Unless you’re very fortunate or live under special circumstances, chances are that you’ll be working for a good deal of your life. If you’re going to commit to spending several decades going to work and doing a job, doesn’t it make sense that you should enjoy the career you choose? Or even if you have more than one career, they should always involve work you enjoy, right?
I get a lot of questions about working in a library. I have worked as a librarian, a shelver, a customer service specialist, and had two assistant librarian jobs at different times. I enjoyed them all, but if I could go back, there would be two questions I would ask myself before accepting any of these positions:
Will I like this work? What are the things that I might not like about this work?
Unfortunately, in the quest to make money, have security, and provide for ourselves and our families, we do not do due diligence before diving headlong into a job. A job that might sometimes take over our live for many years.
Here are the things that I love about working in a library: 1)The hours are not bad at all; 2) I get to be around books and knowledge, two of my favorite things; 3) I get to work with other librarians, who are a pretty interesting bunch; 4) It makes me feel more curious every time I go to work.
Here are the things I think people should be aware of. There are things that are not as pleasant:
- Customer service can be very challenging
- Working with the public means that you will interact with people who will not always treat you well
- The pay may not be enough to live off of unless you are working in a library without money troubles
- The education for professional reference jobs can be prohibitively expensive
But I believe that if you suspect that a library job is something you would love, you are probably right. The trick will be finding the right library for you. Monitor the online job boards, talk to your local librarians, and ask lots of questions. We will answer them. That is what we do best.
I hope you will join us!
