I'm working in a Library!

Have you ever seen the movie, Matilda? Near the beginning, a tiny Matilda discovers the library. And the sweetest little old lady librarian helps her find books and tells her that she can get her own library card. That little old lady is who I aspire to be when I grow up.

Okay, well, I don't want to be old before my time but I have wanted to be a librarian for a long time. I have loved books and words for as long as I can remember and a job that surrounds me with books is sheer heaven. As a second grader, I got to assist Mrs. Matthews, the red haired feisty librarian of Dworshak Elementary, and I loved it. When I went to college, I studied Comparative Literature, not a bad choice for a librarian want to be. But then, the need to make money got in the way of my career choice and so, after graduating, I went to work in the computer industry. I briefly got back on track when I started a masters in Library Science at BYU. However, BYU decided to close their program and so I had to make a choice. Take a promotion at work with more money, or cut my hours way back or quit to finish in time. The need for money won out. Three classes into my masters, I was finished.

So now, 16 years later, I'm taking a step back on track. I applied for and got a library clerk position at the new Highland City library. It's a very small library right now, a long way from the Library of Congress, but hey, it's great. I'm in my second week and I'm doing exactly what I've always wanted to do. Putter around the library helping little kids find books that will hopefully inspire them. And I've actually sent off some inquiries to schools regarding online Masters in Library Science programs.

Now of course, libraries are not always fun and games. My background in customer service (thank you WordPerfect and Lexis-Nexis) has me well equipped to deal with those. I am prepared for patrons such as these.



I really hope Cookie Monster shows up at the library on my shift.

(To see a better quality version of this video with a little more dialogue at the end, go to this link--I just wasn't able to embed that version).