Academic Librarian

"I know exactly where to find the information you require. I select, develop, catalogue and classify library resources in a way that ensures ease and efficiency. I answer questions, direct library users and manage the data they are looking for. I always have an answer at hand."

Salary Range:

$49,000 - $78,000

The Tip

Be different and do one thing every year that causes people to ask, “So, why did you do that?”

Priority Knowledge & Skills

Advanced Research & Analysis Skills

Formulate research questions
Critically analyze literature in a variety of subject areas within psychology or the broader social sciences
Develop and execute qualitative research

Contextual Knowledge

Able to relate to a wide range of individuals
Understanding of context and values of audiences
Understanding of topics and themes as they relate to an audience

Additional Skills

Strong organizational skills

Excel in defined core transferable skills with a focus on transdisciplinary systems thinking, adaptive thinking, communication, organizational and interpersonal skills

Advanced Communication Skills

Sensitivity to how communication is shaped by circumstances, authorship and intended audience
Formulate and defend positions
Write for a specific audience

Inter-personal Skills

Work with diverse populations
Support individuals to discuss difficult topics for their classes or research
Empathetic

Intra-personal Skills

Manage stress both personally and of others
Calm during a crisis—especially helpful with the stress students find themselves under at the end of term

Self-aware, able to manage biases

Building Block Experiences

Education & Learning:

Bachelor of Arts (Psychology)
Master of Library & Information Science (MLIS)
Ongoing professional development

I’ve always loved working with children and teaching. I decided to pursue a psychology degree to develop my core research and written communication skills and to provide myself options for graduate school as I was uncertain whether I wanted to do a Master of Arts in Psychology or a Master of Library & Information Science. In my final year of my psychology degree, I decided to become a professional librarian.

Employment Experiences:

I worked at a public library as a volunteer for teen fiction purchases while I was in high school
Teacher’s assistant (TA) in the U.K. for 12 months
I was a virtual reference intern with the Virtual Librarian Service
I was a camp counsellor for two summers in university. In my second summer I was a coordinator with a staff of eight counsellors.
I worked at the university library I attended as an undergraduate. I worked my way up from shelving books at night to working part time at the circulation desk for my last two years as a psychology major.

Being a full-time librarian is rare, as many positions are part time. I knew I needed to differentiate myself from my peers who had identical educational backgrounds. My combination of volunteering, plus my work with children as a camp counsellor and TA differentiated me from my competitors.

Community Experiences:

Volunteered at the local public library from age 12. I was hired part time when I was 15.
On the board of a literacy nonprofit

Volunteering in the library system created great opportunities for me to build relationships in the industry and diversify my contextual experiences.

Contextual Experiences:

I took a year off from university to become a teacher’s assistant in an elementary school for kids with special needs in the U.K.

I’ve traveled to 14 countries

My parents thought I was crazy to take a year off school and move to the U.K. for work. I worked for basically minimum wage and lived in a dorm room, but the experience was invaluable. My goal was to test-drive if I wanted to become a psychologist working with children or a librarian. Though I loved it, it confirmed my desire to pursue a career as a librarian.

Relationships:

I had senior professional mentors in the library from a young age

My professional mentors have made a huge impact on my career. My guides were the librarians I worked alongside from age 12 and they supported my key decisions later on. They were the ones that recommended psychology as a major and recommended taking a year off to work as a TA overseas. They also were my references to get into graduate school and ultimately I was hired full time by one of my mentors following graduation with my master’s degree.