I have been seriously job hunting now since April, and watching even before that. I have applied to I-don't-know-how-many-jobs and have come up with nothing. There have been 3-4 really serious attempts to some positions I found, even spent some money on transcripts for one job. None of them have reaped anything - most of them didn't even bother to send a response they had received my application. A couple of positions got filled just as I was applying - day late and a dollar short.
Now I have, as of last week, been interviewed for a museum job. I would love to work in a museum and this would get my foot in the door. I probably would have a hard time getting a professional position unless I had some sort of history degree. If I could get into archival/preservation I may not, however.
After the above interview took place I learned of a professional position that will be open in a couple of months to which will be in the town we are moving. It will probably pay twice as much if not more than the museum job. So, what do I do??? take the fun job and get paid less, or the professional job and get paid more. I would really enjoy either one.
I thought I wanted the museum job - really bad; even called them twice about it. But that was when I didn't think there was any chance I would get a library position. If I turn down the museum position, there would be no guarentee that I would get the library one. So, it's "ifey". I"m not sure yet what I'll do. I'm hoping the Lord will take care of the delimma for me.
I'm not a perfect match for the museum job, but as I've said before, it would get my foot in the door. The other one I am perfectly suited for, but it isn't a shoe-in.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
librarianship - the foundation job to all others
I've been thinking... (alright, dangerous, I know.) Just what is librarianship all about - the basic "about", the underlying reason of all other reasons...?
Well, organization of information, of course! - ALL information! What are other jobs about? Well, construction jobs are about constructing buildings, roads, furniture, - putting things together. But they aren't about medicine. Medicine is about illnesses, anatomy, cures, drugs, procedures. But medicine isn't about farming. Farming is about growing food and animals, producing a product for human consumption and getting rid of anything that inhibits a good end result.
Do you see what I'm getting at?
You go to a farmer to ask what's the best weed killer in wheat fields in Kansas, or what keeps insects out of orchards in New York. But you don't go to a medical doctor for that information. You also don't ask a corporate CEO in the auto industry how to make a dress without a pattern. They will know a little bit about patterns because they design cars. But they don't design dresses.
But who is the one person, or where is the one place you can always get the answer to, for any question? Your information specialist, the Librarian, or Library! Your One Source Information Provider!!! Want to know about Stocks and Bonds? Go to the library and look up the Standards and Poors report. Want to know what's the best camera to buy? Look it up at the library in Consumer Reports. Want to know when is the best time to plant potatoes? Go to the Library and check out books on vegetable gardens.
Now you could track down the experts round about town and find these answers. Or you could go to one place and get all these answers!!! [Another bonus, its all free!]
Left to our own devices we all would live in a house with some level of chaos. But down deep we as a society have a desire to organize - whether its our thoughts, our things or our lives. We want some kind of order, so we can derive some kind of meaning out of life.
Even very primitive tribal man had a desire for this. And, by the way, the two most important things they organized were religion and family lines, whether they organized anything else or not. They coded their lives with rules. They created what information they knew into organized segments. It is within our nature to do so.
Okay. So what? What difference does that make to me? Well, I'm glad you ---at least wondered. Librarians are the ultimate organizers of information. Pure and Simple. Just think about it for a minute. Each discipline is organized within its own world - astronomy, physics, mechanics, music, medicine, philosophy and so on. But what do the librarians do? They take all these disciplines and organize all the small individual categories into one great big total.
To a librarian that is called classification. There are several different methods used. The most common in the United States are Dewey Decimal System and Library of Congress Classification System. But they all do the same thing. Its the ultimate grouping of groups, a system of systems. It is the Library!
So the next time you want to know where to find a good Italian restaurant, or how to improve your picture taking, or what types of clothes go together - stop and think what you are doing. You are looking for information. You may ask a friend, or you make check the internet, or you may ask a specialist. But ultimately, its your librarian that helps keep this available, keeps this organized and keeps your world still turning. They are the gatekeepers of gatekeepers. And they've got the best job in the world! I'd even go so far as to say, if it weren't for librarians, the rest of society just might fall apart.
Want the best job on the world? Become a librarian. You can learn a little (or a lot) about anything and everything and help someone else do the same.
Well, organization of information, of course! - ALL information! What are other jobs about? Well, construction jobs are about constructing buildings, roads, furniture, - putting things together. But they aren't about medicine. Medicine is about illnesses, anatomy, cures, drugs, procedures. But medicine isn't about farming. Farming is about growing food and animals, producing a product for human consumption and getting rid of anything that inhibits a good end result.
Do you see what I'm getting at?
You go to a farmer to ask what's the best weed killer in wheat fields in Kansas, or what keeps insects out of orchards in New York. But you don't go to a medical doctor for that information. You also don't ask a corporate CEO in the auto industry how to make a dress without a pattern. They will know a little bit about patterns because they design cars. But they don't design dresses.
But who is the one person, or where is the one place you can always get the answer to, for any question? Your information specialist, the Librarian, or Library! Your One Source Information Provider!!! Want to know about Stocks and Bonds? Go to the library and look up the Standards and Poors report. Want to know what's the best camera to buy? Look it up at the library in Consumer Reports. Want to know when is the best time to plant potatoes? Go to the Library and check out books on vegetable gardens.
Now you could track down the experts round about town and find these answers. Or you could go to one place and get all these answers!!! [Another bonus, its all free!]
Left to our own devices we all would live in a house with some level of chaos. But down deep we as a society have a desire to organize - whether its our thoughts, our things or our lives. We want some kind of order, so we can derive some kind of meaning out of life.
