NMRT (New Members Round Table)

Good day everyone,

The NMRT Online Discussion Form Committee's November topic is Promoting Librarianship as a Career Path.

When I was younger, I remember during career day, we always had a librarian visit to tell us about her occupation and furthermore, we always took an annual visit to libraries around the community to learn how libraries function.  I also remembered several librarians on tv such as Rupert Giles from Buffy and Barbara Gordon.  However, I don't witness many librarians now making their rounds & informing students of their career choice and nor have I witnessed anyone requesting librarians to present librarianship as a career path.  Take a look at your library website, is the role defined? Is there any information promoting librarianship as a career path? Or is there a how do I become a librarian link?  When was the last time you heard a child aspire to become a librarian? Do you as a librarian, feel forgotten or overlooked by other occupations?

This brings about the discussion, how can we as librarians or informational professionals, better promote and advocate our chosen career path, especially in younger generations?  Given the ever-evolving role of librarians and the need for more funding, it seems promoting librarianship as a career path is ever more important.

Please share your experiences. I look forward to having some thoughtful discussion and possibly  find some innovate solutions.

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Maria Lagasca
Library Manager
East Shore Area Library
Harrisburg, PA
mlagasca@gmail.com
mlagasca@dcls.org
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I often feel many people, including the people closest to me, are unaware of all of my job duties.  Especially when I go to the stores and don't qualify for an educators discount at bookstores or am considered a front line position.  I feel the world could reuse a re-education of the role of current librarians.

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Maria Lagasca
Library Manager
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So, I'm a library student, and somewhat late to choosing librarian as a career path. I only decided to pursue librarianship in 2019 at the age of 34 after having gotten a master's degree in something else and having a short career as a travel agent. It was a very late realization, and it finally dawned on me that librarian was the perfect profession for me and my talents and interests. I think a large part of why it took me so long to figure out this is what I wanted to do with the rest of my life is because it had never really been presented to me as an option.  I knew librarians existed of course, my first baby-sitter was a librarian, my parents took me to libraries all the time as a kid, and even as an adult I spent time in libraries just because. But to me librarians were some mythical Other, chosen somehow that I had no vision of. I think we really need to demystify the profession, remove the vocational awe that separates us from "mere mortals" and let people know exactly what we're doing. 

One way that I see this happening already is through the use of social media, particularly twitter, to have discussions about the profession and the various aspects of it in the public eye. Anyone can look at library twitter and see a whole lot about what we're doing, what our day to day lives looks like, and how the profession is being changed as we speak.

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Kestrel Ward
Library Associate I
University of Florida Smathers Library
she/her
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Hi Kestrel,

Thanks for the reply!  It never occurred to me the need to demystify the profession.  Now that I think about it, you're right.  As a librarian, I don't really enjoy being seen differently from other people or worst better than other people because I am a librarian. Firstmost, I am human and truly enjoy the human experiences.  Though, I do feel if we do lose a bit of the vocational awe, we might lose more of our salary.  Sad?  You've given me a good idea about highlighting exactly what I do on social media.  I want to highlight the little things we do that people don't know about. 


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Maria Lagasca
Library Manager
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Nov 07, 2021 08:37 PM
From: Kestrel Ward
Subject: Online Discussion Form Committee November Topic: Promoting Librarianship as a Career Path

So, I'm a library student, and somewhat late to choosing librarian as a career path. I only decided to pursue librarianship in 2019 at the age of 34 after having gotten a master's degree in something else and having a short career as a travel agent. It was a very late realization, and it finally dawned on me that librarian was the perfect profession for me and my talents and interests. I think a large part of why it took me so long to figure out this is what I wanted to do with the rest of my life is because it had never really been presented to me as an option.  I knew librarians existed of course, my first baby-sitter was a librarian, my parents took me to libraries all the time as a kid, and even as an adult I spent time in libraries just because. But to me librarians were some mythical Other, chosen somehow that I had no vision of. I think we really need to demystify the profession, remove the vocational awe that separates us from "mere mortals" and let people know exactly what we're doing.

