Me in the American Philatelic Research Library
One of the benefits of belonging to a professional association is that it can help you when you are job seeking. SLA helps in some very obvious ways – through the sharing of job announcements on division and chapter e-mail lists, through mentoring and resume review services, and through connections made at networking events. It can also help in some less obvious ways, even when you aren’t actively looking for a job.
I first visited the American Philatelic Research Library on a tour with my local SLA chapter (the Central Pennsylvania Chapter, now part of the Philadelphia Chapter). I knew the American Philatelic Society’s headquarters was located in Bellefonte, PA, just a few miles from my home, but until that tour I had no idea that a large portion of the building was occupied by a very special library.
I immediately loved everything about the library, from its physical location in a renovated factory building in a small Victorian town to the obvious enthusiasm of the staff and patrons. The depth and breadth of the literature of philately (stamp collecting) amazed me. Having worked in a public library, I was familiar with the Scott Catalogues, but I had no idea how much research and writing philatelists did.
I was happy with my job in a research center at Penn State, and the APRL wasn’t hiring, so it was filed away in my mind as an interesting place to visit, but I couldn’t help daydreaming about the place. So, several years later, when I saw an advertisement for a librarian, I couldn’t resist applying.
SLA had helped me find the job, and SLA also helped me get the job.
In my application and in my interview, I mentioned that I’d first visited the library with an SLA group, and I described my leadership experience in my chapter and in the Social Science Division. During my interview, I had to give a talk to the staff directors, and I was prepared because of public speaking I’d done in SLA. I could say that I had experience planning events and working with volunteers because I’d been a program planner for DSOC.
During the interview, I got positive comments on my SLA experience, so I know it was a plus. Those positive comments also reassured me when I was considering the offer that my new employer valued and would support my professional development and leadership opportunities.
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