The question was a joke and you guys are answering it like it's serious. Do you have to act like librarians all the time?

Basically be an academic reject. No offense.

Commenter #1 said move.
Libraries don't want people who aren't local.
They don't want to pay relocation and laugh at the prospect you'd do it yourself.
You need to move first, then find a job it seems, even if you do, as you suggest, work your tail off before, during AND after you finish library school.

Don't really try to appear too smart or too successful. If you happen to write, and get a book contract, you can suddenly become "overqualified" and/or cause someone interviewing you to ask why you didn't go into something like Journalism [never mind that this field is toast also - Librarians are prone to say/think stupid things. Some actually think ALA does a good job], hinting that perhaps you should still consider it. Remember, underachievers don't like someone showing them up. They might actually have to work. Don't appear to be a boat rocker. Theoretically, there are jobs out on the far horizon, beyond the sunset somewhere. You can literally chase these for years. Be sure you are independently wealthy, both to repay the student loan and travel hundreds or thousands of miles to find even a bad job and relocate. Remember; "Last hired, first fired". Go back to zero and don't collect severance pay. If you are really unlucky you may land at a job only a few months before their shaky budget is to be approved. It may be why the previous librarian left. Is there a minimal work period to collect unemployment? Check out nearby homeless shelters if so.. Be prepared to have someone give you a sad look and say; "if there is anything we[always the royal "we"] can do….” if you get pink slipped. They might even pass the hat for you. If you happen to get a chance to go to ALA, don’t be surprised if your boss makes you promise not to look for another job, if the one you have really sux. Remember, if you take a job in the styx, you may be stuck there, like Patrick McGoohan’s #6 in “The Prisoner”. Watch series episodes on DVD to prepare yourself. If you want to get a doctorate, give consideration to work in used car or aluminum siding sales. For advanced job options involving library administration, read Machiavelli’s THE PRINCE. Studying the administration of Latin American libraries is a plus, also. Watch your back. Be prepared to take a vow of chastity and poverty. Dating one of the locals in the boonies can be a double-edged sword. If you are lucky, refer back to “The Prisoner” episodes combined with reruns of “Lost”. Chances are the prospective spouse would have left earlier, if they really wanted to leave in the first place. Having at least a touch of masochism helps. If your prospective boss strikes you as being the “Crazy Cat Lady” it may not be your imagination. Do online newspaper research on your prospective job. You may find out WHY the job is coming open and important things you’ll need to know. Is this one of those towns where the mayor and chief of police/sheriff have an ongoing feud? Do members of the local police get in fights at parties and shoot one another? Were they indicted after an FBI undercobver sting?Yee – haaa! Add “Dukes of Hazzard” reruns and “Deliverance” to the list. You may be in “Tobacco Road” country.

"Libraries don't want people who aren't local. They don't want to pay relocation and laugh at the prospect you'd do it yourself. You need to move first, then find a job it seems, even if you do, as you suggest, work your tail off before, during AND after you finish library school." Only if it's a half-way decent job. If it's one that sux they could have burned out the territory, and the word may be out locally. Has this job be repeatedly advertised, periodically? I was offered a job once where I was told they had "the best regional library program" in the state. It was only 45 min. by interstate by the third largest city in said state, and I was from 500 miles away. The job had been posted quasi-annually for a few years. About 2 1/2 years after I turned the job down the long-time librarian left for a lower level job in another system in the same state. A few years after that the regional system imploded. It no longer exists. Do not assume you are getting the whole story, especially if it involves a long and expensive relocation.
I hate to say it, but don't totally trust someone just because they are another librarian.

Yes, you too can wallow in personal angst, disillusionment and a bad marriage c/o "your local library....." :-/

Fifteen: Learn enough about 2.0 to get through the interview. If you can't say you've used a wiki or blog, you won't make the cut. The majority of your academic librarians are the old guard who are scared to death of their computers, so if you look like you can "move the library into the digital age" they will be thrilled. Yet, don't be too 2.0, as they will be terrified of any change you want to make, so it's not like you'll do anything more than blog anyway.

Sixteen: Read the library journals and blogs so you can talk about current "events" in your interview, but whatever you do, don't mention the AL blog. No matter how correct AL is, the old guard don't want to hear the unvarnished truth.

re: No matter how correct AL is, the old guard don't want to hear the unvarnished truth.---<br/><br/>
Um, AL IS the old guard.

Former,

I was hired six months ago for my position. When asked what resources I read to keep current I mentioned lisnews (general stuff), Slashdot (tech/political news), and AL (for what is really happening in the field). They still hired me!

"I hate to say it, but don't totally trust someone just because they are another librarian." I don't "hate" to say that! It's something I often say....Watch your back & CYA (which does not refer to California Youth Authority)

Ok, I am an expert in Etruscan Art and Archaeology and have reading knowledge of several languages and that used to work just fine. Today you have to dress in black, say you spend a lot of time working on line in the coffie bar and fake fanatical devotion to the cult of 2.0. Also helps to be connected to a lot of portable devices and make sure someone on comittiee sees you poking your I-phone or Blackberry. You will wow em.

