Published: October 10, 2017 by Kate M. Spaulding

I recently wrote about how you can use Library 2.0 to boost your career. Well, I’ve been thinking about it some more and have come up with a few additional ideas. Library 2.0: Makerspaces is tomorrow (don’t worry, sessions will be recorded), so now seemed like a good time to share. I’d love to read ideas from you in the comments!

1. Scope out institutions and people. Because anyone can submit a proposal, there’s a wide variety of speakers from a wide variety of institutions, library types, and locations. Say you’re interested in school libraries; then you might want to hear from Kristina A. Holzweiss or Alisha Wilson. Their experiences will inform their presentations, so you may be able to get a sense about them and their institutions. You can use that information as you consider whether you should reach out for an informational interview (spoiler: probably). If you’re less interested in school libraries specifically but know you want to get a job near McKinney, Texas, consider connecting with Susan Hefley. She could be a good resource for scouting out the LIS landscape in that corner of the world. It’s also always worth checking a presenter’s employer to see what jobs are posted, especially if you got a good feeling about the speaker’s workplace. If there’s an appealing job or internship, then it’s definitely worth contacting them!
2. Look good in front of your boss. If you come away with even one innovative, actionable idea you can apply at your job, Library 2.0 can make you look like a star. For one, you’ll look like a real go-getter for attending (ahem, because you’ll be sure to mention you went!), and for another, you’ll be contributing to your library’s growth and development. Win-win!
3. Lay the crumbs. Does your current employer dole out professional development/conference funding? In order to qualify, you typically must fill out an application and show that you’ll be a good return on your library’s investment. Need some evidence? “Hey, Favorite Employer, I attended Library 2.0 in October, learned a lot, met some cool people, got some great ideas, and, in fact, have already implemented Idea A and Idea B. Now our patrons love us even more! Send me to This Great Annual Conference, and I’m sure I’ll be able to put even more super ideas into practice.” You’ll probably want to clean up that draft a bit, but hopefully you see my point. Library managers love metrics, and you’ll be providing some. Plus, you’ve already accomplished #2, which is icing on the cake.

Have I convinced you yet? I’m really looking forward to hearing from the presenters this week, and I hope to see you there!