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Things I Wish I Knew; Advice I Wish I Had Been Given
by Larissa Gordon and Meg Spencer
First, the people...
You're young, you're smart, you don't know it all - but you do know a lot. When you find your first job after graduation, you may be joining a staff of people who have been there a long time. As a group, librarians tend to stick around longer than most professionals. If your co-workers don't seem responsive to you or to the new ideas you bring with you, try to be patient and pleasant with them until they do come around. Also remember to be nice to the staff. That means everyone: the housekeepers, the maintenance crew, the security guards. You never know when you might need their help.
Be good to the paraprofessional library staff as well. A lot of you have been paraprofessionals, and may have experienced someone on the professional staff snubbing you. That sucks. So, lose the attitude, and please don't do it to someone else. Finally, it should go without saying that you need to be polite to your patrons. Know, though, that sometimes patrons, especially if they are college students away from home, need you to act as a parent or a friend, not a librarian. Sometimes you just need to show concern, pat them on the back and tell them everything will be ok.
On the Job
Sign up for a few lists while you are still in school (I have found nexgenlib-l and NEWLIB-L to be quite useful). These lists bring you in touch with a community that can give you tips on job searching when you are looking for employment, and then offer you support and advice when you find a job. Read their archives to get a feel for what they offer. When you do find your first position, learn how to say "no" early on. As that new employee, you are going to have a lot dumped on you. Saying no will not make you enemies or get you fired. Try it - it's really quite empowering!
Your job description listed many of the important tasks you would be performing in your new role as a professional librarian. However, it probably did not say that you would be required to put together the new office chairs, nor did it say that you needed to be an expert in the operation and repair of the photocopier, printer, or any other machine with more than three moving parts in your library. Nevertheless, depending on the type of library you work in, you may be required to do some or all of these tasks on a regular basis. Learn to enjoy them, or at least look upon them as a break from your normal routine. Also, don't be afraid to shelve books. It's the best way, and maybe the only way, to learn a collection. It also will show the staff you don't have an attitude. Finally, know how many books/journals are in your library. I don't know why, but people always ask that question!
Professional Development
Contrary to popular belief, you do not get to "read all the time." In fact, you're fortunate if you EVER get to read anything at all on the job! That being said, try hard to find at least a few minutes each day to keep up with what is happening in your profession, especially if you are on a more academically-oriented career path. Sign up for a ToC alerting service, or one of those lists I mentioned earlier. However, learn to be very selective about the lists you subscribe to. Filter them away from your regular mail, and unsubscribe if they get out of control or don't offer any useful advice.
Everyone has probably told you to become involved with library associations. What they might not have told you is to consider some of the smaller library associations. It might be easier to find your "niche" in this sort of group. Also investigate the smaller professional meetings. There are specialized library meetings out there that are often more useful than the huge annual ALA conference. Finally, find a mentor - find lots of mentors. Harass them, bounce ideas off of them, and buy them presents (only kidding about that last one). And when you are starting to feel confident in what you are doing, find someone you can mentor.
Your Sanity
Take time out for yourself every day. This is a piece of advice I wish I would heed myself! Try to get outside and go off on your own for a few minutes at lunch to relax and regroup for the afternoon. Something else you can do which is quite cathartic is to try writing in a log or journal every day when you first start a new job. You can record the names of new people met, brilliant ideas, first impressions, anything that you might use later on. Also, remember to open a retirement account as soon as you get a job! Starting early, even it's not a big amount of money each pay period, really DOES make a difference. Trust me, you'll thank me later.
Finally, if you don't have one already, grow a sense of humor now. You will need it to make it through each hectic day as a happy and sane librarian. A 35- or 40-hour week is often a myth if you truly do your job well, but try to keep extra hours under control. Allow yourself to make mistakes; that's part of the learning process. If you are fortunate, you will have a supervisor who realizes this and will chalk it up to experience and move on. Try not to take everything too seriously - this is librarianship, not heart surgery. No one will die if you screw up (and if you are giving patrons life- or-death information, there is something very wrong!).
* The content of this essay came from a presentation given by Meg Spencer to the Drexel Student ALA Chapter in the Fall of 2004. Additional comments and editing were provided by Larissa Gordon.
Meg Spencer is the science librarian at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. Larissa Gordon is finishing up her MLIS degree at Drexel University and is currently in the process of searching for a full-time job. Meg is Larissa's mentor. They were paired with each other through the ACRL-Delaware Valley Chapter's mentoring program.