Why a Librarian?

Hello all!

Before I get into more detail about the steps I’m taking towards becoming a librarian, I want to discuss how and why I decided that becoming a librarian is my dream.

During my last year at UVic, I spent a lot of time trying to decide what I should do after graduation. I already knew that I would be coming to Germany for 9 months to act as an English teaching assistant, but I also knew that I would need a long-term plan once that 9 months was complete.

I was fairly certain that I wanted to do a Master’s of some sort. I love being in university, I love to learn, and I figured that it was a good idea to pursue another degree while I was still in the essay-writing / all-night-studying frame of mind. What I couldn’t decide was what my Master’s would be in. I considered the English literature Master’s at UVic, a Master’s in Publishing in Ontario, and even considered a Law Degree. But each of these ideas would only last about a week before I would lose interest.

On a sunny day last February, I somehow ended up inside the library. I had come in there looking for a book, and it ended up being on the top floor – the one that isn’t a separate floor, but more like a raised platform. I found the book in just about no time, but was so content with being in the library that I walked around for quite a while before finally leaving. Everything was so silent, and I enjoyed looking at the rows of books a level down from the platform. I even took pictures, despite it not exactly being a photograph-worthy sight.

After walking around the library for way longer than necessary, it occurred to me that I would love to work in a place like this. I had always dismissed the idea of being a librarian before; even when I learned that you need a Master’s degree to become a librarian (instead of just needing the ability to alphabetize books), I figured that the need for librarians is fading away as the electronic age takes over. But on that day, I decided to do a little more research. The people who had been telling me that librarianship is a dying profession weren’t exactly professionals on the matter.

When I got home, I typed in “Librarian Master’s” on Google, and slowly realized that society’s limited view of librarianship was leaving out a lot of information. Modern librarians work with so much more than just physical books, and technology plays an important role. I found out that there are seven universities in Canada that offer the Library Science program, including Dalhousie in Halifax. I joked to my boyfriend that it would be pretty cool if I could go to Halifax for my Master’s – a large amount of people in my family live there, and it’s always been a thought for me to spend more time there.

I expected the librarian idea to fade away after a week, same as all my other ideas did. I mentioned it to my roommate after about a week, and of course she also thought I would change my mind quickly. But a month went by, and then two…and it was still an idea that excited and intrigued me.

Over the summer, I discovered several blogs on wordpress written by librarians, and began following all of them. At one point, a friend of mine posted a link to an article called “16 Bookstores Around the World that you Must See” (http://www.buzzfeed.com/harpercollins/16-bookstores-you-have-to-see-before-you-die-9npd). After looking at that, it occurred to me that I should be seeing more libraries and bookstores while I travel. Now, while others spend a lot of time in museums and cathedrals throughout Europe, I focus in on the libraries.

In December, I began applying for Library Schools. After a lot of research, I decided to apply for Dalhousie, the University of Toronto,  Western Ontario, and the University of British Columbia. UBC currently has me on a waitlist, but I was very happy to be accepted into the other three schools. After a bit of debating back and forth, I ended up sticking with my gut instinct: I can’t wait to begin at Dalhousie!

I realize that my librarian dream is not exactly ideal. It is not a career that’s in high demand, and it may take me a lot of work to find a full-time job. I’m not going to become a millionaire, and with all of the recent closures of libraries across North America, I will probably have to face fighting to keep libraries open. But I am excited to pursue it nonetheless. I feel like it’s best to pursue something that excites me, instead of something that will make a lot of money right away. Maybe I’ll regret everything I’ve just said within the next two years, but for now: I’m going for it!

Thank you to everyone for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Next time, I shall begin to tell tales of my European library travels. Exciting stuff!

All the best,

Robyn