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Don't Forget Your Para(professional)chute
by Katrina McPhersonI earned my MLS from a university whose program pumps out at least 30 librarians every 4 months. The market for professional librarians in this area is glutted, to say the least. I knew I wanted to stay in the area, and I also knew I wanted to have a career in librarianship. How to reconcile these two uneasy friends?
I decided that the way to success would involve working my way up the system, so I accepted a position as a library assistant at the university. As it turns out, I don't think I could have made a better decision for my librarian skill set! I learned a multitude of skills and had a number of experiences that I might never have had, had I jumped right into a professional position.
Many librarians never get the chance to fully experience what a paraprofessional does. Over the 1.5 years I have worked as a paraprofessional, I have discovered exactly how many valuable library skills these positions involve.
Behind the Scenes
Librarians are professionals. This often means they "miss out" on some of the more elementary tasks. As a library assistant who has worked in both circulation and reference, I can tell you that there is no substitute for actually being in the library trenches. I have bar-coded, I have fought about fines, I have removed jammed paper from the bowels of innumerable machines, I have processed interlibrary loans -- and then processed more interlibrary loans! You might say, so what? How would that ever impact a future career as a professional librarian?
First, I'm now much less likely to be caught off guard with a question from a patron. Yes, a professional librarian is there to answer the really hairy, in-depth research questions, but if you can't answer authoritatively about how long their interlibrary loan is going to take (and why!), you're going to lose a lot of credibility. Patrons do not clearly realize the differences between a paraprofessional and a professional, and few would be interested in a conversation about why you cannot do certain things.
If you have both skill sets, patrons experience a seamless interaction. People like the one-stop shopping phenomenon. No one likes to be shuttled back and forth through services. If I'm helping a patron, I can help them with nearly everything. Librarians are information mavens; it doesn't do to be unable to answer the seemingly "easier" questions. I am not advocating for librarians to take over paraprofessional jobs, but it is a nice ace to have in the hole.
Patron Knowledge
What's most important to librarians? The patron, of course! My work behind the circulation and reference desk has given me close contact with scads of patrons. I have a strong feel for our user groups, their needs, wants and whims. Yes, a professional librarian has contact with his or her users, but not on the level and quantity that a service desk employee has the pleasure of experiencing (OK, sometimes not so pleasurable, but always informative!).
Lucky Ducks
So what can those MLS graduates who went straight to the world of professional librarianship take from this? Obviously, not every librarian is going to begin their career the way that I did. Spending a bit more time with your paraprofessional colleagues, though, can help you learn many of these skills. Realizing that those in the often less-glorious positions have a number of valuable skills important to you can go a long way to brushing up your library basics and fostering excellent staff relations.
Why not suggest an information sharing session? Have key players from your paraprofessional departments give the professional staff a run-through of the highlights. The professional staff could similarly take this opportunity to make sure the front line staff know about their special qualifications and skills. Or, even have a "shadowing" day where staff members watch and help each other work to learn new skills and gain a better understanding of various library jobs and functions.
Final Thoughts
My experience as a full-time paraprofessional in a large university library system has shaped my future as a librarian. I feel comfortable with the ins and outs of a number of services that I otherwise might only have a theoretical knowledge of. Having physically participated in these services, I can more effectively help patrons, I more fully understand their needs, and I feel that I am a much more well rounded librarian.
Katrina McPherson has recently been appointed the Resource Coordinator for the Career Centre @ Western in London, Ontario.