Fearless Librarianship: Daring to color outside lines, speak with strangers, and run with scissors

Yesterday I walked out of the door to our technical services department with my usual pace - fast - and bumped straight into a law student in the hall. It wasn't that I needed to hurry to go fix the labels on front of the microfiche cabinets, but, just like the kindergartener I once was, I am perpetually running with scissors. Sometimes I really should slow down, but there are simply so many things to do in the library on a daily basis, from the mundane to the exciting, that I tend to get completely caught up in my work day, running from one task to the next. One of my co-workers laughs at me for my energy. I'll walk by her one moment with an armful of law reviews to shelve, and be back again the next with a looseleafing set that needs to be updated, and I'll always run up stairs two steps at a time rather than waiting for the elevator. There are some days when I barely leave my desk, such as when I was working on a cataloging project last week for hours on end, but there are also days when I barely sit down from 8 until 5. I love this variety. In fact, in librarianship, I have truly found my dream job. The type of work is a perfect match for me, because not only does it embody so many principles that I believe to be especially important - including service to others, education, innovation and collaboration, but it doesn't even seem like work because I enjoy it so much.

That is not to say that librarianship is not difficult. It is very demanding. There are headaches, there are problems, there are miscommunications, there are technical snafus, there are "problem patrons" and there are "problem titles" and there are problems, problems, and more problems. I don't think there is anyone on earth who can truthfully say his or her work doesn't sometimes involve problems. But how many people can also wholeheartedly say they love their job? I am happy to say that I can! Despite the problems and challenges inherent in the work, I thrive on the type of detail-oriented tasks in the library, I love the avenues for creativity and for innovation, and most of all, I love the type of people I work with and the fact that I am paid to do something I truly enjoy.

Working in libraries I never have a dull moment. As with any job, there may be mundane tasks - things I do on a daily basis, or things I could practically do in my sleep. But there are also new and exciting challenges every single day, and those tasks that may be mundane are made exciting because of how they tie into the greater scheme - the ultimate goal of making the library a smoothly functioning institution dedicated to learning, to growth, to ideas, and to inspirations.

Although librarianship seems like a perfect match for me, it took me surprisingly long to figure this out. I spent much time in libraries throughout my childhood but never really considered becoming a librarian. It may have been because the librarians I knew were so amazing: the wealth and breadth of their knowledge seemed unattainable to me - at the least, it was intimidating. I finally stumbled into the profession almost by chance: in college I needed a job and my academic adviser was also the library director. He mentioned me to a reference librarian, who hired me, taught me more about library science than I imagined existed, and set me loose on ALEPH and on the library in general. I learned fast, and loved every bit. Wondering my senior year how I could connect my newfound love of law and legal research with the joy I felt working in libraries, Tom Kirk (our library director) again proved a valuable influence for me, suggesting I consider graduate studies for law librarianship. I'm now enthusiastically pursuing exactly that, and while working toward the higher education degrees needed I am meanwhile happily settled into my job as Collection Maintenance Assistant at the University of Notre Dame's law library. Last semester I began graduate school, taking classes part-time for a Masters in Library and Information Science, and I intend to pursue a law degree in the coming years. Just as my first job, and therefore my first love in librarianship, was working as an assistant for a reference librarian, I maintain my conviction that I would like to return to a reference position once I graduate. I have worked in nearly every department in the library, from circulation to technical services, and even spent a summer working for the archives department of my undergraduate college library. I especially love reference services because I love to help patrons. In my present position at Notre Dame I am able to delve into a whole different area of librarianship, doing much "behind the scenes" work such as filing new looseleaf releases, cataloging materials, and shelving and weeding supplemented monographs. It is also enjoyable to help patrons in such ways,(ways in which they likely don't even recognize) however, what I miss, and what I love best when it does happen in my present position, is being able to assist a patron face-to-face.

Kindergarten may not have taught me not to run with scissors, but it did teach me the importance of sharing. I'm not talking about sharing cookies at snack time or swing-time at recess. I mean sharing time and knowledge with others. In school, my teacher and the school librarian soon became the coolest people in my universe (next to my parents, of course.) They knew so much I couldn't even begin to imagine how they had time to learn it all. I wanted to be like them. I had an insatiable curiosity, and I suspect I would have been an exhaustingly inquisitive child if not for my painful shyness and stubborn independence. I would always try to find something out for myself, and asking an adult was my last resort. Of course, when you are a five-year-old and want to know why there is a rainbow in the sky today when it wasn't there yesterday, you usually have to ask. As I became older I became better at researching, but even so I valued the help of the teachers and librarians in my life. Even if I didn't ask them for help, I knew they were there for me. Not only that, but they continually encouraged me in my curiosity, and guided me through many studies and research projects, whether or not they were related to assigned homework.

There was a moment in my childhood, otherwise innocuous,that I distinctly remember, I believe because it was when I truly realized how rewarding it was to share knowledge with others. As quite a shy child, I generally kept very much to myself. But then came the day when I first helped a stranger in the library. I was eight years old at the time, knew the library collection layout like the back of my hand, and happened to notice a fellow patron wandering up aisles looking lost. I uttered those six magic words: "May I help you find something?" The man looked relieved, and not at all embarrassed to have been so accosted by a person less than half his height. Just like that, the librarian in me blossomed. I still have shy tendencies: for instance I don't like speaking in front of large groups of people and I am terrible at accepting compliments. However, there is something about libraries that draws me out of my shell. In the library setting I am not shy at all. I will approach strangers and ask if they need help, I brainstorm aloud with colleagues in meetings, I take initiative in devising proposals for growth and improvement in library services and bring them up with my director. In fact, I think my personality is perfectly suited to library work, because while I can, on one hand, work effectively and efficiently with other people or groups, I can also work independently and without any direct supervision - something I became very practiced at as a shy and stubbornly independent child.

