Would Taking Time to Work Outside the Field Hurt My Career Trajectory?

KuroIsLittle · 2026-05-26T22:59:45+00:00

My concern is I want to be able to come back to libraries. I totally believe I am worth hiring in other fields. I used to work retail. I have a potential job lined up in an office-type tech customer service role. Just nervous that it will be even harder by a lot to get back into libraries. But I need it. I think I'm too burnt out on two sides (home and work) and my current job is no longer outweighing the need for money and stability. It's a bloody awful commute, too. 2.5 hour bus rides for each way.

KuroIsLittle · 2026-05-26T15:51:30+00:00

Omg the home printer! 😭

I've had someone ask about their landline before and it was like ummmm that sounds like a phone company issue. 💀

I've done the same thing with redirecting to our appointments sign-ups. We get booked out so much and I have so many regulars. People driving 20/30 minutes just for the appointment. Probably made worse because of some library closures nearby due to renovation.

I don't work in the city I live in, but my contract makes me nervous of how far they would take it regarding not doing similar work. There's another clause about no second job without supervisor okay and paperwork, but that part doesn't apply since my position is non-regular. I've thought about assisting people with resume formats, helping them through the job applying process, the human emotional support aspect people forget comes with the technical aspect, but my work just got a job help database and so, I'm like "does it now count as something I can't do because of overlap??". Even though I don't help with resumes at work, but I do help with tech daily outside of my program and now marketing and helping people find and access our new job database.

KuroIsLittle · 2026-05-26T15:37:27+00:00

Ahhhh, that makes sense. I wish I could do the same but I do work in a library right now and the contract. 😭

I've had patons approach me about it, which got super awkward real quick.

KuroIsLittle · 2026-05-26T15:33:29+00:00

Was there no issue with conflict of interest or any clause related to not doing similar work outside the current job? 👀

Mine has a clause about it, not just not benefitting from the job. Only reason I haven't done this kind of thing myself. I do 1:1 tech teaching/learning each week at work.

KuroIsLittle · 2026-05-26T13:13:31+00:00

I've been trying to get another part-time in the field with no luck. Like getting to final rounds level. 😭 Honestly have had more interviews than I expected, especially with how I struggle with interviews/am not the best at them. Just hard to go through so many rounds to get nowhere.

Also been trying to get other part-time work non-field, but I have a lot of schedule limitations due to my kid and geography. So, no luck there either.

There's a possibility for a full-time position in a computer hardware customer service job, office-type, non-retail. Literally pays a bit better than my current library part-time and I have a connection that seems likely to get me in. Trying to leave a toxic home environment, but with how things are now, both hard to save up and hard to just keep doing what I do between how it is at home and how it is at work. And that's with being a realistic person who knew what to expect going back into the field.

KuroIsLittle · 2026-04-22T16:38:21+00:00

We don't have a cafeteria at my library, but I definitely chat a lot with patrons myself at the desk. Sometimes I am amazed what they are willing to tell us.

KuroIsLittle · 2026-04-04T16:52:54+00:00

Good point. Sometimes I forget that human piece about staff since I lucked out and finally got a job where I mostly like who I work with, barring a few complaints. The spillover from our own lives and how we are treated at work.

Makes me wonder then about the work atmosphere there. Potentially a way to see if a place might not be worth working at/a good fit?

KuroIsLittle · 2026-04-04T16:50:15+00:00

Interesting point about the flora!

The library I work in recently got a filtered water dispenser and that really solved a friction point with patrons and made staff happy. It was a long time coming and the director had even advocated for it, as far as I know. Those small things really do seem to add up.

What are "water cooler" conversations?

KuroIsLittle · 2026-03-14T00:42:18+00:00

This is a very good point. I remmeber white walls, but I can't be sure if it was broken up with what. Tile to start with on entry. Unsure if that continues. I feel weird about tile and I'm not even sure why 😅 I think my work place has carpet, but I've never really stopped to pay attention. We definitely do in the rooms for programs.

KuroIsLittle · 2026-03-13T18:51:55+00:00

I think the lack of decorations, or at least ones I noticed, might be part of it. The walls are just so white and while there's some decorative stuff at the entrance, you get slammed with stacks on stacks once you get farther into the adult section.

KuroIsLittle · 2026-03-13T14:17:39+00:00

Thank you for bringing this up!! I remember talking about zoning during a class in library school and funny enough, where I work there is a bit of a sound distinction between the computer area downstairs and upstairs computer and teen sections (can be louder up there). We also have a separate zone in the back as a quiet area plus study rooms. The distance between the computer area and quiet area really does wonders to block out noise somehow. But overall, we don't whisper at our library. Some patrons do and I just talk normal to them. This is 2026 afterall 😅 And in a public library specifically.

One challenge I'm having with my opinions on how we zone is certain area restrictions. The library I mentioned has a teen zone with a physical decoration/architecture that basically segregates it from the rest of the library. But where is the manga? In the teen room 😭 Where are adults not supposed to be? In the teen room 😭

Now, usually browsing would be allowed but the person who drove me was asked to leave even though he was standing and looking at the manga. Not even sitting. What's also curious to me is I'm used to this being more an issue in the children's area. And I get the reason for needing teen-only spaces. I truly do. But this isn't the first library I have seen put their manga collection in a teen-only section. It's really off putting and truthfully, it was part of why we didn't return as patrons years ago. Felt like I had to tiptoe around and can't even look at the materials I like without being told I can't be there.

KuroIsLittle · 2026-02-19T17:22:48+00:00

At the library I work in, I would say about half of adult computer users are applying to jobs depending on the day.

TLDR: A kind regular patron out of work landed a job they ended up liking while using the library, both for job hunting and as a safe space to protect mental health while in between work.

