While cooking pancakes for a leisurely brunch I was thinking about deep things. What am I doing? Why am I doing it .....
I had the following thoughts:
- My job (librarian) is so easy in this data-rich world, why am I expecting a highly paid salary for it?
- Why do most of my colleagues make such a balls-up of an essentially easy set of tasks?
- Librarianship is a field that is still dominated by an old-fashioned stereotype. Libraries are serene temples where librarians read all day and tell people to shush.
- Modern librarians have no time to read. We encourage children to laugh and play. A modern libraries a cross between a creche, a coffee house, an internet cafe, a bookstore and a drop-in shelter.
- Librarianship as a career is attracts introverted people who love the old fashioned stereotype.
- Librarianship as a career needs extroverted people who can deal with any person at any time in any situation.
- Every person who works in a library (especially a public library, a specialist library, or a small library) spend at least 50% of their time selling or promoting their products.
To succeed as a modern librarian, you need to be able to communicate positively to anyone at any time. You need to put a positive spin on every conversation. You need to recognise the importance of every communication.
This is not a career for people who want to hide in stacks and say Shhh! a lot. These misguided souls are lost.
What do they do about it? What do we do about it?
Me - I'm off to eat those pancakes .... and think some more ...
(From Jazzmanic)