Library Worklife
URL: http://ala-apa.org/newsletter/
Do you want to write for Library Worklife?
Library Worklife: HR E-News for Today’s Leaders is a publication of the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA). The newsletter began in January 2004 and is distributed electronically on the second Tuesday of each month. ALA subscribers receive quarterly alerts highlighting the previous months’ articles.
Library Worklife informs readers about issues – career advancement, certification, human resources practice, pay equity, recruitment, research, work/life balance – that concern all library workers.
Do you want to write for Library Worklife?
In upcoming issues, Library Worklife would like to cover the topics listed below, as well as others you suggest. Writing for Library Worklife is EASY! You can submit articles how your library handles an issue, describing your research on a topic, or your experience in a situation. You can also write about how you feel a subject should be addressed within the library community. Library Worklife will publish scholarly articles, news, noteworthy events, and individual profiles. Add to your list of written works or begin your writing career with Library Worklife! And the articles may be based on previously published pieces or presentations, if copyright allows their use. For more information, see the Call for Submissions. Authors retain rights on articles printed – Library Worklife Author Agreement.
Spotlight articles are entertaining, informative, and/or relevant to the library community. They are chosen by the editor based on their potential to engage readers and generate excitement about the topic, which is open, but must be consistent with the missions of ALA-APA: improving salaries and status and certification.
The following are examples of Career Advancement topics Library Worklife would like to include in upcoming issues:
- Personal path series, including:
- Someone who has taken a path from support staff to library director
- Someone who has taken a non-traditional path to advancement
- Someone who became a consultant
- Someone who works for a vendor
- How committee work translated to a promotion
- Mentoring
- Coursework and degrees that benefit library work
The following are examples of Certification topics Library Worklife would like to include in upcoming issues:
- State/regional certification programs
- Study tips for certification programs
- How to organize your portfolio
- Personal stories about how certification has had an impact on a career
The following are examples of HR Law and Legislation topics Library Worklife would like to include in upcoming issues:
- State and local laws that affect libraries and information work
- Legal and illegal employment inquiries
- Discrimination
- National political support for pay equity
The following are examples of HR Practice topics Library Worklife would like to include in upcoming issues:
- Human resource terminology, i.e. “employment at will”
- Helping retirees plan for their futures
- Motivating front-line staff
- Outsourcing in libraries
- Developing leadership programs
- Managing a library budget
- Contractors’ human resource concerns
- Cameras in the workplace
- Funding conference travel
The following are examples of Recruitment topics Library Worklife would like to include in upcoming issues:
- Local “Grow Your Own” programs targeting elementary, high school, and college students
- Leadership programs within libraries
- Mentorship programs
- Field experiences while in library-related degree programs
- Training programs for post-library-related degree recipients (MLS, LTA)
- School-specific programs
- How immigration affects the pool of potential librarians
- Loan forgiveness programs
- Gender diversity within the profession
The following are examples of Salaries and Pay Equity topics Library Worklife would like to include in upcoming issues:
- Negotiating for salaries and benefits
- Successful local efforts to improve salaries
- Conducting pay equity studies, particularly in comparison with positions outside of libraries
- Origins of wage disparities
- Job evaluations
- Where library workers are paid well!
- Contractors’ perspectives
- Consultants’ perspectives
The following are examples of Statistics topics Library Worklife would like to include in upcoming issues:
- National, regional, state, and local salary studies
- Research to collect and analyze salary statistics, including collaborations
The following are examples of Support Staff topics Library Worklife would like to include in upcoming issues:
- Profiles of/essays by national and local award-winning support staff
- New or innovative approaches to teamwork
- Case studies of libraries that have fair divisions of labor
- LTA programs from a student’s point of view
- Support staff conference announcements and coverage
- Who are support staff?
The following are examples of Work/Life topics Library Worklife would like to include in upcoming issues:
- Doing more with less
- Workplace ergonomics, exercise, and stretches
- Change management
- Working a second job
- Stress reduction
- Great volunteer opportunities
- Libraries that offer perks like work-out facilities, massages, etc.
- No one ever told me my job would include…
- Strategies for balancing school and work
- Strategies for balancing family and work