My personal philosophy of librarianship is one that very much plays upon my personality and the energy and excitement I gain from working in the library setting. I seek outlets for this energy, and want to be able to share with others that excitement. As such, my philosophy of librarianship is a philosophy of education and of inspiration. My ultimate aim in studying to become a librarian, and the aim I work towards every day in my job as a library paraprofessional, is to educate and to inspire others. I aim to educate people so that they have the ability to find the knowledge they seek, and I aim to inspire people with the thirst for more knowledge. Many patrons are seeking neither education nor inspiration. There are many who simply want an answer fast, without caring how to find it. In reference services I must be able to recognize and realize this, as reference work is above all else a service to others. After all, whether that service will be a long drawn out procedure or a fifteen-second dialogue is not based upon the desire of the librarian but the needs of the patron.

The ideal of service to patrons is at the heart of librarianship. Whether you are one of the more public faces in a library - perhaps a circulation desk staffer or a reference librarian - or a cataloger or acquisitions coordinator that works in an office unknown to library patrons - everything that is done in libraries is with the users in mind. Part of this service orientation is devoted to performing regular tasks. In our office, for example, one person processes the serials that come in the mail each day, which another will check-in and label and route to me for shelving. We continually add to, update, maintain, and weed materials from the collection. However, another important aspect of our service orientation changes much more frequently, and requires creativity and flexibility. This is the service we perform to make materials more accessible to patrons. It may be finding something for a patron when directly asked, or adding information to our catalog or website to help aid and direct patrons in their research, or perhaps even reorganizing the way materials are presented in our library to better promote their visibility and encourage their use. Unlike check-in and shelving procedures, these are not necessarily service tasks we complete on a daily basis, but they are extremely important. As a librarian it is necessary to keep up with many types of information retrieval and adjust library processes accordingly to best assist patrons in getting the most out of your collection. I enjoy this aspect of my job immensely, and I am always working with the goal in mind to make our collection more usable and our patrons more empowered to use it and learn from it. For example, I recently underwent a reorganization of our library's vast microfiche collection. Concerned that there are many titles which students simply don't realize they have access to, because we only have them on microfiche, I reorganized our collection so it is easier to use, completed some retroactive cataloging, and labeled the cabinets so the titles available are more visible. I have also been working on developing an online guide to our collection to supplement the catalog records, including information such as how to find materials within each microfiche set and scope notes for the sets. Microfiche will probably never be anyone's first choice when researching materials - if it can be found in print or online patrons will go there first - but increasing access to the microfiche collection is worth doing nonetheless because we do receive many titles for which we have limited or no access in other formats.

While commitment to service is a cornerstone of the library profession, so, too, is commitment to education. These principles are closely tied, as the ultimate service that librarians provide to their community is education. Librarianship, after all, is first and foremost educating people, both directly instructing and indirectly, by providing access to information. On top of the education of others, it is also extremely important that librarians maintain a life-long commitment to self-education. The information environment is constantly changing, and keeping up with - and even developing - new technologies continues to be a major part of library work. Additionally, whatever your specialization in the library, professional development is essential. This may be achieved through training sessions or workshops, through conference attendance or taking online classes, or any number of ways. In the library profession, daily personal growth is not an expectation, but a necessity. The learning curve is steep, but the climb is exciting!

One of my favorite quotes, attributed to W.B. Yeats, is that "Education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire." To me education, and librarianship, are just that: the goal of both and their ultimate achievement is inspiration. I have been fortunate to have many inspiring adults in my life who guided me on my path toward librarianship. Most of all I credit my parents, who instilled in me a voracious appetite for learning, an veritable addiction to books, and the self-discipline to be an autodidact. There are too many teachers, librarians, supervisors, coaches, and others in my life to possibly credit them all. But suffice to say, I know I wouldn't be who I am and where I am in life if I hadn't been inspired by others. The profession of librarianship, to me, is about such inspiration. I find inspiration in many ways and I hope, above everything else, that through my work in librarianship I can provide the impetus to others to learn, to grow, and to be inspired in what they do, as well.

My personal philosophy of librarianship, although influenced and continually augmented with ideas, principles, and practices that I've learned on the job and in my library science degree program, is first and foremost a collection of observations and inspirations gained from many years as a library patron. I want to be a librarian like so many of the ones that I've known. They educate and they innovate. They are multi-taskers and they are communicators. They are service-oriented and detail-oriented. They are approachable, friendly, and knowledgeable. And above all else they perform their jobs with a passion that has always been a great source of inspiration for me. My personal philosophy of librarianship is one based upon principles and characteristics such as these, which I try to achieve on a continual basis. I have fallen in love with this profession because of the unique place libraries and librarians hold in the realm of education and indeed, in the world. Aspiring to achieve these principles both drive and motivate me in my own career and education and also serve as the focus for my work in the field of librarianship. As a full-time library paraprofessional currently studying to become a librarian, I am excited to be able to apply what I learn in my graduate studies directly into my career. I look forward to a future as a reference librarian, where I can continue to use my skills and my passions in service to patrons.

A few months ago I attended the annual meeting of the Mid-America Association of Law Librarians, where Rivkah Sass, named Library Journal's 2006 Librarian of the Year, was the opening speaker. She encouraged her audience to be "fearless" librarians: to dare to take chances, to innovate and to inspire. "Don't be afraid to color outside of the lines," she told us. Every day in the library I explore new ways to make our library services better. The needs of patrons are continually shifting, as is the information environment itself. Keeping up with exciting new technologies and evaluating, maintaining, and updating core library services are both a challenge and a joy on a daily basis. But my biggest joy of all, to this day, remains the moments when I walk up to patrons and ask, "May I help you find something?"