What I like about being a librarian

What I like about being a librarian, part I

What I like about being a librarian is knowing about everything. . . or
knowing where to look. . . or knowing how to find out where to look.

"We're going to the opera tomorrow," my mother in Detroit offers on the
phone the other day. "Oh," I say, "What are you going to see?" "I don't
know," she says, "I'll have to find the tickets." "Don't worry," I say
without thinking, "I can look it up online," knowing I could find the
schedule for Michigan Opera Theatre (and the cast, ticket prices and
parking information) faster online than she can find the tickets buried
on her desk. Or my friend visiting New York City, who calls me on her
cell phone so I can look online for the addresses of the Houston's
restaurants, where she wants to go for lunch.

How many times have we heard, "Oh it must be so nice to be a librarian!
You get to read books all day!" Well, not exactly. I read books at home.
At work I read email, blog posts, journal articles, spreadsheets,
procedure manuals, memos, catalog entries, book reviews, reports and
(mostly illegible) notes. I browse, scan, peruse, glance over and
generally careen through mountains of text every day.

Has the Internet changed how we do our work? No doubt about it. For the
better? Yes, in this case--more is more is more.

What I like about being a librarian, part II

What I like about being a librarian is the trust customers have that we
will be able to find the answers to their most urgent questions--How can
I get custody of my child? What does [long complex medical term] mean?
How do I get an opossum out of my garage? Their trust is humbling and their
appreciation, when I help them, is very gratifying.

For all the difficult, demanding, impatient customers I encounter on any
given day, there are just as many (or more) who are appreciative, happy,
satisfied. Of course, we all know the full moon skews that balance a
little. But the satisfied customers, their confidence in my ability to
meet their needs rewarded, provide the my ego with the little, immediate
strokes it needs to keep going--much better than waiting for those
few-and-far-between ones from the powers that be.