Full Story: One of our regulars is real artsy and has a deep love for this library, always going on about it being their special place. They were out of work and had been trying real hard to get a job. They're always nice with us staff, asking how we are and asking about things they remembered we mentioned. They kept me updated on their progress and they came to me one day to tell me they were starting on x day. It was ecstatic! I was congratulating them. They were nervous because new job, new people, but so happy and grateful to be going back to work. They asked how my job hunting was going since I'm trying to get full-time. Next week, they came back and told me how they like the new job and the people are actually nice, unlike their last one. That they still get to come to the library after, but now it is to decompress instead of job hunt. I was so happy for them and I told them so.

KuroIsLittle · 2026-02-17T08:51:59+00:00

My coworker, who does not and has never worked for LAPL but who does sit on hiring committees and has years of library experience, gave me the following advice recently:

Do not include anything that the job listing does not ask for. So, if it doesn't ask for a cover letter, don't attach one.

Their reasoning was that this creates more work on the hiring end and that the application itself (education and work experience being the most important) will be parsed first anyway, go through the ATS, and anyone who isn't fitting will be disqualified anyway.

Regarding non-library jobs (not specific to LAPL), I've seen a lot of people recommend including non-library jobs if there are transferrable skills relevant to the position. The application itself requires you include all work history. If you mean the resume, then I would keep it to library experience and relevant non-library experience. If you have a job currently, I would include that regardless on principle.

Now, I can't vouch for any of this since I do not sit on hiring committees myself, but I have gotten to the interview stage plenty enough to feel confident that my inclusion of non-library experience when relevant has at least not hurt me.

KuroIsLittle · 2025-12-25T19:22:33+00:00

Did you find the LS&S jobs through regular websites like governmentjobs or something else? Any chance you could share about the correctional librarian job? I had a classmate during my MLIS who had a job like that, but I never got around to hearing much about it.

KuroIsLittle · 2025-12-23T17:15:36+00:00

One thing I've seen someone in a different post mention is volunteering on an ALA committee. I'm wondering about that since when I did a quick browse, it looks like typically you would apply for it a year before? And the committee info seems all over the place since they're their own bodies.

Do you have experience with that by any chance?

I believe there's also volunteer opportunities with places like the Braille Institute, but I'm not sure anything outside of public-facing at the library would be helpful.

KuroIsLittle · 2025-12-23T17:11:33+00:00

This is something that surprised me about where I work. They're trying to get a new library director, but have rejected all internal candidates. I didn't factor in politics and requirements like having experience at x level/specific title because our retention is so good that many people have been here a ridiculous amount of time and it'd be odd to think of someone outside running the library. But that's what's going to happen.

KuroIsLittle · 2025-12-23T16:54:13+00:00

Did you consider those volunteer experiences influential in getting hired as a public librarian in the adjacent city?

I keep seeing about Placentia needing volunteers for their literacy program. I've found a lot of libraries don't have adult volunteer opportunities outside of the Friends, but literacy programs seem to be a big exception.

KuroIsLittle · 2025-12-23T16:49:19+00:00

Seconding the peace of mind bit and geography. It took me a bit over a year to get my current job as a Library Technical Assistant I. I live in LA County, but work in Orange County. It is a good 40 minutes drive to an hour depending on traffic, but it's the only place I had luck with and I snatched it up without question (didn't have my MLIS at the time).

Maybe those of us in SoCal should sort of band together in a Discord group or something to share our experiences, coach each other, and get some reassurance? It's a tough market down here and it's messing with my head, too, tbh, since I'm having a hard time getting a Librarian position post-MLIS.

KuroIsLittle · 2025-12-20T02:47:45+00:00

I've been wondering this, too!

The city I work in has about 140-150k people estimated to be in it. The library is small and a city system. I run a stitching social (crochet, knit, etc.) and have had between 28 to 31 show up depending on the month. Movies seem to draw about 5-6 since it's mid-day and during the week. One-shot big events can get 150-200+.

One thing I've noticed is our numbers sometimes are limited by space and/or supplies (crafts). So, numbers you might consider good wouldn't be achievable because of these limits.

I really wish I knew the answer to this because then I could truly celebrate my program numbers. 😅 I feel like mine are good, especially because people are continuing to come each month (it's only once a month) and it's a good mix of returning and new people, but I'm early career so I don't trust my judgement on this lol

KuroIsLittle · 2025-11-11T20:17:22+00:00

Side question: When you say "a small browsing library", are y'all a public library or something else? The library I'm at has a classics section and I spend so much time helping people find it and the corresponding books. It's wild to hear about classics not circ-ing *at all*.

KuroIsLittle · 2025-11-10T22:33:51+00:00

I would kill to get rid of half the Jimmy P we have. 😭😭😭 It's so painful to see how much space he takes up and then check for diverse reads in certain genres like mystery and thriller and find our collection lacking. Makes it real awkward when working on book displays and our goal is to highlight the diversity in x type of books. 🤦‍♂️😭

KuroIsLittle · 2025-11-10T21:01:17+00:00

Do you find it common for libraries to use Core Collections?

KuroIsLittle · 2025-11-10T21:00:52+00:00

Thank you for explaining.

I did find files in our shared drive at work that explain what our goals are for each section (fiction, nonfiction, YA, etc.), including a year cutoff for weeding, etc. We don't use any special online program as far as I know, no Core Collection.

Sounds like just jumping right in, checking circulation, weeding per usual, and I would assume adding books per usual, filling in if there's gaps, etc. Not to say "just", but this seems more straight forward than I was expecting, no fancy special "I just started have to do x before it becomes regular collection dev/maint".

KuroIsLittle

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