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Summer o' libraries
Posted on 2007.06.13 at 22:19Current Location: Grad Library
Current Mood:
discontent
This summer, I have two jobs, one at the Ann Arbor District Library (AADL) and one at the University of Michigan Library. I've had a hiatus from the public library realm for a while, paying ye olde tuition bill by being a TA.
My return to a public library has made me realize how much I love working in them. I feel closer to real people. Well, maybe "real people" is the wrong term. I feel like I'm helping make the world a better place. At times, this even seems odd to me, since much of what I seem to do is place holds on DVDS for people. Nonetheless, I feel like I'm closer to helping solve people's problems than I do at the Graduate Library. Being back at a public library, despite my misgivings with AADL itself, really confirmed my desire to go into public librarianship.
But then I've been questioning even this of late. Last week, I was at a workshop/session on library 2.0, i.e. using web 2.0 applications in delivering library services, and I had this epiphany. Here we were, talking about exciting our patrons with tagging and high-level browse and reaching out to them on Facebook. And I began thinking about all those people who have to clue what Facebook or del.icio.us are, because they lack the information access with which we're blessed. Africa, Southeast Asia, South America. Maybe, I started thinking, I should try to promote information access internationally.
And to throw yet another wrench into the gears, I'm still thinking about going into state libraries, thank to my internship last summer at the Oregon State Library.
In sum, I don't know what kind of librarian I want to be. I just know I don't want to be holed up in a university library somewhere. I'm tired of being a student. I'm tired of working with academics (important though they are to our society). People have suggested that I go on to get a Ph.D. in library science, and I cringe at the thought. This is going to could terminally cheesy, but as a librarian, I hope to make a positive impact on the world. Hopefully, I'll find the right path to make that happen.
My return to a public library has made me realize how much I love working in them. I feel closer to real people. Well, maybe "real people" is the wrong term. I feel like I'm helping make the world a better place. At times, this even seems odd to me, since much of what I seem to do is place holds on DVDS for people. Nonetheless, I feel like I'm closer to helping solve people's problems than I do at the Graduate Library. Being back at a public library, despite my misgivings with AADL itself, really confirmed my desire to go into public librarianship.
But then I've been questioning even this of late. Last week, I was at a workshop/session on library 2.0, i.e. using web 2.0 applications in delivering library services, and I had this epiphany. Here we were, talking about exciting our patrons with tagging and high-level browse and reaching out to them on Facebook. And I began thinking about all those people who have to clue what Facebook or del.icio.us are, because they lack the information access with which we're blessed. Africa, Southeast Asia, South America. Maybe, I started thinking, I should try to promote information access internationally.
And to throw yet another wrench into the gears, I'm still thinking about going into state libraries, thank to my internship last summer at the Oregon State Library.
In sum, I don't know what kind of librarian I want to be. I just know I don't want to be holed up in a university library somewhere. I'm tired of being a student. I'm tired of working with academics (important though they are to our society). People have suggested that I go on to get a Ph.D. in library science, and I cringe at the thought. This is going to could terminally cheesy, but as a librarian, I hope to make a positive impact on the world. Hopefully, I'll find the right path to make that happen.