How to get an international librarian job

How to get an international librarian job

Kazakhstan | Library | Worldwide

I get a lot of readers curious about Kazakhstan, and about working as a librarian abroad. In this post, I’ll share how I got abroad, moved up, and then transitioned back to my home country, the United States. This is one story, so be sure to check out the articles linked below, as well.

Step 1. Need a job. Badly.

When I graduated with honors after college, I applied for writing jobs and ended up… as a photo processing clerk. I now know which chemicals can burn your lungs, just how angry people get about scratched photos, and how to fix the pics with Photoshop.

Lesson learned. When graduating with a master’s in anthropology, I was focused on finding a real job. I contacted professors’ former colleagues to find a job in a war zone, applied to any research, writing, library, or social science job worldwide, continually refined my portfolio, and took on unpaid internships, which I normally don’t recommend.

2. Network

Because I had studied abroad and met folks at conferences and special training programs, I had a pool of friends and colleagues to draw from.

True story: I got my first librarian job abroad through a Facebook friend. At the SEA anthropology conference, I’d met an international student from Kazakhstan who was also presenting a poster on Kazakhstan. We stayed in touch, and when her library was hiring, she recommended me as someone with library and regional experience. After a few transcontinental Skype interviews, I got the job.

3. Start at the bottom

…but it wasn’t the best paid job in the world. I moved from making $10,000 a year as a grad student to… making $10,000 a year as a professional librarian.

librarians in kazakhstan
Meeting new librarians in Kazakhstan

We all start somewhere, right? And in the long run, getting in-country opened other doors for work experience and getting my MLIS.

On this point especially, I see privilege talking. I come from the middle class, had no family to support, had multiple degrees and travel experience, and very low student debt. White privilege, American privilege, and class privilege all made investing in my education and career easier, even if the payoff was delayed by years. If I hadn’t had that buffer and my lovely family and friends, it would have been much harder.

4. Take opportunities

My second library job abroad was at an international school, and I got that through… being on TV.

television interview for librarian in kazakhstan

I was working the reference desk at the university one night, when a man came in and said his wife’s boss had seen me on TV and wanted to talk. (Yes, speaking the local language in a growing capital city got me numerous TV interviews).

When we met up, the Boss asked if I would volunteer for free.

I said no, I already had a job.

Then he asked if I wanted a job. Sure! I shadowed an amazing librarian who was on his way out, and got hired in his stead. Even though the pay still wasn’t high, I was grateful to get a second professional librarian job before I’d even gotten my MLS. I know that’s an anomaly. I suspect it’s a mixture of luck, connections, regional experience, and the willingness to take risks and see where it would lead.

5. Work hard

Then… I worked hard: long evenings at the university reference desk, ordering books, writing papers, and leading instruction sessions. I worked even harder at the school, running two libraries (with wonderful assistants), teaching lessons, and attending an MLS program online at the same time. It was exhausting, but also rewarding. You can read about a day in my life as a new international school librarian here.

6. Move on

Finally, there came a time to move on. That was hard, because I loved my workplace, my colleagues and students, and the frozen palace which is the city of Astana. Yet even with job offers from another school, after three years I was burning out on the stress and isolation of life alone in a developing city. I couldn’t move up further in my career without returning home, and I needed to reconnect for some R&R.

Shoe Closet at Work
Moving on… librarians kept their shoes in the break room to avoid wearing high heels on Astana’s icy streets.

This is all normal, too. Ersatz Expat recommended The Emotionally Resilient Expat, a good book that taught me to take care of myself through all the stresses of change and growth across cultures. These three years abroad as a librarian were good ones, and I’d gladly go out again.

And even though I was afraid to go home (would there be a job for me?), I found great work with my new MLS and international experience, first as a data librarian and then as an anthropology librarian.

7. Share What You’ve Learned

This is my experience, and it’s rather unique! I’m sharing it in the hopes that it shows just how unusual the path abroad can be.

But there are many other stories. Lara Phillips and Kate Holvoet are collecting some for a book about international librarians. And here are a few related posts on the subject:

If you have posts or experiences to add, you’re welcome to leave them in the comments!

19 Comments

  2. Mandira Dhadwal
    Reply

    I m working as librarian in a public school India since 2012..I want to apply in abroad..Please guide me.I have done Mlisc from BBA central uni..India in 2009.

  3. Cee
    Reply

    Sounds like a challenging situation. I know that we interviewed a librarian from India for Kazakhstan at one point, but the pay was not high so she decided not to come. Are you looking for public libraries?

  4. Karthikeyan Balasubramanian
    Reply

    I like to work librarian as foreign countries. My qualification is M.Sc.,B.Ed.,M.L.I.Sc.,P.G.D.L.A.N.,P.G.D.C.A.,At Present i am working as a Senior Executive at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai , Tamilnadu, India. If any career available in U.A.E., or Singapore please inform to me. I am having 7 years experience in library field

    1. Shriman
      Reply

      I’m very glad to see a librarian from Tamil Nadu….. rather being chosen engineering……I wanna be in touch with u sir…..plz…my what’s up no. Is 8807270027……even my aim also to be a librarian

  5. Irena Sirkovic
    Reply

    Dear mr./Mrs.,
    I finished Librarz and information science and Work as School Librarian for five years. One of my dream is to work in some other country as Librarian.
    Irena from Sebia

  6. OWEN LANGWANI
    Reply

    I have been motivated with the experience you went through, thats admirable to me. am a BLIS Malawian Student who is stranded to get a job oversees because here in Malawi the library professin is not regarded as a national priority field hence job opportunities are so challenging. please you may assist me to get a job from abroad.

    1. Cee
      Reply

      Hi Krtz, that sounds challenging. Perhaps there are schools that would be interested in someone who could teach Hindi? If you know the language of the place you are applying, that will help a lot. Studying in another country can also help (if you haven’t already done that!), as you can show you have experience living abroad.

    1. Cee
      Reply

      Hi Owami, it sounds like you have great experience. Sometimes going to IFLA or doing webinars might introduce you to new people, and I think knowing people is very important for working abroad. Having strong knowledge of African collections or languages could also be helpful for applying to US libraries that have that as a subject area. What kind of challenges do you enjoy?

  9. Dr. REKHA A.P
    Reply

    Respected Mr./Mrs.
    I like to work librarian as foreign countries. My qualification is B.A., Blisc.,Mlisc.,MPhil., Ph.D,At Present i am working as a Librarian in Shri Krishnaswamy College for women, Chennai , Tamilnadu, India. If any career available in U.A.E., or Singapore please inform to me. I am having 10 years experience in library field

  10. Muhammad Zaheer
    Reply

    I like to work librarian as foreign countries. My qualification is MBA-IT, BLIS, At Present i am working as Coordinator libraries at The City School Pakistan. If any career available anywhere please inform to me. I am having 12 years experience in library field.

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