Looks like you might be interested in interviewing for our project. This document includes sample interview questions, as well as a sample invitation to prospective interview subjects.
Interview Questions
- early career: why did you become a librarian?
- brief biography: tell us briefly about your career as a librarian
- particular project: tell us about an early career project that involved creating connections, relationships or community that you're proud of
- outcomes: what came out of the project that was particularly meaningful to you or to others involved?
- participatory/community building: how did the project you speak of above create community for your users or provide the means for them to participate in the project or contribute their own content?
- technology: how did the project engage or use technology? did you think about technology as an important part of the project
- current work: how do you use technology today? what connections do you see between technologies you use today and those that came before?
- professional development and network: who constitutes your library technology community, and how do you keep in touch?
- what was the best piece of advice you received from a mentor during the course of your career?
- what advice would you give?
Sample Invitation
Dear [name],
My name is [name], I'm a librarian, and I'm working with a small group of colleagues on a project called "Community First: using technology to connect people and library service through the decades." This multi-media series captures and highlights historically important stories of individuals, libraries and librarianship as they have connected technology, community, and library service. We're writing because you were recommended to me by [name] for your work [explain]. We'd love to interview you, at your convenience, via either digital audio or video, about your unique contributions to the library field.
The interview will take less than one hour, and can be scheduled whever you're available. Audio-only can be arranged by phone, and video can be arranged either [place/time] or at an upcoming conference. We'll send a list of 6-8 questions in advance of the interview, but we'd like the conversation to be informal and flow naturally as we move through the questions.
Inspired by an impromptu discussion someone in our group had with several "library luminaries" last year at ALA, this series has three goals: to share stories unique to the library field; to allow new librarians to learn from these stories and connect them with what's happening in library service now; and to deconstruct the myth that participatory (or "2.0") library services are entirely new. I hope you'll join us in collecting these unique oral histories by sharing the stories of your success, lessons learned, and overall contributions with others in Libraryland.
Please let me know by [date/time] if you'd like to participate. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you,
[signed]
Get Involved
Please let us know if you'd like to interview or be interviewed. We'd love to hear from you!
