One of the big issues that I’m going to have with being a tenure track librarian is finding time for the research component of my duties. I’ve been in my position for six months now and have come to realize that unlike teaching faculty, it’s difficult to have office hours and set aside time to pursue scholarly activities.

What do I need to be successful with what is often viewed as the most important part of the tenure process? I’ve sat down to think about what will be most helpful in keeping my hair and sanity intact.

Time management - This one is probably fairly obvious. But it’s one of those areas that can be extremely difficult when you have multiple demands coming at you. Particularly when you are dealing with a whole campus that wants something NOW!

Supportive management - It certainly helps to have a supervisor, department chair, dean, etc. who understands that you will sometimes needs time away or in a quiet, undisturbed office to work on your research, publications, scholarly projects, or whatever it is you are doing. But I’ve also discovered that I need to speak up to get this.

Clear goals - Since research and scholarly activities are truly time consuming, I also have discovered that I have had to become focused on what I’m pursuing. Currently, I have two specific interests that I’ll be working on for the next year or so. These are likely to change somewhat over the next six years. But if I want to really accomplish anything, I needed to narrow my interests somewhat. Yes, there is lots of exciting stuff going on in library land, but you can’t be involved in everything.

Colleagues to collaborate with - This is turning out to be a great thing. Collaboration helps my research because I get outside ideas and direction. This is really helpful also because I am fairly new to the field. And sometimes you get to divvy up some of the work on larger projects. That’s never a bad thing when you have limited time!

As these things have started to fall into place, I’ve become more comfortable with this piece of my track to full tenure. Soon I’ll share my thoughts on whether academic librarians should be tenure track.

The false “librarian shortage” has been discussed, at length, in many forums. What surprises me is how little this dichotomy between theory–a vast pool of aging librarians retiring as we speak–and reality–very few jobs open to the new librarian with little experience–is being addressed in practice.

As I have very little relevant experience (a year spent working in the archives as an undergrad and a volunteer at my local public since October) and no masters as yet, I have tried to make up for my lack of practical knowledge about the profession through the wonders of the internet. I’ve paid my dues and joined the listservs of the ALA New Members Round Table (NMRT), my state library association, and I Love Libraries, as well as subscribed to any number of library-related blogs and discussion lists, both general and ones geared specifically towards new librarians. I’ve visited the job sites of the ALA, Library Journal, etc etc.

While they’ve all been extremely helpful in educating me about many aspects of the career, its quotidian functions, how to format my resume and what questions to ask in an interview, one thing I haven’t seen is a concerted, organized effort to make up for this gap between the “librarian shortage” tales being circulated by–library schools? the ALA? the media?–and the lack of jobs for inexperienced librarians, well-paid or otherwise. Without experience, it is difficult (impossible in some places) to find a job. Without a job, though, from whence the experience?

Volunteering obviously suggests itself. For the working person, though (and aren’t most of us?), this is automatically limiting: my public library is open only two evenings a week. I’m glad of any help I can get, but a few hours a week won’t go far towards that experience requirement in the job listings.

I am not willing to lose a day’s pay in order to volunteer, much as I need the experience and want to help my library. However, if I received some sort of experience credit that employers recognized as being comparable to a paid job, I would certainly reconsider. I realize that many library schools require their students have an internship/practicum before receiving their degrees, but even these are proving insufficient to graduates. And what options are there for those of us not currently enrolled? I know I am not the only degree-less one trying to find a job.

What would be interesting is development of local (or even regional) directors or online bulletin boards in charge of matching the student/aspiring librarian with libraries/librarians needing help… for some sort of experience credit. The NMRT has an excellent resume-review service and a mentoring program, but the mentors are only for already-hired librarians; what about a combination of the two services, mentors who inform their protegees of local public libraries in need of shelf-readers, sign-makers, Web site revampers? Academic libraries needing temporary reference librarians? Positions that last longer than the standard quarter- or semester-long internship or practicum. And in exchange the needy student or aspiring librarian gets something concretely “experience” to put on their resume.

I’ve applied for an internship at my state library, but as far as I’m aware, there are no other such opportunities within a reasonable driving distance. Perhaps I haven’t been listening long enough. Maybe, because I live in a state devoid of schools with library programs (and their attendant pools of jobless, newly minted grads), such measures aren’t believed to be necessary. Am I wrong? Are there untapped resources out there I am unaware of?