One way that I see this happening already is through the use of social media, particularly twitter, to have discussions about the profession and the various aspects of it in the public eye. Anyone can look at library twitter and see a whole lot about what we're doing, what our day to day lives looks like, and how the profession is being changed as we speak.

------------------------------
Kestrel Ward
Library Associate I
University of Florida Smathers Library
she/her
------------------------------

I wonder too if it's not just promoting librarianship as a career path but demystifying what librarianship is? There is overlap with many different careers and the skillsets librarians have are transferable to many different fields. I know when I was transitioning to librarianship from teaching many people saw it as somewhat logical but I don't think they also realized that I could still teach as an instructional librarian and use my prior skillset but expand upon it in a different way. I think it's also important for us to realize in an increasingly difficult job market the ways that we can promote ourselves as information professionals with something valuable to offer.

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Ella Gibson
Online Learning & Instruction Librarian
University of Colorado Colorado Springs
She/Her/Hers
------------------------------

Thanks for the reply Ella!  When I was job hunting, I had to rewrite my resume and pretty much itemize all the things I do as a librarian that people had no clue I did. I agree, I think we should promote ourselves as information professionals but then I think that title dehumanizes us a bit and again adds some vocational awe.  Ella, did you feel forgotten during the pandemic when teachers were the subject of COVID exposure?  I often felt left out. Not saying teachers should not be part of the discussion, but public librarians seem to not be included in mainstream discussions.

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Maria Lagasca
Library Manager
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Nov 10, 2021 03:43 PM
From: Ella Gibson
Subject: Online Discussion Form Committee November Topic: Promoting Librarianship as a Career Path

I wonder too if it's not just promoting librarianship as a career path but demystifying what librarianship is? There is overlap with many different careers and the skillsets librarians have are transferable to many different fields. I know when I was transitioning to librarianship from teaching many people saw it as somewhat logical but I don't think they also realized that I could still teach as an instructional librarian and use my prior skillset but expand upon it in a different way. I think it's also important for us to realize in an increasingly difficult job market the ways that we can promote ourselves as information professionals with something valuable to offer.

------------------------------
Ella Gibson
Online Learning & Instruction Librarian
University of Colorado Colorado Springs
She/Her/Hers
------------------------------

Maria, I could see where that does add some vocational awe. I think, though, normalizing the language with other professions could maybe help there? There is a lot of overlap (at least with my experiences in education!) and it was finding the common language to express it. 

I was teaching in Florida when public schools reopened fully in Fall 2020 and I felt as though nothing was heard from the perspective of educators in regards to our fears or concerns in terms of reopening safely. I'm not sure if or what could have been done or said to make it better, honestly, because the risk for exposure when you're teaching some 100+ students a day in an enclosed muggy class just is what it is but it was mentally exhausting. Personally I can't speak for public librarians but instances like COVID showed just how little self-advocacy some of us had in our respective positions.

------------------------------
Ella Gibson
Online Learning & Instruction Librarian
University of Colorado Colorado Springs
She/Her/Hers
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Nov 15, 2021 08:05 PM
From: Maria Lagasca
Subject: Online Discussion Form Committee November Topic: Promoting Librarianship as a Career Path

Thanks for the reply Ella!  When I was job hunting, I had to rewrite my resume and pretty much itemize all the things I do as a librarian that people had no clue I did. I agree, I think we should promote ourselves as information professionals but then I think that title dehumanizes us a bit and again adds some vocational awe.  Ella, did you feel forgotten during the pandemic when teachers were the subject of COVID exposure?  I often felt left out. Not saying teachers should not be part of the discussion, but public librarians seem to not be included in mainstream discussions.

