"For me, librarianship is my family's business," says Chris Taylor. "My
mother knew she wanted to be a librarian when she was five."
Taylor's two sisters also became librarians. Taylor herself started out
as a librarian and is now library director at the Upper Arlington Public
Library in Ohio.
Taylor has a non-traditional undergraduate degree. "The majority of librarians
tend to have a history or English degree as their undergraduate degree,"
she says.
"They're people who really like history or who like reading. I actually
have my bachelor's degree in mathematics. I've always been more of a math
and science type person, but I really like research."
Taylor's first library job was as a cataloguer. "I wasn't the librarian
you came to and asked for books," she says. "I sat in the back room and
put the numbers and the subject headings on the materials."
Taylor's love of learning makes librarianship a rewarding career for her.
"I really like learning," says Taylor. "I think of myself as a generalist,
so I really like learning new things. As you help people with their questions,
you learn about all kinds of things. [For example], I worked in a business
and technology department of a large metro library for a while, so I learned
all about stock prices and investing.
"I also like mysteries," says Taylor. "That's the sort of fiction I read
-- I read mysteries. And trying to figure things out, that's what helping
someone with a reference question is like. What are the different ways you
can search to try to find the information that they want? So I like that
mystery and the figuring out part of it."
Librarian Joanna Aegard's duties include:
- Updating the library's website.
- Managing the library's social media presence as well as all online resources.
- Helping people use library ebooks (via e-mail, on the phone and in person).
- Attending meetings and working with colleagues on collection development,
promotions and other library operational matters.
- Providing Facebook coaching and coordinating programs to help people with
personal technology.
- Troubleshooting problems with online databases.
- Writing articles for the library newsletter and local paper promoting
virtual services.
- Training staff on how to update the library's website and use the library's
online services and resources.
Aegard worked for her local public library one summer during high school.
She had visited the local student employment office and looked at the available
jobs.
"Working at the library appealed to me as an interesting, vibrant place,"
says Aegard. "Since then I continued to work summers, part time and casual
positions at the library throughout the rest of high school and university.
I grew up surrounded by books, as both my parents are avid readers. I guess
I just felt comfortable at the library."
Ed Goyda also grew up around books. He's a library director in Delaware.
"I grew up in Pittsburgh, and was always a heavy user of the Carnegie libraries
and a heavy reader," says Goyda
"That said, I didn't really consider becoming a librarian until after I
had completed my undergraduate work... I started my master's program focusing
on digital libraries, until a public library administration course swayed
me towards the public side of the profession."
Goyda says he especially enjoys the diversity of his workload. For example,
in a two-day period, he:
- Walked a patron through an ebook issue on her laptop
- Planned a course that he was to teach the next month
- Appeared on talk radio
- Wrote a letter for the library's annual fundraising campaign
- Finalized a public presentation on the architectural plans for their new
facility
- Checked references on construction management firms
- Researched heating and air conditioning technologies
- Prepared monthly fiscal reports
- Discussed the details of the library's commercial insurance with a broker
"Some of this is more enjoyable than other [tasks], but there's always
something that needs to be done," says Goyda. "I haven't had to fix a computer
or a toilet lately, but that happens too."