Fort Smith Public Library assisting in job searches

About mid 2008, the staff of the Fort Smith Public Library began to notice more of its patrons were requesting help to find job hunting resources.

By mid-December, the library added a section to its Web site that provides a handy list of local, state, national and even international resources for those looking for a new job.

“The library has discovered over time that we’re one of the first places job hunters come, whether it’s a good economic time, or a tough economy,” said Jennifer Goodson, library director of the Fort Smith Public Library system. “But with what’s going on in our economic climate, the (job) losses in this area, we have seen hundreds of those people come through our doors.”

Although the unemployment rate in the Fort Smith metro area has remained relatively steady at 5.2%, the region has seen numerous fourth quarter 2008 layoff announcements at Whirlpool, Rheem, Riverside Furniture and other area manufacturers. Some plants, like Jarden Plastics Solution that once employed 93, are closing. Professional and service sector companies like Arkansas Best Corp. and Southwest Times Record also are reducing staff.

Goodson said the main library and the three branches are seeing people “across all sectors of the socio-economic spectrum” asking for job hunting support. The system’s Windsor Branch, at 4701 Windsor Drive, and the main library see the most job hunters, she said.

The library’s reference department compiled the info for the Web site and also compiled books and other materials at the library that offer information on resumes, interviewing tips and popular job-testing study guides.

The library’s Web site includes links to 10 “Information Websites” that provide details on where the jobs are, how to build a resume and other tips on how to land a job. The library Web site also includes links to national employment Web sites (Monster, CareerBuilder, Yahoo! hotjobs, etc.) and a link for info on international careers and jobs.

However, the portion of the library Web site listing links to potential Fort Smith area jobs includes numerous broken links, “page not found” errors and links to companies who likely are not hiring or are not hiring in any substantial numbers (Trane, Whirlpool, Riverside, etc.).

The next phase of the effort is to “continue identifying other resources in the community we can steer people to,” Goodson said.