This year’s MLStEP (Music Library Students & Emerging Professionals) board is actively seeking ways to engage library students/emerging professionals and promote activity within the group. They decided that a panel presentation of special librarians would be beneficial for the MLStEP group as a means of exposing students and emerging professionals to job options outside music libraries.
On July 27, 2020, MLStEP hosted a virtual panel of four librarians to present “Transferable Skills and Special Libraries: An Interdisciplinary Conversation.” Presenters included: Adaliz N. Cruz, East Information Services Assistant at Bain & Company; Ashley Hinshaw, Samuel H. Kress Fellow for Reader Services at the New York Art Resources Consortium; Araceli Hintermeister, Knowledge Manager, at Uplift Education; and Maria Reliova, Research Content Specialist, at Fidelity Investments. Jessica Abbazio, MLStEP advisor and Music Librarian at the University of Minnesota graciously moderated the event.
Each panelist spoke about how music experiences enhanced the positions they held and demonstrated special librarianship as an additional option for LIS graduates. Panelists were provided with seven questions that were also shared via PowerPoint during the panel. The answers covered topics such as the panelists’ backgrounds and experience, their advice on moving between industries, relevant industry-specific terms to watch for, types of transferable skills for navigating between different types of careers, and where to look for positions.
The event was well received – 153 people registered for the event and about 50 people attended through Zoom. The recorded YouTube link to date shows 74 views since uploading on August 4. If anyone is interested, here’s the link to the recording: https://youtu.be/_zn_MoVDhlw. Since this first panel was a solid success, watch for more MLStEP virtual happenings in the future!
Bonnie Finn
Fine Arts Librarian | College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University, St. Joseph, MN
MLStEP Programming Officer
MLStEP structure consists of the chair, programming officer, web officer, membership officer, and strives to fill liaison positions for each MLA regional chapter – Atlantic, California, Greater NY, Midwest, Mountain-Plains, New England, New York State-Ontario, Pacific Northwest, Southeast, and Texas in order to connect music library students and emerging professionals with their regional chapters in addition to the greater Music Library Association.