Menu:
Choosing To Change: From Public To Law Librarianship
by Steven M. Cohen
Like many others, I originally decided on a career in librarianship because of the 9-5 work hours, exorbitant salaries, quiet and peaceful workplace, and the great medical and dental benefits. A job that would allow me to go home at a normal hour, allotting time for reading at the reference desk, and only having to stop once in a while to retrieve "The Cat In the Hat" for a three-year-old.
Obviously, I'm being facetious. Librarianship, unlike many other careers, is chosen based on passion, a love of learning and teaching, and helping others. It is unique in that it allows you to be a bit vulnerable behind a desk at which, at any time, any type of question can be asked by anybody.
When I started out in library school, I was sure that I would work in a public library for the entire run of my career. I had only worked in the non-profit sector; I loved the "aura" of the public library; I loved training patrons on the uses of search engines and the Web; I felt I was destined to "work my way up through the ranks" and become a director.
But in my second year as a public librarian, after starting up an Internet newsletter, and after having taught over 400 Internet classes, retrieved 300 copies of the latest Danielle Steel bestseller, and advised 200 teenagers to not run around the library because they might trip and choke on their ever-present wads of gum, it was time to move on. Sure, I had only been at it for two years, but I felt a bit stale. For some, this feeling takes 20 years, for me it took two. It seemed that I had already accomplished what I set out to do.
I hated to admit it at the time, but I was longing for more. All jobs are repetitive, I remember telling myself. Yeah, I replied, but you are young, you don't make a heck of a lot of money, and your responsibilities are not that "grand" that a job change would affect your life at home.
So, I decided that it was time to seek out employment elsewhere. But where? In what type of library? Should I send resumes into academia? Corporate libraries? Law libraries? The choices seemed endless.
But, that's one of the advantages of a degree in librarianship; one has many options from which to choose when job hunting. Here are a few items to consider when changing jobs -- or even when scoring employment for the first time fresh out of library school -- in no particular order:
- Distance from your home. How far do you want to travel to and
from work every day? Maybe the question should be, how far could you
realistically travel to and from work every day? (I met a librarian
at a conference a few weeks ago who commutes two hours each way to
work!)
- Size of the library. Some say that size doesn't matter. When one
is looking for a library job, however, it is of extreme importance.
Do you want a noisy library with children running around and
teenagers making out in the corner, or would you prefer a quiet
abode, one in which only four reference questions get asked per day?
Or how about something in the middle?
- Salary. Sure, money isn't everything, but you have to eat, right?
Money, no matter how much we hate the stuff, is needed to survive.
Don't take a job that may put you and your family out on the street.
Pride can only be maintained for so long.
- Clientele. What type of clients do you want to serve? Children?
Adults? Both? Do you want to only deal with businesspeople? Lawyers?
Doctors? Other information professionals? Or do you not want to have
any clientele at all? Maybe you don't even want to perform reference
duties?
- That "feeling" in your stomach. When I was younger, I was told
that if a situation doesn't feel right, your "belly barometer" will
notify you. You know what I mean, that feeling in the pit of you
stomach that is informing you, "Danger! Danger!" My advice: change
the situation immediately. This is not gas. This is your body
telling you that both it and you are in an uncomfortable situation.
If there is one life lesson that I have learned from my mother-in-
law, it's that you should always listen to your body.
- What do you WANT to do. The fact is, nobody has the right to tell us how to live our lives. We have the right to choose the type of career we embark on as well as which specific job to take. If there is any one piece of advice to take, this is the one: Do what you want to do!
All of these factors came into play as I interviewed for and obtained employment at a private law firm.
I knew that I didn't want to work in New York City, as, even though the salaries can be higher, it didn't seem worth the extra hour commute. So, I concentrated on companies on Long Island. I also felt the time was right to carve out a niche in a specialized field. Sure, public librarianship is a specialty, but here, I am able to say that I have worked in the private sector arena.
Salary was also an issue. I became a librarian because I love the work, but, as a public librarian, I always would have wished for higher pay. Corporate libraries provide this opportunity. In addition, I wanted to work for a specific clientele; one that could continuously rely on my professional abilities to provide content and answer specific reference questions. The questions asked in my law library are narrow and specific, requiring more experience with fee-based databases and the law.
Lastly, I did what I wanted to do, despite the moans and groans from colleagues and family members who told me I was changing jobs rather quickly. But, I remember a line from a commercial I once saw: "Do what you want and don't apologize for it!"
Steven M. Cohen is Assistant Librarian for Rivkin Radler, LLP in Uniondale New York and creator of Library Stuff, a library and information science weblog. Steven is very happy in his chosen career as a law librarian.