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Category: Carleton

Anyone Want to Come Work With Me?

Published by Iris on Saturday, September 15th, 2007

The seven of us in the Reference & Instruction department are thrilled with the idea that soon we will be eight! Here’s the ad (and here):

Purpose of this Position:

Carleton College seeks an innovative and energetic librarian to join us in our lively and imaginative program of information resources and services. This new full-time position will increase our support of the social sciences from 1.0 FTE to 2.0 FTE. This is an ideal position for an individual who is 1) looking for an opportunity to work in an institution focused on teaching, in collaboration with an unusually fine group of students, faculty, and colleagues; 2) committed to excellence in teaching; and 3) deeply rooted in and excited about a social sciences discipline. The Reference and Instruction Librarian for the Social Sciences will report to the Head of Reference and Instruction.

Responsibilities:

  • Work closely with current liaison to expand support to faculty and students in social sciences. See: http://www.carleton.edu/campus/library/reference/liaisons.html.
  • Assist in information literacy planning, teaching, development, and instruction.
  • Participate in a well-utilized individual student appointment model.
  • Participate in our Research/IT desk service.

All members of the team participate in campus initiatives and faculty development presentations, evening and weekend reference rotation, and reference collection development. Liaisons also work together on user guide design and development, production of handouts and publications, and quirky publicity activities. We are committed to collaborating with IT and other academic support units.

Carleton College is a highly selective, residential, liberal arts college located about 45 miles south of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The Gould Library (http://www.carleton.edu/campus/library) strongly encourages and supports professional development, initiative, and imaginative approaches to information services. We place a high value on a solid grounding in the world of books and scholarly information.

Minimum Qualifications:

Required:

  • ALA-accredited MLS or equivalent.
  • Strong service orientation, initiative, and flexibility.
  • The desire and ability to work both independently and as a part of a collaborative, decision-making team.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills.
  • Outstanding oral and written communication skills.
  • Strong teaching skills.

Preferred:

  • Academic library experience, including reference and teaching experience.
  • Strong interest in, knowledge, or experience in assessing user needs.
  • Intrigued by uses of social software in libraries.
  • Advanced degree in the social sciences.

If interested, please send a letter of interest (including where you learned about this position), résumé, and three references complete with address, email, and phone numbers to Carleton College, Human Resources, One North College Street, Northfield, MN 55057. Application review begins October 22, 2007, and continues until the position is filled. Visit our web site at www.carleton.edu. Carleton College is an equal opportunity employer committed to excellence through diversity.

“Social Sciences” at our school means Economics, Education, International Relations, Political Economy, Political Science, and Sociology & Anthropology (a dual department here).

So… who wants to come work with me?

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Reinventing Quiet

Reinventing Quiet

Published by Iris on Sunday, August 26th, 2007

For the last several years, our library has attempted to describe the level of socialization and group activity that happens on each of our four levels by defining them as “Crime Scene Investigation Quiet,” “Water Cooler Quiet,” “Nature Film Narrator Quiet,” and “Monetary Quiet.” (Here’s my previous post on the topic.)

Well, this year, we had to revamp the signs anyway because the food and beverage policy changed. We also realized that pre-work-life students had been consistently confused by “Water Cooler Quiet,” and CSI isn’t quiet as popular as it was a few years ago. So we revamped the top two levels.

“Blue Monday” or rather “Goodbye Blue Monday” is a coffee shop and popular hangout in town. The noise level is generally fairly high, but there’s almost always work going on. Students go there if they want to work on projects together or do homework while socializing at the same time. In other words, precisely what we want to recreate on the main floor of the library.

One floor down, we want to encourage group work and talk, but with more restraint than on 4th. Group work happens, but not as much socializing. This was by far the hardest floor to name. What conveys work being done, talk, but restraint? We decided on “2a Discussion Group Quiet.” On our campus, 2a refers to the second class time-slot on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Imagine being the professor leading discussion before 10am… yes, now you see why we chose that time-slot. Discussion happens, but not boisterously.

Students told us not to mess with Nature Film Narrator Quiet or Monastery Quiet, so we didn’t. Down on first, if you type too loudly somebody might just pass you a note (rather than whisper) saying that you should respect the needs of your fellow sleep-, light-, and food-deprived students as they labor through their comps research.

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