I've been a librarian for just over two years now.
All through school I heard how important it is to 'get yourself out there.' Intern! Volunteer! Join ALA! Join a committee! Start a blog! Tweet!
"Ok, I thought, I hear you. I can do this."
I heard it, but I was just so busy with work and school and just couldn't figure out what to volunteer for or what to tweet about. I volunteered for the wrong things. I started a twitter account that I never used. I surfed other librarian's blogs and tried to figure out what the heck I had to say, but just ended up feeling overwhelmed.
Then I got my library job. And I got busier. Every once in a while I'd come up for air and think about all those 'big picture' things outside of my job description that I wasn't doing. And I'd panic. I was just barely treading water doing all the things that were my job, and had no idea how or what I could contribute to the larger world of librarianship. I wanted to--very much wanted to, but just didn't know how. I took every opportunity I encountered for workshops and conferences, but felt like I was faking it.
At conferences I started introducing myself and making connections. It didn't feel like it made any difference, but taking a few minutes to talk to a speaker or introduce myself and thank a library director in person for a phone interview she gave me when I was hunting was a good step--even if I didn't have a lot to say yet. I applied for the WLA Leadership program. I was so in love with the idea of having a mentor. I wasn't chosen, but I tried.
I'd start looking at library blogs and get frustrated at everything I was missing. There seemed to be so much--I couldn't keep up.
I wondered what the point of another storytime blog was--there are already so many good ones, what do i have to add?
So, I set goals for myself.
I want to be a SLJ reviewer. I want to improve my Spanish and learn some simple songs to share in storytime. I gave myself plenty of time to work towards them. Sometimes I had no idea when I'd work on them. But I wrote them down--on paint chips, actually, so they'd be cheery to look at--and then I let them be.
I set up a library-related RSS feed. I saved the feed tab as one of my homepage tabs, and added all the library blogs that caught my interest. I feel so much more connected, and it doesn't seem to take up any of my time--it's just part of my workday.
As librarians, we are curators of information. Our duty isn't to create all the information, but to channel it and present it. We are a collaborative profession, and blogs are perfect for that use. So I started another storytime blog.
I said yes to opportunities. I read. I learned. I worked on those goals. I found my own mentor.
Just last week I got my first books to review for SLJ.
I'm getting there. I'm finding my voice. I'm getting there.
All through school I heard how important it is to 'get yourself out there.' Intern! Volunteer! Join ALA! Join a committee! Start a blog! Tweet!
"Ok, I thought, I hear you. I can do this."
I heard it, but I was just so busy with work and school and just couldn't figure out what to volunteer for or what to tweet about. I volunteered for the wrong things. I started a twitter account that I never used. I surfed other librarian's blogs and tried to figure out what the heck I had to say, but just ended up feeling overwhelmed.
Then I got my library job. And I got busier. Every once in a while I'd come up for air and think about all those 'big picture' things outside of my job description that I wasn't doing. And I'd panic. I was just barely treading water doing all the things that were my job, and had no idea how or what I could contribute to the larger world of librarianship. I wanted to--very much wanted to, but just didn't know how. I took every opportunity I encountered for workshops and conferences, but felt like I was faking it.
At conferences I started introducing myself and making connections. It didn't feel like it made any difference, but taking a few minutes to talk to a speaker or introduce myself and thank a library director in person for a phone interview she gave me when I was hunting was a good step--even if I didn't have a lot to say yet. I applied for the WLA Leadership program. I was so in love with the idea of having a mentor. I wasn't chosen, but I tried.
I'd start looking at library blogs and get frustrated at everything I was missing. There seemed to be so much--I couldn't keep up.
I wondered what the point of another storytime blog was--there are already so many good ones, what do i have to add?
So, I set goals for myself.
I want to be a SLJ reviewer. I want to improve my Spanish and learn some simple songs to share in storytime. I gave myself plenty of time to work towards them. Sometimes I had no idea when I'd work on them. But I wrote them down--on paint chips, actually, so they'd be cheery to look at--and then I let them be.
I set up a library-related RSS feed. I saved the feed tab as one of my homepage tabs, and added all the library blogs that caught my interest. I feel so much more connected, and it doesn't seem to take up any of my time--it's just part of my workday.
As librarians, we are curators of information. Our duty isn't to create all the information, but to channel it and present it. We are a collaborative profession, and blogs are perfect for that use. So I started another storytime blog.
I said yes to opportunities. I read. I learned. I worked on those goals. I found my own mentor.
Just last week I got my first books to review for SLJ.
I'm getting there. I'm finding my voice. I'm getting there.
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