MLIS 2011
Librarian
City of Mountain View Public Library
Mountain View, CA USA

What I am doing now.

I am an Adult and Virtual Services librarian at Mountain View Public Library. Mountain View is a progressive library with many interesting projects. My day to day work in includes staffing the reference desk, managing the 200s, 300s, and 600s, and running the seed library and ESL Conversation club. I’ve also been able to work on a number of special programs, such as our Library Bike Stop grant, a cheese tasting with Gordon Edgar, a crop swap, a plant exchange, and a program on starting your own cottage food business.  

I am very proud of my work in founding the blog Hiring Librarians (https://hiringlibrarians.com/), which presents short, mostly anonymous interviews with people who hire librarians, and other LIS career material. I’ve collaborated with bloggers at Hack Library School, I Need a Library Job, and Librarian Hire Fashion. I’ve interviewed two ALA presidents, Barbara Stripling and Courtney Young. I’ve also been able to present guest posts that are informal accounts of careers-focused library research.

What are the most valuable skills I use in my job?

SLIS really honed my online communication skills – how to build community virtually, and to collaborate with others via email and other asynchronous methods. It also gave me a strong foundation in library theory – particularly the organization of information, and reference work.

Contact Permission

It is OK to contact this alumni.

Send email to: Emily Weak