doesn’t work. Gives a few ideas of different kinds of librarians – different industries which use librarians.
Jobs in Libraries from the American Library Association (ALA)
The links at the bottom don’t work or are out of date. But the content on what to think about when considering a career as a librarian is useful.

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Also on this page, on the left side of the screen is a list of different kinds of librarians. Each type of library job includes an overview of the kinds of tasks performed by that librarian and a link to the ALA division devoted to that area. Some also include information such as education requirements.
UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) Career Services
Scroll down to the 2016 First Destinations Report – an overview of the initial career paths taken by recent graduates.
The Job Outlook: In 2030 Librarians Will Be in Demand
October 2017 editorial in Library Journal