Just received this via email from David Christensen from Seattle Public Library:
The Seattle Public Library recognized the urgent and ongoing need to support job seekers during current tough economic conditions and now supports job seekers with enhanced job resources. In this pursuit, the Library created a “Job Resources Center” on Level 5 of the Central Library. The “Job Resources Center” includes special computer terminals that patrons could use for job search related activities. The Seattle Public Library developed a job searching workshop series that shows patron how to look for job in the 21st Century and also redesigned the job resources section on the Library Web site.
The Job Resource Center opened in late-June of 2009 at the Central Library. The Job Resource Center includes 6 dedicated job searching workstations where patrons can work for 2 hours at a time on any job searching need. 5,650 patrons used this workstations between June and December. Job seekers use the Job Resource Center to:
• Sign up for a free e-mail account.
• Explore new career paths.
• Find resources to improve job skills.
• Prepare a resume.
• Search for jobs.
• Submit online job applications.
• Prepare for job interviews.
• Consult the job and career reference collection (co-located in the Job Resource Center).
The “Job Resource Center” is also co-branded as a WorkSource Connection Site in a community partnership with the Seattle-King County WorkForce Development Council (WDC). Through this partnership, the WDC promotes our resources to their network of customers and community organizations. For the first time in Seattle, in-person access to job resources and help is available to customers 7 days-a-week. Before creation of the Job Resource Center at the Central Library, there wasn’t a single WorkSource location available to jobseekers in the evenings or on weekends in Seattle.
The Library also organized a partnership with WorkSource at South Seattle Community College to teach a series of job seeking skills workshops at the Library. South Seattle Community College provides workforce development experts who prepare job seekers throughout all stages of the job search process, through class workshops and in-person one-on-one consultations. These workshops teach job seekers how to create a resume, search for jobs online, and job interview skills. Classes began in July 2009. At the Central Library, we offered 48 programs with 334 attending.
The Seattle Public Library also redesigned the job resources section on the Library Web site into a pathfinder format. The pathfinder format allows job seekers to easily navigate our resources no matter where they are in the job search process. The library also made video tutorial for our most popular database job search tools, including the resume wizard, Resume Builder, and the career discovery tool, WOIS. The Resume Builder tutorial as accessed 1,384 times in 2009 and the Career WOIS discovery video was accessed 385 times.
Here's a link to
the tutorial.
