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Librarianship: Not Just a Job, a Career
by Dennie Heye
I had no firm career plan in 1989 when I started at the "Bibliotheek en Documentaire Informatie" school (the Dutch equivalent of Master of Information Science). I knew I wanted to work with people and computers - and, yes, reading was one of my hobbies. I had no real picture of what I wanted to be, but library school sounded like something I could like. During my first year at library school, though, I became convinced that this was indeed the right education for me; I learned to tackle people's information problems by using information technology in creative ways.
Below, I'd like to share my career development experiences with you, and give you ideas for developing your own.
At School
During my 4-year education at the "Bibliotheek en Documentaire Informatie" school I realized that I wanted to enjoy a career as information professional. If I wanted more than "just a job," I knew I had to do more than just attend classes and do my homework. So:
- I signed up to contribute to the monthly school magazine, first
as an editor and later as editor-in-chief. This is how I learned to
work with deadlines, work in a team and improve my writing skills.
These experiences and skills were very important in all my jobs.
- When choosing an internship, I would make my choice by asking
myself these questions: What do I expect to learn, and what skills
can I improve? (Rather than the criteria other students used: Does
it pay, and do I have to travel for more than 30 minutes?)
- After graduating from the "Bibliotheek en Documentaire
Informatie" school, I pursued another three years at university
studying "marketing and sociology for information products and
services." I already had library skills, but felt that I wanted a
college degree to get the type of job I wanted.
By combing two educations, I am more "well-rounded," and can branch into marketing (an important topic for libraries!) if I want to.
My First Job
After graduation, I found a job for two months at an accounting firm. It was a short-term job, the work itself was not too exciting (cataloguing a backlog of books and articles), and I had to travel for 3.5 hours per day. But, I took it, because I wanted to get work experience. I also got the chance to work in a challenging organisation, and hoped that this short job would lead to more.
During my first two weeks, I was often alone in the library while the manager (and only library staff member) was in meetings. So, when customers would come in with requests, I tried to help them by either answering their questions or making sure that they got an answer - which was appreciated, even if it wasn't part of my job profile.
My being proactive, service minded, and willing to learn was noted, and I was invited to meet the general manager, who offered me a job as a librarian.
Building a Career
When I started my "real" job as a librarian, I wanted to have a challenging career in the dynamic world of information science. Here are some of my experiences and tips how I got the right jobs and never had a dull day:
- Learn
I became quite skilled in IT by talking to a lot of IT staff, who were eager to share their knowledge. I also benefited from different courses taught in the company: presentation and facilitation skills, project management, and fundamental IT courses.
- Network
By attending meetings, lunches and internal seminars in the organisation I met a lot of people. In this day and age, it's not always what you know, but also who you know, that is important in getting ahead. By using your network, you are informed of interesting projects - and sometimes jobs you might be interested in.
Don't forget to build a network outside of your organisation. Join a professional association to meet peers and attend seminars. An occasional phone call or e-mail to people in your network is useful to keep you up to date and "in the picture." If you have the opportunity to attend a conference, talk with people who are in the same sessions, at lunch, or in the lobby. You will often find that you can learn something from everyone, and these contacts can be very useful later in your career.
- Get Noticed
To get ahead in your career, you have to be "in the picture." And that means "in the picture," not only to managers, but also to clients, colleagues and peers. Start an initiative, do presentations on subjects you're an expert on, publish an article in your organisation's newsletter or an industry journal, and participate in seminars.
- Know What You Want
Try to think of the career you want to have. What do you value in a job; what type of organisations would you like to work at; what skills would you like to acquire? Then, ask yourself how you will achieve those career objectives. Can you do so in your current job? In your current organisation? Who can help you? If you want to reach objectives not possible in your current job and organisation, don't be afraid to move on. A new job or organisation can give you new insights and career perspectives.
Dennie Heye (dennie at heye.nl) is an information scientist with a global energy firm in the Netherlands. Certified as a librarian, his goal in life is to bring order to information chaos.