"I think it will be expecially beneficial to students getting ready to graduate..."

- Chad Buckley,
Head of Collection Development at Milner Library

BY ERIN HOGG | echogg@ilstu.edu | Posted: Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Online datatbase to help students with career research

Researching future careers after graduation is now just a click away with a new career information database at ISU.

Student Government Association and Milner Library have collaborated to purchase a subscription to the Vault Career Library for students to access information regarding career options and current employment trends. The subscription will run from now till Dec. 2012.

“The online career library will include a variety of resources including over 80 career guide books for specific industries, rankings of companies, salary database, employer reviews, career advice and resumes. It also has comprehensive information on graduate school, law school and MBA programs for those who wish to further their education,” Zach Owens, student body president, said.

According to an SGA press release, the database will also include discussion boards, industry blogs and news covering the latest trends, diversity resources, green programs and leadership development profiles.

Milner Library and the SGA decided to purchase the Vault Career Insider package in Sept. 2011, according to Chad Buckley, head of collection development at Milner Library.

“Milner had trialed this several years ago, but our budget did not permit us to pay the entire cost on our own. Partnering with SGA helped enable us to get this by sharing the cost in order to address the demand that SGA had been receiving for this resource,” Buckley said.

“We appreciate [Milner Library’s] support on this issue. SGA worked directly with Vault to see if this would be a viable resource to students, and we were aware Milner previously considered purchasing an institutional subscription because of student interest,” Owens said.

While the resource is open to everyone, the Vault Career Library can only be accessed through an on-campus computer or will need a secure VPN, or a virtual private connection, from an off-campus computer if a student wants to access it from elsewhere.

“I think it will be especially beneficial to students getting ready to graduate… It could also be useful to students earlier in their college experience who are still deciding on a major and want to research future job prospects or for those looking for internship possibilities,” Buckley said.

The database can be accessed through a link on SGA’s homepage, sga.illinoisstate.edu.