*Apologies in advance for multiple postings.*

ALCTS e-Forum: Career Progression in Cataloging and Metadata

February 16-17, 2016

Moderated by Stacie Traill and Lisa Robinson

Please join us for an e-forum discussion. It’s free and open to everyone!

Registration information is at the end of the message.

Each day, discussion begins and ends at:

Pacific: 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Mountain: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Central: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Eastern: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Potential career paths for cataloging and metadata specialists are many and varied. While moving into management is one common progression, some may prefer a non-managerial path, or to expand their portfolio of duties and expertise into related areas such as systems or development. Other possibilities include switching from traditional cataloging to other metadata creation, or moving to a different type of library as a cataloger. This forum will explore a number of possible career paths for catalogers and metadata creators. Some of the questions we'll take up include:

How do you switch specialties within cataloging/metadata?
How do you switch from another specialty to cataloging/metadata?
How can your career evolve and progress if management is not desirable/possible?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of staying with one institution vs. moving from library to library?
How do hiring committees view moves for career progression?
How do you move from academic to public libraries, or vice versa, as a cataloger?
What are the career advancement possibilities for cataloging/metadata staff who do not hold the MLS/MLIS?

Moderators

Stacie Traill is Metadata Analyst at the University of Minnesota Libraries. She has previously held positions at the same institution as Cartographic and Electronic Resources Cataloger and Special Formats Cataloging Coordinator. She is currently president of OLAC (Online Audiovisual Catalogers), and a member of the CaMMS Mentoring and Recruitment Committee.

Lisa Robinson is the Catalog Librarian and History of Science/Technology/Medicine Bibliographer at Michigan State University.

What Is an e-Forum?

An ALCTS e-forum provides an opportunity for librarians to discuss matters of interest, led by a moderator, through the e-forum discussion list. The e-forum discussion list works like an email listserv: register your email address with the list, and then you will receive messages and communicate with other participants through an email discussion. Most e-forums last two to three days. Registration is necessary to participate, but it's free.

For information about upcoming e-forums, please visit http://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/upcoming/e-forum

How to Register

You must register your email address to subscribe to or access an electronic discussion list on ALA's Mailing List Service. Once you have registered for one e-forum, you do not need to register again, unless you choose to leave the list. Find instructions for subscribing and unsubscribing online. (http://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/upcoming/e-forum/sympa)

If you have any problems, please contact alcts-eforum-request@ala.org.

*Posted on behalf of the ALCTS Continuing Education Committee.*