Number six takes the cake, but I do think those are some <b>great</b> suggestions.
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Here's a couple of the popular ones I’ve all seen somewhere at least once before.
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<b>Seven: There are no yellow brick roads. </b> I remember quite well that every single professor in my library school had No idea they would end up where they are now teaching library school. Stop looking for Formulas.
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<b>Eight: Why does it have to be a LIBRARY job?</b> So you have a MLS and a Bachelors and you can’t find a Library job? Apply to anything remotely close to your qualifications – you never know, you may get something that makes Library Jobs look down right medieval.
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<b>Nine: Murphy [Murphy’s Laws] was an Optimist! </b> Those who are pessimistic are likely to have a harder time. Who wants to hire a doom and gloom librarian? So stow the cynicism until after you get the job and get past your probationary period. Keep reality to yourself and play the game like high stakes strip po<i></i>ker.
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<b>Ten: Work your rear off. </b> For one, it will keep you looking attractive. And second, that will get you noticed – if not for your classic old school work ethic, then for your cheery exuberant h<i></i>ot exterior, and that will help with da<i></i>ting the local population. If you get laid off and you have a very positive relationship with your boss, you’ll be leaving with letters of recommendation that simply melt selection committees.
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<b>Eleven: Don’t be afraid to move.</b> The libraries are fixed in the ground. You are not. So if you move, you might find a place where they have a job for you. Theoretically, there are jobs out there if you move far enough.
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<b>Twelve: Stay Single. </b> Why? You may have to move to the middle of Timbuktu. So move there, take the library job and mar<i></i>ry a local. How better to advance yourself in the sociopolitical scene? And there’s a good chance this person is dying to leave aHe<i></i>llawayfromnowhere, so that brings me to the next point:
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<b>Thirteen: Never stop the job Hunt. </b> So you got a job in the middle of the sticks; you’re a real librarian now, right? Perhaps, but there are still more library jobs out there, and if you can get one job, why can’t you get another? It’s better to be moving by choice rather then circumstance.
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<b>Fourteen: Stand up for yourself </b> The only person who wants you to get a job is you. The rest of the universe could care less. So if you want to have a job, or if you want a raise, or if you want to be in a certain place in life that is not an entitlement, then you will need to be the one in your corner pumping you up and pressing you forward. Self-esteem, confidence, initiative all rolled together and you have moxy or mojo – without it, you’re a pickled herring.
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Amended List Amendments[to keep order]:
Submitted by Former Academic Librarian:
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<b>Fifteen: Learn enough about 2.0 to get through the interview. </b> If you can't say you've used a wiki or blog, you won't make the cut. The majority of your academic librarians are the old guard who are scared to death of their computers, so if you look like you can "move the library into the digital age" they will be thrilled. Yet, don't be too 2.0, as they will be terrified of any change you want to make, so it's not like you'll do anything more than blog anyway.
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<b>Sixteen: Read the library journals and blogs</b> so you can talk about current "events" in your interview, but whatever you do, don't mention the AL blog. No matter how correct AL is, the old guard don't want to hear the unvarnished truth.<br>
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I’m sure there’s more...
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"Former, I was hired six months ago for my position. When asked what resources I read to keep current I mentioned lisnews (general stuff), Slashdot (tech/political news), and AL (for what is really happening in the field). They still hired me!" Do they know WHAT AL you were speaking of? Did you spell it out?? There ARE two, after all, the one here and the other coming out of East Huron.

Here we go with the cheap software causing double posts. A big Bronx cheer for Reed :-/

No way. The student doesn't exist. You made that student up for the sake of the blog.

Academic librarians afraid of their computers? In which library would I find such doddering old farts? (I speak as one who has passed the 50 year mark.) You cannot move ahead in any profession if you are not keeping up with technological advances. You can't know it all, but know some and work your tail off. If you perform and your management acknowledges that, you'll never have problems finding a job. BTW - whining doesn't help. Life's hard. Get over it.

"Academic librarians afraid of their computers? In which library would I find such doddering old farts?"

Mine. Can't even manage to attach a PDF to an email without handholding.

"If you perform <i>and your management acknowledges that</i>..."

There's the rub.

Well, Grrrr, I didn't even address the young and agile farts who use our library. The ones who can't figure out how to print, how to find a book on the shelf, how to use a photocopier, saving documents to a flash drive, how to locate ANY sort of periodical literature, how to "find" the Internet (click on the IE link???), etc. The young aren't necessarily as adept as they like to think they are. If I wasn't so busy hand-holding our youngsters, I might be able to finish that tutorial a faculty member asked me to create.

TwoQatz, perhaps I wasn't clear. It's another librarian who need the handholding. It's pretty sad, and even more frustrating.

Can anyone explain the 2.0 cult? I guess I don't understand why it's so freakishly fawned over?

The MLIS is your ticket to a lifetime of low wages, low status and a bunch of tight lipped women.

The MLIS is your ticket to a lifetime of low wages, low status and a bunch of tight lipped women.

nothing in 2.0 is a serious research tool. It is just fun stuff for teens and housewives who need an outlet.
The stuff is not searchable in any efficient way and the posters are just having some fun.

I will say that Google docs is valuabel and some blogs run by professional society. but otherwise it is just kids stuff.