Book Description

Here is a valuable book filled with new ways to strengthen and utilize library career planning services and job-searching sources to better serve library patrons and career planners. Library Services for Career Planning, Job Searching and Employment Opportunities is the only resource available on the library's role in helping job searchers and career planners. An increase in the need for career and job information caused by a volatile labor market and current economic trends has created a need for both librarians and job counselors to help patrons take full advantage of library sources and services. Taking a broad approach from career counseling theory to recommendations of major sources of career and job information, this much-needed book covers subjects such as cooperative programs between librarians, career planning professionals, and job search counselors and the evaluation of career-related materials. This one-of-a-kind volume emphasizes the constant demand for career and job information regardless of economic conditions. Librarians will learn how to act as intermediaries to help patrons locate career and employment sources dispersed throughout the collection, demonstrate their proper use, and guide them to additional useful sources. Specific chapters explain how to expand career and job services with only a few new, low-cost resources, by networking with other community resources and developing a strong core collection of the best resources available. Other groundbreaking topics analyzed include employment and labor market trends for the 1990s, unemployment services in libraries, evaluation criteria for career resources, essential career planning and employment materials, specialized collections for relocation literature, and employment of persons with disabilities. This book is necessary reading for librarians who maintain career resources in their collections, career plannng and job counselors who need to learn how to take better advantage of library services, and adult education professionals involved in vocational education.