During the past few weeks, a variety of guests have visited IST 511 to talk about their jobs as librarians. Some of the guests work in school libraries, some in public libraries, some in academic libraries, and one in a special library. It has been interesting to hear about their experiences and viewpoints, and it has made me evaluate my own past experiences as well as what I may want to do when I complete my degree.
All of the jobs that the guests described sounded interesting and fun, although not without problems or challenges. Some of the issues discussed by the guests included funding (always a hot topic), the changing nature of public libraries, questions of censorship and age-appropriateness for materials in school libraries, and the levels of bureaucracy that can be found in government libraries. I think that I would enjoy working in any one of these settings, although school libraries might be out of reach because of the special requirements for school media specialists.
However, when it comes to academic libraries, the speakers made me stop and think about whether I really want to work in that environment. I currently work as a GA at Bird Library, and I enjoy it a lot, but the faculty track for librarians that one of the speakers discussed did not appeal to me at all. The need to publish or perish, and the “up or out” evaluations described by the speaker made the job sound incredibly stressful. The actual work of academic librarianship still seems enjoyable, but the “advance or else” structure definitely does not. The good news is that not all academic libraries have faculty track positions, so if I decide to go the academic route, I will simply have to evaluate my options carefully.
The presentations definitely have given me a lot to think about, and I’m still not sure what my ultimate decision will be. I’m open to opportunity wherever it knocks, and I look forward to exploring the many avenues of librarianship as I continue my education and begin to consider life after school.
No comments:
Post a Comment