Librarians are hotter than ever

The headline in today's Metro daily says the place "isn't just for reading anymore." It seems the library -- you know, that dusty site you visited twice in college, or the building where your Dad goes to take out DVDs on the cheap these days -- is the new font of employment wisdom, at least here in New York.

Turnout for career-related classes sponsored by the New York Public Library is up 82 percent; almost 40 percent of the attendees are unemployed. And to help bring the concept of the library back from the dead, the organization's Science, Industry and Business branch at Madison and 34th Street just introduced a comprehensive job center. Whether they're jobless or just hoping to enhance their status, people can take advantage of a bunch of programs, among them free one-on-one job coaching and career counseling, Saturday workshops on topics like the elevator pitch and effective writing, and assistance for small business owners. There's also, obviously, a ton of reading material available, and the center has targeted some good sources on successful searching (which are listed on the NYPL 's SIBL web site).

For anyone outside NYC, why not check out your local library branch? You can stay current with what's going on in your chosen field while you're out of the loop by perusing trade publications, and you may discover employment- or search-related programs that you never knew existed. But you'll never know until you check it out.

--Posted by Todd Obolsky, Vault News & Commentary>