I am an employee at a very well known research university, and today, I put in my notice of resignation. I am scared, sorry and excited to leave. I have worked here for six years, and it was my dream job when I started. I am a librarian, though, currently my position is more aptly titled as, "Public Services Associate." It was not always this way.
Initially, I started out as a circulation clerk in a public library outside of Detroit, Michigan. Well, before that, I was a page at the Linda Hall Library in Kansas City. Since then, I have worked in a couple public libraries, but mostly in academic libraries. I ran two smaller academic libraries, and was in charge of pretty much everything -- purchasing books, instructing classes, processing materials, engaging faculty, collection development, cataloging, weeding, hiring employees and student workers, managing compliance, meeting accreditation standards and above all--I wanted to help students and faculty further their personal development.
I was hired as a reference librarian, then became somewhat of a circulation clerk again, and now I am here. In a library with no books, a circulation clerk with no desk. I think innovation is necessary, but I really wanted to take a step away and evaluate what this looks like, what libraries and educators and students and the general public look like. Where do they search for their knowledge? What is the best way to facilitate that? This is what I aim to find out.
