Blueprint for a Job Center at Your Library

This unique book covers the who, what, when, where, why, and, most important, the HOW of creating a career center or jobseeker program in a public library.

Blueprint for a Job Center at Your Library provides a practical, down-to-earth guide for library staff who wish to better meet one of their patrons' most pressing needs. The book covers everything from program planning for classes, workshops, and special events to career advising, resources and facilities, recruiting personnel, funding, outreach and promotion, and program evaluation. The authors share a plethora of tips and tricks that can be customized to enable even small public libraries to offer job-search help. Real-life examples and case studies from across the United States show the blueprint in action. Even those who already have a job center in their library will learn about forming resourceful partnerships, gain new ideas for funding sources, and discover innovative services they can provide easily and affordably.

Bernice Kao, MLS, is a recently retired job service librarian who worked in university, corporate, and public libraries in 6 different states over a span of 39 years.

Megan Pittsley-Fox worked with Livermore Public Library to create the Free2Succeed Job Center, which was founded in 2008. Since then, she has trained other libraries on how to create their own job centers through her presentations at the American Library Association and California Library Association conferences and through her private consulting practice.