Teen librarian interview

Okay, it's a one-branch library in a smallish town on the edge of a large metro area. Three person panel: the head of youth services, the library director, and the head of reference. I think we were on the phone for about half an hour.

• What experience do you have providing reference services? Include job experience as well as courses and training.


• Why are you interested in being a teen librarian?


• The teen librarian is often called upon to assist with children's services. What experience do you have in that area?


• What experience do you have with public speaking?


• Give an impromptu book talk.


• What are your goals for your career, how do you plan to accomplish those goals, and where do you see yourself in five years?


• Why do you think teen volunteers are important to the library?


• Scenario question: a father complains about a book that is inappropriate for his teenage daughter, say a graphic novel with lots of violence. What do you do?


• How do you envision attracting YAs to the library, what are your ideas for developing programs and collections? Describe your philosophy of YA services.


• Any questions for us?

I did something kind of funny for the book talk. I have a couple in my head that I've done before, and I'm always telling people about my latest favorites. I read mostly YA stuff, so there are plenty of books fresh in my mind, but I didn't feel like using recycled material. So I grabbed a magazine that was lying around at my feet and talked about it. My answer probably wasn't as good as if I'd used something I'd talked about before, but it was more fun for me because it was spontaneous. I think I've done so many interviews lately that I'm starting to get a very laissez faire attitude about the whole thing. I can't decide whether that's good or bad.