Taking Your MLIS Abroad

Getting and Succeeding in an International Library Job

Lara Seven Phillips, Katherine G. Holvoet

• Publisher: Libraries Unlimited
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9798216152408
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Library & Information Science
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

This book explains how and why to get an international library job, what to expect when you arrive in your host country, and how to overcome challenges in your new home. For those who possess an ALA-accredited degree, there are opportunities to work in library settings around the world—and many of these attractive career options do not require non-English language skills or an EEC/Commonwealth citizenship. This guide to library work in countries outside the United States and Canada explains the benefits of taking on a library position in an international setting, how to find such a job, what to expect in working in a library outside of North America, and what strategies to employ to be successful and happy living and working in your host country. This guide answers all the questions that a librarian considering a position abroad would have, and it also covers subjects and concerns that might not be as obvious. Based on the direct experiences of the authors as well as anecdotal accounts from other librarians who have worked around the world, the book informs readers about common cultural differences with the application and interview process; explains how workplaces and working assumptions can be different from American expectations; profiles the different procedures, collection scope, curricular support, and intellectual freedom policies of libraries outside the United States and Canada; and describes the unique experience of moving to another country and living as an expat.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface: Who Are We, and Why Did We Take Jobs Overseas?
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1: Why Work Abroad? Myths and Reality
• Chapter 2: Is Working Abroad for You? How to Assess Yourself Honestly
• Chapter 3: How to Find Foreign Jobs
• Chapter 4: The Application Process
• Chapter 5: Winning the Interview: What’s Different and What the Panel Needs to See
• Chapter 6: The Job Offer and Getting Your Work Visa
• Chapter 7: Before You Move
• Chapter 8: Your Housing and Transportation: Apartment Finding, Furnishing Allowances, and Getting to and from Work
• Chapter 9: Banks, Money, Foreign Exchange, and Taxes
• Chapter 10: Working Abroad while Married: Care and Upkeep of the “Trailing Spouse”
• Chapter 11: Expat Parenting, Schools, and Nannies
• Chapter 12: Healthcare Overseas
• Chapter 13: Your New Workplace: How Your Library Might Differ from American Ones
• Chapter 14: Recognizing and Dealing with Culture Shock
• Chapter 15: Keeping in Touch and Combating Loneliness
• Chapter 16: Expat Social Life: Making Friends, Dating, and the Quest for Decent Pizza
• Chapter 17: Surviving Worst Case Scenarios, Part 1: Crime, Natural Disasters, and Tropical Diseases
• Chapter 18: Surviving Worst Case Scenarios, Part 2: Quitting before the End of Your Contract
• Chapter 19: Returning Home: Leaving Your Host Country at the End of Your Contract
• Chapter 20: What We Wish We Had Known Before, and What We Learned from Working Abroad
• Index