Airtable for Librarians – SJSU | School of Information

Published: October 9, 2024 by Aryn
Prestia 

Project Management is one of many job skills that librarians will
find themselves using in the workplace. Though there are courses that students can take to
understand a bit more about the project management process,
ultimately the best way to learn project management is through
practice.

As a student, it may seem difficult to find the opportunities to
put these skills into action. In a workplace, librarians may be
responsible for organizing programs for patrons, ordering
supplies for the library, or even something as simple as tracking
employee birthdays. The skills needed to manage these activities
can translate into student life – coordinating events as a member
of a student organization, tracking weekly homework
responsibilities, or even ensuring you have completed all
competencies required for graduation.

Fortunately, we no longer have to rely on paper or spreadsheets
to manage all of these details. Airtable, a cloud-based
information organizing application is a wonderful tool for
gaining an entry point to the world of project management
software. 

Though not exclusively a project management tool, Airtable can be
used to analyze data, manage resources, and collaborate with
other team members (or students) to help move projects forward.

For those new to Airtable, the application can be thought of as a
database creator with an interactive interface. Users can create
“tables” or individual spreadsheets with customizable data
choices (text, tags, drop-down menus, check boxes, images, etc.)
Examples of different templates can be found
here and more ideas below.

Using Airtable for Daily Library Tasks 

Specialty Book Displays 

An Airtable base can be generated to track book display ideas
with input from team members. Specialty tags can be applied that
highlight the library’s priorities for the display. For example,
if the team were sourcing ideas for Hispanic Heritage month, tags
relating to the book’s language, genre, and format would likely
be useful to ensure a balanced representation. 

Collection Development

Circulation data can be uploaded into the platform to allow for
easier visualization of important statistics related to popular
titles, patron feedback, and more.

Using Airtable for Daily Student Tasks 

Track Job Applications

Creating a career-dedicated database in Airtable can help you
track submitted applications, deadlines, recommendations, and
more. Airtable has a pre-existing template just for students to
help quickly set up this job-tracking capability. See Airtable’s
example
here. 

Work Collaboratively on a Group Assignment

The interactive nature of Airtable allows groups to contribute
ideas, images, and source links to one central location. See the
project management template
here. 

It’s helpful to keep an eye out for resources, like Airtable,
that were not specifically developed for library use but can be
adapted by students and librarians to boost productivity! In
the mean time,
create a free Airtable account today to streamline your
workflow and improve organization.

Two More Things…

Here are a few job opportunities that might be of interest!

Remember that internships can be an especially valuable part of
your learning experience at the iSchool while also helping you
when it comes time to look for jobs. Learn more about the
iSchool’s internship program here,
where you can check out the INFO 294 Student Handbook as
well as the Internship Sites
database.