------------------------------
Maria Lagasca
Library Manager
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: Nov 10, 2021 03:43 PM
From: Ella Gibson
Subject: Online Discussion Form Committee November Topic: Promoting Librarianship as a Career Path

I wonder too if it's not just promoting librarianship as a career path but demystifying what librarianship is? There is overlap with many different careers and the skillsets librarians have are transferable to many different fields. I know when I was transitioning to librarianship from teaching many people saw it as somewhat logical but I don't think they also realized that I could still teach as an instructional librarian and use my prior skillset but expand upon it in a different way. I think it's also important for us to realize in an increasingly difficult job market the ways that we can promote ourselves as information professionals with something valuable to offer.

------------------------------
Ella Gibson
Online Learning & Instruction Librarian
University of Colorado Colorado Springs
She/Her/Hers

I second normalizing the language Ella.  In my previous place of employment, while we were given a safe space to voice our concerns regarding COVID, at the end, I believed it really didn't matter because higher ups were going to make their decision.   I guess it was cathartic to let my fears be known, but not much was done. However, I do know how difficult of decision that must of been and I would not want to be in that position - deciding for the safety of numerous of people.

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Maria Lagasca
Library Manager
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Nov 17, 2021 11:58 AM
From: Ella Gibson
Subject: Online Discussion Form Committee November Topic: Promoting Librarianship as a Career Path

Maria, I could see where that does add some vocational awe. I think, though, normalizing the language with other professions could maybe help there? There is a lot of overlap (at least with my experiences in education!) and it was finding the common language to express it.

I was teaching in Florida when public schools reopened fully in Fall 2020 and I felt as though nothing was heard from the perspective of educators in regards to our fears or concerns in terms of reopening safely. I'm not sure if or what could have been done or said to make it better, honestly, because the risk for exposure when you're teaching some 100+ students a day in an enclosed muggy class just is what it is but it was mentally exhausting. Personally I can't speak for public librarians but instances like COVID showed just how little self-advocacy some of us had in our respective positions.

------------------------------
Ella Gibson
Online Learning & Instruction Librarian
University of Colorado Colorado Springs
She/Her/Hers
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: Nov 15, 2021 08:05 PM
From: Maria Lagasca
Subject: Online Discussion Form Committee November Topic: Promoting Librarianship as a Career Path

Thanks for the reply Ella!  When I was job hunting, I had to rewrite my resume and pretty much itemize all the things I do as a librarian that people had no clue I did. I agree, I think we should promote ourselves as information professionals but then I think that title dehumanizes us a bit and again adds some vocational awe.  Ella, did you feel forgotten during the pandemic when teachers were the subject of COVID exposure?  I often felt left out. Not saying teachers should not be part of the discussion, but public librarians seem to not be included in mainstream discussions.

------------------------------
Maria Lagasca
Library Manager


Original Message:
Sent: Nov 10, 2021 03:43 PM
From: Ella Gibson
Subject: Online Discussion Form Committee November Topic: Promoting Librarianship as a Career Path

I wonder too if it's not just promoting librarianship as a career path but demystifying what librarianship is? There is overlap with many different careers and the skillsets librarians have are transferable to many different fields. I know when I was transitioning to librarianship from teaching many people saw it as somewhat logical but I don't think they also realized that I could still teach as an instructional librarian and use my prior skillset but expand upon it in a different way. I think it's also important for us to realize in an increasingly difficult job market the ways that we can promote ourselves as information professionals with something valuable to offer.

------------------------------
Ella Gibson
Online Learning & Instruction Librarian
University of Colorado Colorado Springs
She/Her/Hers

Hi again,

Thank you to all who participated! I've learned several things regarding librarianship.  Below are some key takeaways from this discussion:

• Librarians are multi-talented
• It may take people some time to figure out they want to a librarian because librarianship is always presented as an option.
• Some view librarians as "mythical"
• We should work towards "demystifying the profession/remove the vocational awe"
• We should work on telling people we do via increasing our social media presence
• Librarianship overlaps with many different careers/skills
• Librarians have transferable skills
• Promote ourselves as informational professionals
• Normalizing languages – find common language so all understand what we do

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Maria Lagasca
Library Manager
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