Friday, July 24, 2015

Thing 2: Why I became a librarian

I like libraries. People always assume I like books. Yeah, books are good but for me it's about people. I like library spaces and people. When I joined a public library at age 14 I was really happy. It was exciting to pick out loads of books to bring home and read. In 5th year in secondary school I signed up to be a library prefect. I had to tell my peers to "Shuush". Apart from that I got to check in and out their books and do a bit of shelving. In college I learned you can apply for a summer job in the Dublin public libraries. I got a job in Dublin City Council and got bitten by the library bug. I just really enjoyed the atmosphere and the fact that different things happen depending on the time of year. Every day most definitely wasn't the same. I really wanted to work in public libraries but haven't done so since. I decided to become a professionally qualified librarian because I felt like returning to study and thought it would be easier to do so now (in 2003) than later. I worked in offices after that but then said Right, it's time to apply for library jobs. I thought I'd work as a library assistant for a few years but the job I got was as a part-time health sciences librarian and the rest is history. Or at least evolving. As librarians we are constantly evolving.

5 comments:

  1. Libraries are evolving too. How the users use the space, how they study, how they learn. It's all evolving and it keeps us on our toes!!

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    1. Exactly. I love the idea of nice couches and moveable furniture. Libraries as spaces... yep, they can be great spaces for sure.

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  2. I've loved reading about everyones journey into librarianship, the roads have been many and varied. Look forward to reading more posts. Christine #rudaĆ­23 team

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  3. I too was a library prefect in school, I actually had forgotten to mention it in my Thing 1 post! I like the way you identify working with people as a factor in choosing librarianship. I too enjoy the element of assisting people with finding information that will find useful or enjoyable.

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