The Liminal Librarian

If you'd planned on responding to my survey from a while back on alternative careers, but it kind of slipped your mind, here's your chance! I'm still looking for responses, and would love to hear from librarians and info pros who have: moved into any sort of nontraditional career, are combining alternative work with library work, are working in nontraditional positions in libraries, are working in positions that utilize library skills but aren't seen as or called a "librarian" by their institution, have taken IT or other skills picked up on the job and brought them to another environment... if you think you might in any way be following an alternative path, I want to hear about it -- there's still time!

And, thank you to everyone who's already shared their experiences -- it's been fascinating to see people's varied paths.

Labels: altcareers, survey

Take a look at this interesting little article (via Bitch PhD) in the New York Times about op-ed writing seminars for women.

Ms. Orenstein asked: Could every woman at the large rectangular table name one specific subject that she is an expert in and say why? The author of “Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale,” Ms. Orenstein began by saying, “Little Red Riding Hood” and writing the words in orange marker on an oversize white pad.

Of the next four women who spoke, three started with a qualification or apology. “I’m really too young to be an expert in anything,” said Caitlin Petre, 23.

“Let’s stop,” Ms. Orenstein said. “It happens in every single session I do with women, and it’s never happened with men.” Women tend to back away from “what we know and why we know it,” she said.

....

After the presentations Ms. Orenstein returned to the orange-colored words “Little Red Riding Hood” written on the pad, saying that if she had limited herself to that subject, her contribution to public debate would be about the size of a tack.

“I would have to reframe myself,” she said, drawing a triangle around the words. At each of the three points she explained how she set about enlarging her area of expertise: from Riding Hood to female heroines to women; from fairy tales to myths to stories we tell and are told; from the nursery to popular culture.

This is true for professional writing, as well -- not to mention true of our larger careers. When we negate our own expertise, we become less effective in imparting our importance as professionals, and our self-effacing attitude hurts us in areas from salaries, to promotions, to our ability to grasp new opportunities.

As I'm going through the responses to the alternative careers survey, it's becoming clear that the ability to claim, reframe, and broaden our knowledge bases and skillsets is essential, not only when moving to a nontraditional setting, but in responding to both internal and external changes.

Labels: altcareers, oped, publishing, women, writing

I'm working on a book on alternative careers for librarians, and am looking for input from folks who have pursued nontraditional paths.

I'm interested in hearing from a broad variety of people, including: those who have embarked on a new career after working for some time in libraries, those who earned an MLS but never worked in a traditional library setting, those who pursue alternative opportunities as a supplement to a traditional library career, those who work in a traditional setting but do nontraditional work, and those who do library work in nontraditional settings. Basically, if you think you might have/had some sort of nontraditional career, I'd love to hear from you -- thanks!

A few survey questions follow. Please feel free to distribute widely.

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Alternative Careers Survey

Thanks for taking the time to talk about your alternative career experiences. Your answers may be quoted and/or used as a sidebar interview in a forthcoming book from Information Today, Inc. If you formerly had a nontraditional career, but now have moved back into library work, please answer the questions as they pertain to your previous career.

Please e-mail your answers to altcareers@lisjobs.com.

E-mail address
Name
Job Title
Institution
City, State (or equivalent)
Do you have an MLS? If yes, when and where did you earn it?
Would you like to remain anonymous if quoted in the book? Y/N


Had you worked in libraries before pursuing an alternative career? If so, for how long, and in what type/s of institutions?

Can you talk a little bit about the path you took to your alternative career? Why did you choose this particular type of work?

Can you give me an overview of what you do in your nontraditional career? What are some typical daily tasks and responsibilities?

What do you like best about your alternative career? What do you like least?

In what ways do you see this career as being related to librarianship?

In what ways have your library skills/knowledge and/or LIS education transferred?

What new skills/knowledge did you need to acquire in order to be successful? Were there ways in which your previous non-library background came in handy?

What advice would you have for someone interested in pursuing a similar path? Is there anything you wish you had known prior to making the leap?

In what ways do you keep up with the library field while pursuing a nontraditional career path?

What do you miss most about libraries/library work? What do you miss least?

If there is anything else I should have asked, please ask and answer it.

May I contact you via e-mail for clarification or additions?

May I use your answers in a forthcoming book from Information Today, Inc., tentatively titled: What's The Alternative: Career Options for Librarians and Info Pros?

Would you like to be notified via e-mail when the book comes out?

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If you have moved back to librarianship from a nontraditional career, please also answer the following two questions:

Why did you decide to move back to a more traditional library career?

What do you bring back to the field from your experiences in your alternative career?

Labels: altcareers, survey