On National Night Out, Pulling the #oplbikelibrary
Bio
Hello!
I am the founder of Hiring Librarians. Over the last decade, I have surveyed the practices and opinions of more than 2000 workers on both sides of the hiring table, in all library types and in the greater field of Library and Information services. I have worked with the authors of over 23 books on LIS careers, and of 41 scholarly articles. I curate crowd-sourced resume/CV review, and maintain a crowd-sourced list of interview questions from more than 578 LIS interviews. And there’s even a podcast!
I also teach yoga. I value the opportunity to share and practice deep attentiveness and non-judgment.
I recently concluded nearly four years of work as a consultant with Pacific Library Partnership, helping California libraries with LSTA grants. The program that sunsetted helped grantees implement equity considerations and co-design, and thus was not in line with 2025 Federal priorities. Other opportunities in this relationship included consulting on the Sustainable California Libraries project and helping four organizations start seed libraries.
Before becoming a consultant, I spent most of my career in public libraries in California. My last full time role was Senior Librarian for Programming, Outreach and Engagement at the Oakland Public Library. In my work for the Oakland Public Library, I was most proud of starting the Community Kiosk. Funded by a Friends Innovation Grant, the Community Kiosk built on our existing drop-in Veterans Resource Center. Still operating today, the Kiosk invites local organizations into the library to provide outreach services to our patrons. Partnerships I developed included the Employment Development Department, Homeless Action Center, Alameda County Food Bank, Oakland Tenant’s Union, and the SPCA. Services included everything from help with Social Security Benefits to flu shots to resume and job search help.
I have also worked for Chattahoochee Technical College here in Georgia, and in California: the Mountain View Public Library, San Jose Public Library, Stanford Math-Stat Library, and the California Academy of Sciences (Naturalist Center Library).
I am very proud to have been elected to the Board of the California Library Association in October 2018. It was a privilege to spend three years working for and with libraries across the state.
Prior to becoming a librarian, I was variously: a circus student, a cheesemonger, and a grocery store manager. The primary legacies from my past are a love of good food (especially cheese) and a decent back bend.
I currently live about 45 minutes Northwest of Atlanta. A Californian for most of my life, I am excited to enjoy good biscuits, barbecue, and some really amazing Southern natural beauty.
Emily Weak 