Librarian Jobs

Jon: Don't let her get down because someone doesn't call back. If it is a government library, have her call first thing Tuesday (Monday is a holiday.) She is going to have to spend her penny on calls, because, well, people just don't return calls here. Part of that "it is just different" thing. Best Wishes and a very *Merry Christmas*!
(The politically incorrect EE)

We are desperate for librarians here! Sibilly elementary school still does not have a librarian and CAHS is looking to hire one as well. Does you wife have a library-media services master's degree and teaching certification? It's a requirement for all public school library jobs. She should also be very technology oriented for the high school.
Suzanne

MY wife is not teacher certified and she is not really looking to work in schools, I believe the only jobs she would be comfortable in are the public library(not public school) and the university library. I am wondering if either of these are hiring? If anybody knows I would love the information.

Thanks, Jon

Hello, Jon,
Has your wife inquired at Catholic Schools? She shouldn't limit herself to just public libraries.

PT

JON: Has Mrs. JON called back? There was a notice in the paper today about staff training at the libraries and the contact number for the territorial librarian was 340-773-5715. I believe your wife is going to have to initiate the contact and if she is interested, pursue it. One needs a bit of tenacity to deal with the local government on jobs. Okay, more than a bit...maybe a ton of tenacity.

My wife Heather has contacted the library and she has filled out the application as well as spoken with the territorial librarian but he has not stated that they are definitely hiring for any position. We read that article and she has used two of the three systems they are training on this week.

Thank you for your input,
Jon

Hello Jon,

I am SOOOOO very sorry that I haven't replied to your message sooner. I left for the holidays on 12/18/04 and didn't get back to VI until 1/10/05. Before and after I left and in between times, I was either frantically packing more stuff to ship to STX, or I was driving my car to FL to send it over here, or I was celebrating the holidays with family and friends back in Texas.

You know how it goes: while you're busy, life happens!

At any rate, you were asking about jobs for librarians, newly minted and otherwise. I think there are two positions open at the St. Thomas UVI campus, one of which is the campus librarian and requires a lot of library and administrative experience. I don't know anything about the other position. Unfortunately, at the present time, we have no openings at my library. If I don't do a good enough job, tho, . . . who knows? my job may be open come this fall. 🙂

One thing I do know is that there are 33 public schools in the Territory, and only 14 of them employ a certified librarian. All the rest employ uncertified, sometimes untrained and unsupervised, para-professionals or lower. I would certainly have your wife look at openings in both the public and private school systems here.

I know little to nothing about the public libraries, one in Christiansted and the other in Frederiksted, aside from having met Mr. Williams the night of the Jump Up (day after Thanksgiving) outside the C'sted Library. He was very pleasant and let us use his cell phone to call another friend. I know that he keeps very busy running the C'sted Library and is apparently somewhat of an institution there.

I recently joined the St. Croix Library Association, and we have our first meeting of the new year tomorrow afternoon at Gertrude's. I'll ask everyone who shows up what they know of the job market for librarians on STX.

One thing that I can say, having made the move and committed myself to a life in the islands, is that I'm very, very glad that I did. When I visited my former colleagues where I used to work, I sensed so much unhappiness and dissatisfaction back there, especially with the huge administrative hierarchy that exists in a large university. Here, on my small little campus, even tho my work has occasionally been frustrating due to miscommunications, a lack of training, crazy interpretations of UVI's rules and regulations, and other snafus, it is nothing compared with the BS that I had experienced back in Texas and would still be experiencing if I were still there . . . suffering bone-chilling wet winters.

And offsetting ALL the bad stuff that I've encountered here (e.g., potholes in the roads big enough to swallow my car, trying to get things done in a timely manner, higher prices for food, long lines at the K-Mart or Cost-U-Less, etc.) is the incredible opportunity of just being able to live here, seeing blue skies and puffy white clouds almost every day; swimming at any one of a number of great beaches (a couple of them only 2 miles from my cottage in the rainforest!); meeting cool people from all over the Caribbean, the U.S., and the world; enjoying the friendliness and politeness of the islanders; eating all sorts of new foods, including sugar apples (YUM!!!!!!); and drinking some of the greatest rum made anywhere in the world!

So tell your wife to hang up her fears and go for it. I didn't move here until the kids were grown, etc., and I only wish I had come sooner.

Kinsey