I just wanted to elevate a job post that might have dropped below folk's
radars.

The Kennebunk Free Library is looking for a new Technology Educator, which
coincidentally is my job! After a short tenure I'm leaving the library for
personal reasons. It's actually a great group of people here and I honestly
wouldn't be leaving this job if my personal life was currently structured
differently. On my way out the door I wanted to give a shout out to others
in the hopes that many would be inspired to apply so that the library might
find a great candidate to replace me.

Who would be a good fit for this position? While I have had the
privilege of working a few jobs with a technology tilt, I don't know that
it is crucial to have had an intense amount of technology experience in
order to succeed in this role. This library is always more interested in
hiring a person whose personality fits the team and giving them the tools
to grow into their job, rather than a person with the perfect resume that
everyone hopes will eventually grow into the team. I'm firmly in the camp
that any good reference librarian who isn't scared of technology and just
has the gumption and curiosity to learn unfamiliar technology would do
great here. My time as a reference librarian was rife with technology
questions that gave me most of the skills I have needed.

The job is a blend of managing the library's technology and working with
patrons to help them utilize their own technology better. If managing the
library's network seems intimidating I will be frank and say that all
things considered, the network here is not overly complex. A little
curiosity and an aptitude for troubleshooting goes a long way. I've
documented my knowledge of the network and we have a local tech guy for
overly complex problems if you did get in over your head.

Not to downplay the technology aspect of the job, it is important, but
excelling at patron education is probably more valuable for success in this
role. The qualities I think are most important for this role are a
curiosity to learn, the patience to help patrons work through problems, an
aptitude for troubleshooting and framing topics in an easy to understand
manner, a good sense of humor, and a desire to work with a fun group of
supportive coworkers. The patrons, friends, and trustees are all a very
enthusiastic group of people. If a good working culture is important to you
then you would love it here.

I could go on and on...

If any of that sounds appealing, below is a link to the job post. I'm
leaving at the end of the week and although it says "until a suitable
candidate is found," I do think they will start looking seriously at
applications as soon as I leave. So if you have an interest I'd act fast.

https://www.maine.gov/msl/libs/jobdisplay.shtml?id=8676743

If you do have an interest, I'm more than happy to answer any
questions people might have over the next two days. I might be a little
hard to reach next week, though. After that, you can hit me up at the
Merrill Memorial Library in Yarmouth (assuming KFL hasn't filled the job by
then).

-- 
Ben Phinney
Technology Educator
Kennebunk Free Library <https://kennebunklibrary.org/>
112 Main Street
Kennebunk, ME 04043
207-985-2173