Welcome! We Need You!
IU Libraries loves our graduate student employees! You all bring energy, enthusiasm, and new ideas that enrich the Libraries. In turn, the Libraries provides numerous opportunities for graduate student employment. While these opportunities tend to be most interesting to students in the Information and Library Sciences program, most of our temporary, part-time positions are open to any IU Bloomington graduate student.
If you are interes
ted in full-time library or archives employment in the future, having work experience in those settings is absolutely necessary and temporary, student employment is a great way to start.
We have tried to indicate the types of skills you can acquire with these positions as well as the library and archival settings to which they apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are these all the jobs IU Libraries has for graduate students?
A. Absolutely not! There are more, but this guide is a new initiative that comes out of the Research and Learning division of the library. IU Libraries is a large organization, and it will take some time to consolidate all of our position information in one place. Please also note that you can search the IU Human Resources jobs listing searching for "Libraries" and "part-time".
2. I want to be a rare books librarian; how does working at a general reference desk help me toward that goal?
A. Obviously, if you are interested in rare books, working at the Lilly Library would be ideal; however, that isn't possible for everyone. Interacting with faculty, staff, students, and community members at a general reference desk can provide transferable skills with reference interviewing, matching questions to sources of information, and learning about a library's collection. Rare books librarians also do these same things, just in a slightly different context.
3. I have some questions about a particular job, who should I talk to?
A. Each job has a librarian's name and contact information listed. You can contact that person directly with your questions.
4. I'm not sure what type of library I want to work in, how do I decide what job to apply for?
A. Many of the skills acquired in our temporary library jobs are foundational and would apply to a variety of settings; if you are torn, try applying for a number of different types of positions. This is a good way to try out what might be a good fit.
5. How much do these jobs pay?
A. IU Libraries is currently setting hourly wage rates for the upcoming fiscal year. As soon as that is finished, we will post the rates, but we expect them to be in the $11-15 range.
6. How many hours a week can I work? Should I work?
A. Part-time, temporary positions are limited to 29 hours/week. Some positions will have additional hours that can be acquired through shift trading. A full-time graduate load is 9 credit hours; consider the balance of work and school that you will need to maintain.
7. I'm a graduate student in [a non-library science department], can I work in the library too?
A. Absolutely! Many other graduate programs have relevant language, data analysis, coding, or subject skills that could be relevant; also, you as a student will benefit immensely from the library knowledge you gain.
8. What if I'm not a graduate student? Can I still work in IU Libraries?
A. Yes! Absolutely. We hire many, many undergraduates as well. These positions tend to be at circulation desks checking out books or working in the stacks but there are other opportunities as well. Check out this page under the "Apply Now" section to see what opportunities exist. Students with federal work study awards are especially encouraged to apply!