Narratives of Academic Librarians: Chapter 1: Novice

Chapter 1: Novice

My first chapter would be “Novice.” That chapter of my life was all about the excitement of being a librarian, having a first professional job, and also anxiety and excitement that comes with it and everything that you want it to be. You want it to be the best and you want to follow directions. You want to make sure that you have that idea- where I would go home and dream about my work and my job.

It’s funny, people say, “you work here during the daytime, right? Why do you need to

dream about it at night?” 

I say, “well I have dreams about answering a question at the reference desk and not being able to.” 

I think to myself, “hey that's wrong.”

I would go in my dream and start thinking about how I could answer different. 

I called that a novice stage because you are just bombarded, and you are thrown into the fire. You sink or rise above it. You also have so much fun but at the same time you are learning, and you are absorbing so much that time goes by so fast. The first five or six years of being in that position- the time just went by so fast. I thought “Oh my gosh I am here already.”

I would not tell people I thought I was going to be at this position when I was first hired.

I was not hired as a technology librarian. It was just reference and I thought, “Okay five years at this institution and I will go somewhere else and I am sure I can do many things like that. I just

need to have experience and my foot in the door. I can then go anywhere else.”

But then I liked the institution. I liked the workplace. I liked the students. I liked the

people that I work with. 

Time just went by so fast. 

By the time I realize it, I am halfway- and I am thinking, “Oh my gosh I'm getting my tenure next year.” 

That is when it hits you and that is what you are saying. 

I spent almost six years at this institution- doing the things that I love to do, and I am going up for tenure.

The first chapter was just that introduction and being able to enjoy

yourself and having that excitement so you're just a novice.