I have been a librarian for 16 1/2 months.
I became a librarian because that's what people were saying I should do. It took me 7 years to finish my undergrad because I didn't want to spend the money on an education that I didn't know if I'd be interested in. The "just cuz" you need to go to college and get a degree reason wasn't enough for me.
When I finally found sociology I was in love, transferred to a UC and finished up my degree. When I tried to find a job that I could use my new found degree with there were less than many and I didn't have any experience in the field of non-profits, research or fund-raising, etc., etc.
I found a great job to pay the bills with, but I wasn't satisfied. I kept thinking about how people always said that I should be a librarian. I'm not quite sure why, maybe because I spent so much time in college, learning a variety of things creating a breadth of knowledge that reminds them of a librarian. [But my knowledge is kinda like that statement about web - It's as wide as an ocean, but only an inch deep.] I finally took it seriously and checked out the available programs. Minus a few classes that go against my natural characteristics I was in love again.
My job search landed me as a solo librarian at a private college only an hour away from my previous location. I'm in my first position by moxie, apparently I added a little extra oomph to my initial interview [or so my boss will tell you]. Apparently when I found out how the college operated I was very full of ideas for improvements.
I think that there is too much variation in the library field in order to take the sufficient number of courses and be prepared for it all! I hope to learn all that I can while in this position. I also hope to add a degree soon to my accomplishments in a subject specialty masters in social psychology. I dream of working in a large research university as the Social Sciences librarian; helping faculty and students with research, building collections and giving back to the community. And I see myself as a community college librarian in my later years.
I currently am set up with a mentor through the state chapter of ALA. I speak with her almost every 2 weeks and we discuss my activities and I learn about her projects. I can't say that I'm overwhelmed with the opportunity to run to someone I know and ask questions/share. It has been nice to know that someone is there just in case I have that kind of situation. In reality I am in such a unique situation (mentor isn't in the same one) that only other small schools in my predicament can really weigh in on trouble shooting. I have a listserv for that.
I became a librarian because that's what people were saying I should do. It took me 7 years to finish my undergrad because I didn't want to spend the money on an education that I didn't know if I'd be interested in. The "just cuz" you need to go to college and get a degree reason wasn't enough for me.
When I finally found sociology I was in love, transferred to a UC and finished up my degree. When I tried to find a job that I could use my new found degree with there were less than many and I didn't have any experience in the field of non-profits, research or fund-raising, etc., etc.
I found a great job to pay the bills with, but I wasn't satisfied. I kept thinking about how people always said that I should be a librarian. I'm not quite sure why, maybe because I spent so much time in college, learning a variety of things creating a breadth of knowledge that reminds them of a librarian. [But my knowledge is kinda like that statement about web - It's as wide as an ocean, but only an inch deep.] I finally took it seriously and checked out the available programs. Minus a few classes that go against my natural characteristics I was in love again.
My job search landed me as a solo librarian at a private college only an hour away from my previous location. I'm in my first position by moxie, apparently I added a little extra oomph to my initial interview [or so my boss will tell you]. Apparently when I found out how the college operated I was very full of ideas for improvements.
I think that there is too much variation in the library field in order to take the sufficient number of courses and be prepared for it all! I hope to learn all that I can while in this position. I also hope to add a degree soon to my accomplishments in a subject specialty masters in social psychology. I dream of working in a large research university as the Social Sciences librarian; helping faculty and students with research, building collections and giving back to the community. And I see myself as a community college librarian in my later years.
I currently am set up with a mentor through the state chapter of ALA. I speak with her almost every 2 weeks and we discuss my activities and I learn about her projects. I can't say that I'm overwhelmed with the opportunity to run to someone I know and ask questions/share. It has been nice to know that someone is there just in case I have that kind of situation. In reality I am in such a unique situation (mentor isn't in the same one) that only other small schools in my predicament can really weigh in on trouble shooting. I have a listserv for that.
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