A few weeks ago I was asked to provide some ad hoc careers advice for a budding librarian. The chance to preach about the library and information profession, to perform my elevator pitch, is something I’ve dreamed of. I could just picture it: I’d be that cool, hip librarian with the funky style. The one who’d make them think ‘I thought librarians were old and grumpy, how wrong I was!’
I am not sure I achieved this aim. Instead, I’m fairly sure I overwhelmed her with my incoherent enthusiasm.
She was interested in working in a university library, so I ran through the various routes into academic libraries, both ‘traditional’ (“I was a graduate trainee…”) and non-traditional (“Don’t rule out library assistant posts…”). I explained a little about library and information management Masters. I told her about the favourite parts of my jobs; interaction with students, finding that perfect resource, making a difference to the research process.
I just hope she managed to pick out some nuggets of helpful advice from my string of “yes, be a librarian, libraries are amaze”. She was still smiling by the end of it, so perhaps some of my enthusiasm rubbed off on her. Perhaps we have a new recruit. I hope she will find the profession as welcoming as I have!
Kangarooth 