Even very primitive tribal man had a desire for this. And, by the way, the two most important things they organized were religion and family lines, whether they organized anything else or not. They coded their lives with rules. They created what information they knew into organized segments. It is within our nature to do so.
Okay. So what? What difference does that make to me? Well, I'm glad you ---at least wondered. Librarians are the ultimate organizers of information. Pure and Simple. Just think about it for a minute. Each discipline is organized within its own world - astronomy, physics, mechanics, music, medicine, philosophy and so on. But what do the librarians do? They take all these disciplines and organize all the small individual categories into one great big total.
To a librarian that is called classification. There are several different methods used. The most common in the United States are Dewey Decimal System and Library of Congress Classification System. But they all do the same thing. Its the ultimate grouping of groups, a system of systems. It is the Library!
So the next time you want to know where to find a good Italian restaurant, or how to improve your picture taking, or what types of clothes go together - stop and think what you are doing. You are looking for information. You may ask a friend, or you make check the internet, or you may ask a specialist. But ultimately, its your librarian that helps keep this available, keeps this organized and keeps your world still turning. They are the gatekeepers of gatekeepers. And they've got the best job in the world! I'd even go so far as to say, if it weren't for librarians, the rest of society just might fall apart.
Want the best job on the world? Become a librarian. You can learn a little (or a lot) about anything and everything and help someone else do the same.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Neither Will Be The Same - a mini short story
She sat at her desk, finishing up the last of her duties, checking her email just before leaving for the day. There the thought struck her, "I really am leaving this place. I really am leaving." It was 6:30 in the evening, on Friday the 23rd. School had been over for a week and a half now, and graduation the weekend before.
She gathered her things, pulled out her car keys and work keys, and shut the office door one last time. When she turned off all the lights, and walked out the front door, she noticed how deserted the campus was. Not only were the students all gone, but it was 2 hours after all staff leave for the day, as well. The wind picked at her hair, and cooled the wet lines on her face. The quiet campus was deafening. The goodbyes, the recognitions, the gifts - they had all been said and done. They echoed in her ears.
What had she done, she second-guessed to herself. It was suppose to be timed like a neat little package to have something to move on to. A new job, a new home, a new life. But none of that had transpired as planned. Tears streamed down her face as her feet propelled her numb mind towards the car. What lay ahead the Lord was yet to reveal.
One thing was certain, she did have some loose ends to tie up. She figured it would be at least a couple more trips back to the city to get it all done. But, it just won't be the same. Yet - will anything be different? It will be so natural to walk in and catch up on the day.
How you can walk away from something you have invested yourself in for the last several years? Thoughts raced through her head. It's not possible to just let go, no longer care, no longer call and check on things, no longer give advice on what should be done. There will be a time gap in leadership. how could she do this?
She really should have stayed a little longer, she chastised herself. But plans had been "put into stone." After much prayer and bestowed advice, the decision had been made. This was what she and her husband thought the Lord's leading was.
Besides, who said it would be any easier to just put off the inevitable? It wouldn't. She drove up the one-way past the library, and past the campus apartments where she had shared an apartment for the first 3 years with her son, past the cafeteria where many lunches had been shared with coworkers in joy and in sorrow, in laughter and in stress; past the dorms and the athletic field where different kinds of battles had been won or lost.
The car turned right at the stop sign, and for one more time headed out for that 90 minute drive home. She felt in her purse for a kleenex. Where would she go from here? She didn't know. Down deep inside, she knew the Lord did. What she knew was a part of herself was being left behind. Life goes on, (it always does) both for those she left behind and for her as well. Hopefully, neither will be the same again.
.
.
.
She gathered her things, pulled out her car keys and work keys, and shut the office door one last time. When she turned off all the lights, and walked out the front door, she noticed how deserted the campus was. Not only were the students all gone, but it was 2 hours after all staff leave for the day, as well. The wind picked at her hair, and cooled the wet lines on her face. The quiet campus was deafening. The goodbyes, the recognitions, the gifts - they had all been said and done. They echoed in her ears.
What had she done, she second-guessed to herself. It was suppose to be timed like a neat little package to have something to move on to. A new job, a new home, a new life. But none of that had transpired as planned. Tears streamed down her face as her feet propelled her numb mind towards the car. What lay ahead the Lord was yet to reveal.
One thing was certain, she did have some loose ends to tie up. She figured it would be at least a couple more trips back to the city to get it all done. But, it just won't be the same. Yet - will anything be different? It will be so natural to walk in and catch up on the day.
How you can walk away from something you have invested yourself in for the last several years? Thoughts raced through her head. It's not possible to just let go, no longer care, no longer call and check on things, no longer give advice on what should be done. There will be a time gap in leadership. how could she do this?
She really should have stayed a little longer, she chastised herself. But plans had been "put into stone." After much prayer and bestowed advice, the decision had been made. This was what she and her husband thought the Lord's leading was.
Besides, who said it would be any easier to just put off the inevitable? It wouldn't. She drove up the one-way past the library, and past the campus apartments where she had shared an apartment for the first 3 years with her son, past the cafeteria where many lunches had been shared with coworkers in joy and in sorrow, in laughter and in stress; past the dorms and the athletic field where different kinds of battles had been won or lost.
The car turned right at the stop sign, and for one more time headed out for that 90 minute drive home. She felt in her purse for a kleenex. Where would she go from here? She didn't know. Down deep inside, she knew the Lord did. What she knew was a part of herself was being left behind. Life goes on, (it always does) both for those she left behind and for her as well. Hopefully, neither will be the same again.
.
.
.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
