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I'm Still a Librarian
by Carol Hendren
I began my library career before I was a professional, as manager of a small-town public library. In this capacity, I covered all the bases, from story hour, to ordering materials, to raising the flag in the morning and lowering it in the evening. The library system I was a part of was wonderful, and I loved the work, but I still felt that there was something more. I later moved on to teaching high school in the same small town, where I soon found that I was a great teacher -- but a lousy disciplinarian!
Several years later, time and circumstance brought me to a town with an excellent library school, and I decided to pursue my MLIS. My focus throughout graduate school was public libraries, where I believed I could make a difference. Graduate school being a place of lofty ideas which don't always connect with the real world, however, I found that when I graduated I was ill-prepared for what life in a public library was really like.
My first job after graduation was at the main branch of a large public library in a large city. I was in middle management, due to some fairly irrelevant previous management experience that had appeared on my job application. The job proved to be roughly 90% management and 10% librarianship. Mostly I made and remade schedules for 27 employees, conducted job interviews and reviews, and tried to put out fires among a largely disgruntled staff. I served a year and a half, and started sending out resumes.
The first one I sent out, and the one that ended up landing me a job, was to CCLA (College Center for Library Automation) in Tallahassee, Florida. I argued with the friend who showed me the job ad, convinced that a public librarian could not possibly fit in a system which managed the library automation for all the community college libraries in the state of Florida. Yet they were looking for someone who had experience with serials and acquisitions, two areas with which I was familiar, and with the same software vendor, which was also the case. So, drawing on those strengths, I went from resume to phone interview to in-person interview -- all somewhat incredulously. Then I got the job.
On my first day, while going through orientation, I was asked how I felt about working in an office with no books. By that time, I was so burned out from working at the public library that it sounded just fine to me. As it has turned out, I have had the opportunity to work closely with staff at all 28 of our institutions, first as a software trainer and now as a consultant. What I've learned is that helping librarians help students is every bit as rewarding as standing on the front lines. I don't work in a management capacity, so I don't evaluate anyone's contribution, I just help out with contributions of my own. It feels like this way I get the best of all worlds.
One of the best things about my position is that it has allowed me to grow as a professional without being pigeonholed. My expertise now lies both in more traditional areas, such as collection development and serials management, and in less traditional areas, such as project management and software consulting. I've conducted workshops. I've counseled managers on dealing with difficult personnel problems. I've helped staff solve workflow issues which might have appeared small, but which make all the difference in a day's work.
Of course, I wouldn't think of discounting my earlier practical library experience; without it I would lack many of the skills that make it possible for me to function well in my current position. I know what making do on a minimal budget is like. I know how a serials department ideally runs (I used to manage one, among my other duties). I know about the principles of collection development and how to make an online acquisitions system work for you. And most importantly, I understand that customer service is the bottom line.
Graduate school didn't offer any courses for positions like mine. Training and consulting were absent from the curriculum. And yet, if you think about it, there's a real need for both in our profession. They help grease the wheel of progress, move people out of "stuck" positions, and give them strategies (large or small) for success.
When I meet people and tell them what I do, I have to confess that I start out by telling them about my job, and end up by telling them that I'm a professional librarian. It's not that I'm not proud of my profession, it's just that so many people view it in such a narrow way. This includes members of our own profession, other librarians, who sometimes act as if I'm not doing the "real" work of librarianship because I'm not out on the front lines. Rather, I support the front lines, and I'm proud of it.
I would advise anyone who is considering a non-traditional, out-of- the-library position to pursue it and see where it takes you. Don't assume that just because you don't have experience that directly matches the position offered -- and you rarely will -- that you are out of the running. Build on your strengths and on anything that connects with the requirements of the position. If you succeed, you may find (as I have) that it opens up many more professional doors than a traditional position ever would. If you don't succeed, keep trying! Most importantly, remember that you're still a librarian.
Carol Hendren received her MLIS from LSU/Baton Rouge in 1993. Prior to that, she worked as branch manager of Sardis Public Library in Sardis, Mississippi, part of the Northwest Regional Library system. After receiving her MLIS, she went on to work as a Ready Reference Manager for Memphis and Shelby County Public Library and Information Center, and is currently employed with College Center for Library Automation in Tallahassee, Florida, as a Library Services Consultant.