What's the Alternative? Career Options for Librarians and Info Pros
Every library professional—from new graduates seeking a first job to retirees looking for new challenges—can find something useful in this latest guide from Gordon, author (The NextGen Librarian's Survival Guide) andLJComputer Media columnist. She covers a range of nontraditional careers, including working for vendors and cultural institutions, setting up shop independently (e.g., as a consultant or information broker), performing information work such as knowledge management or competitive intelligence, working in information technology outside of libraries, and filling nontraditional roles within libraries. Each chapter presents various careers with an emphasis on transferable skills, along with personal accounts from practitioners explaining what they do, how they got there, what they like about their jobs, and more. Gordon presents both the rewards and challenges of alternative library careers clearly and provides sound advice for exploring options and breaking into new fields. Two other recent books on information careers—G. Kim Dority'sRethinking Information WorkandA Day in the Life: Career Options in Library and Information Science, edited by Priscilla K. Shontz and Richard A. Murray, cover some similar ground, but neither title is an adequate substitute for this one. Highly recommended for graduate and professional collections.—Janet A. Crum, Oregon Health & Science Univ. Lib., PortlandCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.