We are raising money for Murphey Traditional Academy in Greensboro. Murphey Academy is a K-5 school, and the money we raise from t-shirt sales will go to buy books for its library!

T-shirts are $15, plus $5 for shipping as requested. The shirts are unisex and come in sizes S-2X. Please view the attached flyer for the t-shirt design, and email me (Heather Hans) at h_hans@uncg.edu, or Jewel Davis at jewel.davis@gmail.com to order!

T-shirt orders are due by Monday, April 8.  Please include your name, email address, quantity, size(s), and address (if shipping is required) when you order.  If you are on the UNCG campus, a pickup location and time can be arranged.

Happy Hunting!

• Amanda Fonorow, an LIS grad who works at the Center for Creative Leadership
• Laura Enyon, a librarian at Moses Cone Hospital
• Terry Hobgood, an LIS grad who works as the Cultural Arts Director for the city of Benson, N.C.
• Rachael Walker, an LIS student in her last semester who works as a Prospect Research Analyst at Wake Forest University

LISSA Officer Chanda Green will be making us some delicious snacks, if you’re joining us in person, but you can also join us online at this link.  We will also discuss our events for the rest of the semester, including the St. Patrick’s Day Party, the N.C. State Library Tour and lunch in Raleigh, the Service Project Day at a local school, and our t-shirt fundraiser.

You can still join LISSA by filling out this form and you can also like our page on Facebook.  Let me know if you have any questions, and we hope to see you this Thursday!

In case you missed it, here a few highlights from each our guests.

Katie Whetzel– Assistant Manager at Jamestown Public Library

1. The best people who can help you in your job search are the people you are working with in the library. They can serve as invaluable mentors, give you advice on finding the right job for you, and help you to prepare for the interview.
2. Utilize the resources UNC-G has for its LIS students. There are several practicums and internships available to you. Having experience in a library or related organization goes a long way in getting you noticed.

 
Karen Feeney– Youth Services Librarian at Forsyth County Public Library

1. Find the jobs that support the real skills you have now and make sure to think about all the prior non-library experience and skills that you have. Your prior experience can translate into skills that may be needed for a particular job. Don’t undersell what you have done before the LIS program.
2. Make good impressions and connect with people during library functions. Networking is a powerful thing, and the library world is small. You never know who you may meet during the interview process. Karen was actually interviewed by someone who remembered her from a prior event.

 
Lauren Wallis– Reference & Instruction Librarian at the University of Montevallo in Alabama

1. Don’t get too overwhelmed by the job search process. Set up a system that works for you and take it a little bit at a time.
2. Research the library and librarians who are on the search committee. Take note of the interesting things you find out about the organization and the librarians. Use this information during the interview. Think about the things you are most passionate about and apply to the jobs that most excite you.

 
Tim Williams– Instruction & Reference Librarian at Peninsula College in Washington State

Tim was unable to attend the session live, so he sent us an awesome video about searching through job postings. Check it out here.
 
Resources

All of our speakers mentioned various resources they used to find jobs and to get help with cover letters and interviews. UNC-G’s LIS page has a huge list of resources available to us. If you go to the Job Placement page on the LIS site and click on the Job Search Links tab, you will find all of those resources.

Happy Hunting!

We will be having the first LISSA meeting of the semester this Thursday, January 31, from 4-5:30 pm in SOE 401. For our first meeting we will be featuring recent graduates who are going to talk to us about the job search process. We will also go over our events and plans for the semester.

If you haven’t heard of us, LISSA is the Library and Information Studies Student Association, the student chapter of ALA at UNCG. As a member of LISSA, you’ll get to take part in professional development activities, meet fellow students and librarians, volunteer in the community, and enjoy fun social events. If you are interested in joining, fill out our membership form.

We hope to see old and new faces this semester!

1. Social events for November and/or December
2. A Charlotte Social/Networking opportunity coming up in January
3. Professional Development speakers for our January meeting
4. T-shirts!

Mark your calendars!

We hope to order t-shirts and have them ready for pick-up by the Halloween Party!  We’ve also opened up ordering so that alums and other LIS students can purchase them, since we’ve had several requests. The t-shirts will be in grey and are $15.00 for non-members. The LISSA logo at the bottom of the shirt will be removed for alums and non-members. If you haven’t sent Heather (h_hans@uncg.edu) a shirt size, make sure you send it soon! We would like to have all the sizes in by October 8th.

A few reminders:

Please send your dues or email verification of NCLA/ALA membership to Heather or one of the other LISSA officers by next Friday, Oct. 5.  You can also mail it to the department c/o LISSA at this address: PO Box 26170, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170.

The LIS Halloween Party will be coming up in just a few weeks!  Mark your calendars for Saturday, Oct. 27. Details to come.

Don’t forget to vote for either Hiking or Bowling as November’s social event.  Please cast your vote here.

The Kathleen Clay Edwards branch needs zombies and other scary ghouls to volunteer for their Teen Night on Monday, Oct. 29, at 7 pm.  Contact Heather if you are interested in participating– LISSA member Hannah Drum, an experienced zombie, will be also be helping out with the event.

Also, the Library 2.012 Online Conference will be taking place next week from Oct.3-5. Click here for more information. It’s free and will be a great opportunity to connect with professionals in the field from all over the world!