LIS CAREERS
& PERSONAL OBJECTIVES
Vacancy Advertisements Search
I am interested in
positions that are related to the Japanese language and culture. The position titles I came across
during my search can be grouped into three categories: technical services, public services, or
a combination of the two. Some of
the titles were: Japanese
cataloger, metadata specialist, Japanese rare book project librarian, Japanese studies
librarian, and East Asian studies librarian/bibliographer-cataloger.
The salaries range
from about $34,000 to the $70,000s.
Some of the ads do not give an amount, but rather, state Òsalary to
commensurate with qualifications and experience.Ó Some of these positions require or prefer at least two
yearsÕ experience (either in a particular aspect of library work or in an
academic library in general).
All these jobs
require a high level of proficiency in the Japanese language in addition to
having good English language skills.
Many of the jobs also list knowledge of either the Chinese or Korean
language as desirable. (In fact,
one of the jobs also lists cataloging Korean materials as one of its secondary
responsibilities.)
While jobs appear to
be scarce, there do seem to be more cataloging positions than other types of
jobs. The skills listed for many
of these cataloging positions include knowledge of USMARC, LC subject headings,
and the LC classification scheme.
Also, familiarity with the different types of databases (mainly RLIN and
OCLC) is highly desired. The
catalogers hired for these positions are responsible for original and copy
cataloging and some are also responsible for supervising/reviewing the work of
paraprofessionals.
For jobs in the
public services, the skill mentioned most often is good interpersonal
skills. As many of these positions
involve collection development and management, knowledge of the trends in
Japanese studies and of the Japanese book trade is also essential. The job descriptions may also include
the following: reference service,
donor relations, administrative duties, and library instruction.
Some of the
organizations of which people in this field are members are: Association for Asian Studies (AAS),
Council on East Asian Libraries (CEAL), and North American Coordinating Council
on Japanese Library Resources (NCC).
CEAL has a closed listserv called ÒEASTLIBÓ and subscribers receive
information on materials related to China, Japan and Korea.
One thing about jobs
in this particular field is that one has to be willing to relocate. The number of jobs is limited and
positions I came across were located all across the U.S. as well as a few in
Japan. It would be difficult to
get a job here in Hawaii, simply because there are more people with the
qualified skills applying for this type of position than there are positions
available (nationwide as well).
Also, the timing of when a position becomes available is crucial when it
comes to jobs like these.
Job postings may be
found in journals such as: Chronicle
of Higher Education, CEALÕs Journal
of East Asian libraries, and ALAÕs American
libraries. Also, CEALÕs EASTLIB members post job
vacancies when they become available.
The CEAL homepage also has job postings by language.
An Interview with the Japan Specialist Librarian at UHM
To find out more about
Japan-related librarianship, I conducted an interview with Tokiko Yamamoto
Bazzell, who is the Japan specialist librarian at the University of Hawaii at
Manoa. Tokiko was very helpful and
she gave me much insightful information.
(This interview was conducted during her shift at the Asia Collection
reference desk, which also provided an opportunity to observe one part of her
job.)
Tokiko described her
job as having six main components, which can be broken down into smaller
parts. The six main components
were: collection development,
collection management, public access, reference services, instruction, and
administration/management.
Collection
development involves selecting and acquiring (either through purchase or
gift/exchange) both print and non-print materials. These could be either new or retroactive acquisitions. Also, some of the materials are
acquired through grants, and therefore, this involves grant management
(grant-writing).
The collection
management component involves managing both the general collection as well as
the special collections. It
requires thinking about how the collection is to be preserved and reviewing the
materials for handling by the preservation department. Space planning is also crucial for this
component.
Creating and
maintaining the Japan Collection web page is considered part of the public
access component. The librarian
also works on other materials (e.g. pathfinders) for users seeking a certain
type of material.
Closely related to
that is the reference services component.
Reference services are provided both in-person and via e-mail. (Reference services, in the Asia
Collection, require the librarians to also have general knowledge about other
countries in the Asian region.)
Tokiko also does individual consultations and writes referral letters
for people needing introduction to other institutions or specialists in the
field.
The librarians also
do bibliographic instruction as well as course instruction. Every two or three semesters, they
teach a class called Asian research materials & methods (LIS 705), which covers reference materials on the
different countries in Asia.
The final component, the
administrative/management component involves a whole range of duties. Tokiko is responsible for creating job
descriptions for the student assistant positions, hiring, and supervising both
student assistants and the volunteers.
Budget planning and cultivating donor networks are important parts of this
component.
In addition to all
the aforementioned duties, she is also involved in numerous committees that are
related to her job (both locally and nationally), she does presentations,
writes articles and reviews, and also puts up displays and exhibits. She also has to keep up with the current
trends by attending professional development sessions.
I asked her about
the ways she prepared for her current job. She answered that the experiences that she gained at her
previous jobs was what helped her most.
She worked as a solo librarian and was required to do everything
(acquisition, collection management, reference services, etc.). This helped her to learn to
multi-task.
Tokiko also said
that networking with colleagues was what helped her the most when she began her
job as the Japan specialist librarian.
Such networking provides opportunities to exchange information (about
good resource materials, programs, etc.) and keep current with what is
happening in the field. Being a
member of a professional organization is great for this reason. It creates a mentorship among the
librarians.
I asked her if she
thought that her LIS courses were very helpful in preparing her for this
job. She said most
definitely. Then I asked her about
what she wished her LIS program had covered that was not covered. She responded that the courses do not
cover in detail the handling of rare materials in special area
collections. Ideally, she said
that she wished a course in Japanese studies librarianship could have been
offered.
I also asked her
about her thoughts on what kinds of characteristics/skills were essential for
this kind of job. She said that
flexibility was important, and along with that, being able to multitask is a
must. One must also be
detail-oriented, have good decision-making and prioritizing skills, and have
good interpersonal and communication skills. Being innovative is a good trait to have for this job. Tokiko also mentioned that it is
important to have a sense of curiosity (wanting to learn more) and having an
interest in the tasks you undertake.
Personal Reflection
After reviewing the
ads and doing this interview, I realize that there are so many different skills
that are required. First, I need
to read more Japanese materials so that I can keep up with current events in
Japan and also to increase my language level. This is something that will have to be done conscientiously
on my own time.
Second, I am doing
an internship this semester to learn more about digitization. I hope this will help me learn more
technological skills so that in the future I will be able to do a variety of
tasks. This would also allow me to
use HTML coding and to learn about metadata.
Third, I would like
to be able to catalog materials in all different formats and be comfortable
doing so. This will require
actually doing the cataloging of materials in other formats. I must also keep current with the AACR2
and with changes made by the Library of Congress and various authoritative
organizations.
I would like to
Òcross-trainÓ and learn about other aspects of librarianship. I am looking at doing another
internship in the future. I am
undecided on whether to do it in preservation or in the Asia Collection.
One piece of advice
that I got from Tokiko was to make the most of the opportunities to learn and
make use of your experiences.
Nothing is wasted. I plan
to be a ÒspongeÓ and to absorb as much as I can in my classes and on the job.