Goal: Washington D.C.

I visited Washington D.C. yesterday for my first time in many years. I was able to make appointments for informational interviews with two professionals working in the Library of Congress (specifically the Congressional Research Service) and a manuscript curator working with the Folger Shakespeare Library. Sadly, neither library was able to toss any job openings in my directions, but I was given good advice on how and where to search for positions and how to work my way through the LoC application process for the best possible chance of getting selected. I hadn’t realized there were guides (both print and online) for how to properly fill out a KSA (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities) Assessment. One such site is KSA Writers, which looks to be endorsed by the government (or at least “professionals” who will help us lowly job-seekers learn how to write our essays).

I was on my own for lunch yesterday, and I now have a new favorite burger place. My previous favorite, now sadly bumped down to a respectable #2, is Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. Mr. Bartley’s is a long-standing favorite with a variety of Best-Of award-winning good eats. The names of the burgers change with the times – when I first went there 9-10 years ago I saw the Bill Clinton, the Ralph Nader and the Dixie Chicks. 5 years ago they had the George Dubya, the Cheney (just a heartbeat away), and the Condaleeza Rice. Now they have the Barack Obama and the Michelle Obama. Definitely good burgers, and the chocolate malts, sweet ‘tater fries and classic decor are awesome. That having been said, I must state that after having The Prez Obama Burger with Spike’s Village Fries at the Good Stuff Eatery, I have to say that Good Stuff makes a tastier burger than Mr. Bartley. I’ll have to try to go back there and try other burgers next time I’m in D.C.

OK, yes, I’m sounding like a food critic/commercial here, but I had a pretty good day yesterday. I was looking up directions to Folger and LoC before I hopped the train to Baltimore on Tuesday, but I didn’t realize until Tuesday night that the two libraries are within a couple blocks of each other, a Metro (DC subway) station, and the Capitol. The Metro website offers maps of stations that allow users to zoom in and out and mouse around, like those you can get from other sites like Mapquest. I found out about Good Stuff Eatery when I was researching the stop I needed to use to get to LoC. The map not only shows streets, landmarks and Places of Note, it points out restaurants. Thank you, Metro, for providing user-friendly maps!

More applications, a job interview, and sci-fi conventions

The job hunt continues as ever. I did hear rumors that the economy has been improving, but from what I can tell those improvements have yet to reach libraries. I even heard that some smaller towns are shutting down their libraries as unnecessary budgeting. What a shame. I have found some job listings that looked worth my application while sorting through the drifts of postings and re-postings that are above my current level or simply require skills that I don’t have. I did manage to land an interview this past Friday with the Newman Library at Baruch College in lower Manhattan. Baruch is part of the CUNY (City University of New York) system, and the Library looks like a great place to work. I hope I stood out well in what amounted to a cattle call first-come-first-serve interview. They’ve got a few part-time Circulation positions open, and I think that would be a great place to start.

Lunacon is this weekend (Friday-Sunday, March 19-21) at the Rye Town Hilton in Rye, NY. I’ll be there guarding the Donald A. and Elsie B. Wollheim Scholarship Fund Book Exhibit, as well as selling raffle tickets. Winners of the raffle will get to take home a small pile of science-fiction or fantasy-related materials (books, magazines, even an audio-book and some other goodies) that were donated by publishers and private parties. The proceeds from the raffle go to help young sci-fi and fantasy writers attend professional writing workshops. From what I’ve read, some previous beneficiaries of this Scholarship have even gone on to be published! It’s going to be a fun weekend, and who knows who I’ll meet?

In closing, I’d just like to touch on Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves. I posted on it a few times back when I started reading it. I’ve taken a break from it because it’s not really the type of story I usually tend to lose myself in. Also, the things being done with the text, while interesting, were distracting me from the story. I’m going to try to jump back in and see if I can finish it. I’ve also got a copy of Mr. Danielewski’s Only Revolutions. I found a discarded hardcover copy on sale at the Greenwich Library in Greenwich, CT. The Greenwich Library, like the Ferguson Library in Stamford, CT, has an ongoing book sale. Both sales draw from a combination of discarded library materials and public donations.

Fingers crossed

I apologize for posting late again, but I got caught up in various projects. I’ve been applying for more library jobs, as well as a couple in retail-based environments, and I will continue to do so until I land a good stable job in an environment that suits me and allows me to do what I need to.* I actually managed to land a job interview this week! Baruch College, part of the CUNY system and located in Manhattan, is looking for part-time circulation help for their Newman Library. They’ve got a few of these positions open, and I got invited to an open interview session at the library this morning. I thought it went well, and hopefully they’ll decide I’m one of the candidates they want to call back. A job is one of the good reasons to get fingerprinted, and if they want to hire me I’ll be glad to pay the required fee. I hope I hear back soon and it’s good news. Ten months of post-graduation joblessness is pretty stressful, even with the two seasonal positions I had.

In other news, one week to Lunacon! Some great materials have already been gathered for the Donald A. and Elsie B. Wollheim Scholarship Fund Book Exhibit and Raffle – much thanks to those who have donated, and to anyone who plans on making donations. Next weekend is going to be a lot of fun.

*Loan payments, rent, my book, movie and music habits, fun stuff like that.

Still plugging

Sadly, there’s nothing new to report in my search for a library job. I’ve applied for some more jobs and received a few more rejection notes. Another job opened up at the Folger Shakespeare Library – I applied, of course, and while I remain hopeful I’m not going to hold my breat for fear of turning blue. I attended a job hunt support group earlier today, and I have to say that most of the things I heard were repeats of things I’ve been hearing for a while. It was suggested to me that I try looking for jobs as a research assistant or helping improve search engines. I hadn’t really considered that before, but I’ll be checking out the possibility.

I do have a second interview in the morning for a retail job. I hope that works out so I can be rescued from my cabin fever. Also, I believe that I mentioned Lunacon in my last post. It’s two weeks away, and it looks like it’s going to be one of the highlights of my spring. Granted, I’ll be working at it, but it’s going to be a lot of fun. I might even get in a little networking!

http://www.lunacon.org