Today is a slow day in my library. No classes coming in and nobody using the computer lab. The school website is updated and I only have a few books to shelve. I've been thinking about doing a library oriented blog so today is the day. I'm not new to blogging. I've actually been a blogger since 2004; however, I wanted to develop a blog that covers the interesting things I discover in this new career as a librarian. I'm not sure where this blog will go and how often I will update it, but my hope is to share it with students, teachers, and other librarians. I may do my own book reviews, highlight technology tools, or just talk about my day. I guess we'll see how it goes, but first I should tell you more about me.
My real name is Jennifer and I am a middle school librarian in San Antonio. This is my first library job. I graduated with my master's degree in library science from UNT in May. Before that I was a high school teacher and I taught speech, English, and yearbook classes. Before that I worked in the yearbook industry as a sales associate. And before that I taught junior high speech, yearbook, and visual media classes.
I had always thought about being a librarian since my first teaching job. I tried to use the library's resources regularly and would often assist the librarian with some of her technological issues. At that point, it nothing more than a passing thought, however. After five years of teaching junior high, I decided I wasn't cut out for that level of teaching so I moved on to my next career as a yearbook associate. I loved the creativity and flexibility of that job. I set my own schedule and helped yearbook staffs with their yearbook covers, pages, and deadlines. I worked in that field for six years but after getting divorced and losing health insurance, I had to return to teaching. I found a high school job where I was groomed to be the coach of the speech and debate team. I really enjoyed that part of my job but it was very time consuming and there were still other things that I did not enjoy doing as a teacher. I made the decision to pursue my library degree after a trying day that involved a parent meeting. I wasn't sure if I could afford to go back to school, but I figured I could get student loans if needed. I signed up for the GRE on that day in the spring of 2008. I started classes that fall and never looked back.
My original plan was to stay at the school where I was teaching. The librarian was planning to retire within a few years so I thought I would be a shoe-in to replace her. That was the plan at least. But with the state budget cuts, the district cut library positions and another librarian already within the district moved up to the high school. At that point, I put my application in at several places all over Texas. I ended up interviewing at two places locally and two places out of town. Luckily San Antonio was interested in me and I found a job at a middle school. I have to say that I think this is where I'm supposed to be.
There are many reasons why I became a librarian. This job encompasses many things I love. Of course there's the books. I have always enjoyed reading, but as a teacher I didn't find time to read as much as I would have liked. I think reading is a fundamental skill that must be nutured. When I moved to San Antonio, I packed over a dozen boxes of books - and that's after attempting to downsize my collection. Technology is also a big part of librarianship these days. I love and embrace technology. It allows me to be creative, cut back on paperwork, and opens a much bigger world of information. It is satisfying to resolve technology issues and to show people better ways to use it. I also love research. I like being a know it all. I research everything. If I plan to buy something major - I research it. Before each of my job interviews, I researched the schools and districts. I have always loved learning and acquiring information. I often call myself a fount of useless knowledge. Finally, I wanted a job that I could leave the work at work at the end of the day. I didn't want to go home each night and still have papers to grade, lessons to plan, and take home the weight of teaching frustrations on my shoulders. In the end, I think I've accomplished it. So far, I love the job. Sure there are small frustrations that crop up from time to time, but overall, I love what I do. I stay busy each day and yet don't have the frustrations I did while teaching. I also sleep better at night. For me, it is a win-win situation. I hope it stays this way.
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