oh, you want to know more?

In the simplest of terms, I'm going to Library School. Whenever I tell people what I'm going to school for, I usually get two responses; a.) You need a degree for that? b.) Cool....

I've worked in Access Services (or Circulation) at two kinds of libraries, academic and public. Oh, they are worlds apart! I worked at my college's library for four years (that's right, I actually graduated from college in 4 years!). It was an amazing experience - I got to interact with everyone on campus and I learned so much about what happens in a library. I worked in archives. I worked with special collections. I worked on my customer service skills. I worked the reference desk. I worked in the stacks. I worked with new student employees. I did it all.

Now, fast-forward 3 years later to a public library. I checked out books to patrons. I checked in books from patrons. I listened while patrons told me they never turned in books late though their account reflected something quite different. I printed overdue mailers every morning. I did the same thing everyday for a year. There was no hope of ever being promoted because no one ever left. It was a learning experience, though a miserable one. More than anything, it reinforced that I wanted to work in a library setting, but not a public library and never again at the circulation desk of ANY library.