One of the best things about our class has been the opportunity to talk to academic library professionals in the community. It’s been really thought-provoking to discuss career paths with people well into the field. Two of the big shocks have been the discussions with Michelle Boule and with Veronica Arellano. To be perfectly frank, I thought Michelle had my dream job- or at least my dream first job out of library school. I loved the idea of doing new technology experiments and still having time to work with professors and students in my subject field. Turns out, there isn’t time for all that. It’s still a great job- just not what I thought it was. In their own way, it appears that large academic libraries aren’t all that different from large corporations: they suffer from the inertia brought on by size. That will require a different level of patience in my approach. Another surprise was Veronica’s choice to work in subject and instructional librarianship rather than special collections, another interest of mine. I hadn’t thought about how unlikely it would be for me to interact with students and professors on a daily basis in special collections.  

Hearing from the Dean of Libraries, Dana Rooks, and from Lee Hilyer, the Director of Research and Reference Services, opened up some ideas for me. I was impressed with the commitment by both of them to create an atmosphere where people are motivated to do the work and enjoy their team members. For now, I’m focused on the work of librarianship, but I can see how management may be satisfying as well. One of the things I like most is creating communication links between different groups of people in an enterprise-it’s one  of the main reasons I got involved in LISSA. That’s something academic librarianship will provide whether or not I pursue management, because there will always be opportunities to participate in university committees and get to know people from across the academic spectrum. 

Finally, I’m thinking about smaller schools and junior colleges too, after hearing what Sara Holland had to say about her work, and seeing how happy Cindy is at her job. It’s wonderful to be able to make a difference in student’s lives, and I can see how it becomes easier to know your students in that environment.