The hounds of love are calling.

THING 20: THE LIBRARY ROUTES PROJECT

I wrote quite a lot about my route into libraries in Thing 10 so I'll just be giving this Thing a quick once-over.

Library Roots: Back in primary school we didn't have a school library, but I remember myself and a friend of mine organising the book shelves and being "in charge" of the make shift library in Year 4. There was a wonderful octagonal library at my secondary school though, but I spent most of my time in the computer suite rather than with the books, and the only other "librarian" I'd heard of was Giles from Buffy. 

The first time I probably ever read a job description and, definitely, filled out an application for a job I got it;  It was for a Saturday job at my local library when I was 17.  I can't really remember why I wanted to work in my library - I have to be brutally honest and say that although I did have a library card I never used it, but my mum always said working for "the council" was always secure and had good benefits so I'd be a fool not to apply (oh, how things have changed!) I always wanted to work in a bookshop though, and they are kind of the same... right?! I remember some of the reasoning I gave in the interview though: I like books, reading and English at school.   So that, and my (I'm assuming) friendly demeanor, good manners and quick reshelving-in-the-right-order skills got me the job.  

Library Routes: I ended up staying there for 2 years, before leaving to study Art History in London (but also had seasonal jobs in retail too).  With this experience I thought it'd be really silly not to try and find a similar job whilst at Uni - so I joined Sue Hill (after much scouring of the internet) and had a few temporary contracts in public libraries alongside some retail work too.  But I wanted to work in my Uni library since I first stepped inside.  It took me until the final year of Uni before I did just that - I applied for a Shelving Assistant position, then took on some extra contract work during the summer as an RFID Assistant. Tagging books, baby!

However, as I'm sure most people probably do when they leave Uni, I freaked out a little and didn't know what <drama/panic> to do with my life - I did internships and unpaid work in galleries but never pursued it and, kind of, relied on my past library experience to get me a full-time job... doing anything! Anywhere! So as far as "falling into it" is concerned, I feel like I fell back into it as I never really had the intention of being a librarian as a career.

I stuck at it though.  I got an interview as a senior library assistant at my local London library, failed, and was offered a Library Assistant post on a casual contract.  Out of convenience I took it - it was my first ever full-time, paid job and I already possessed the skills - and haven't looked back.  Times were tough though, so I got my name back on the agencies lists desperately trying to find anything more secure.  Luckily I landed a job (where I am now) which has allowed me to progress a little way up a chain I had no experience of.  I now have experience beyond the public library domain, and work in a collection that is full of awesome things.

What I've come to realise though is that, although most days I panic and think "what have I got to show for myself?" and "this is not where I thought I would be at nearly 25", and that my true path only started when I finished Uni and got my first full-time job.  Although I have 7 years experience on the CV, I only really have 2 years of "living life as a proper adult and truly figuring out what I want to do" and that I need to stop being so hard on myself.  No, I don't really know what I want to do when I grown up yet, so no, I am not professionally qualified yet but I genuinely like where I am working because the cross-over of libraries (where my current skills are) and cultural venues (where I possibly see my skills to transfer to) is happening and it's exciting.

Someday's I do think "am I really suited to a life in libraries?" and "am I really happy?" as I have not gotten beyond the Library Assistant role where it can sometimes feel like all I do is push trolleys, find books and direct people to the toilet/water fountain/exit.  But I know that there is more to the profession than that, and that I need to seize opportunities in order to make my job/life more interesting.  I was once told that I am "too ambitious" in post-interview feedback, and didn't realise this was a bad thing until now. 

I hope this doesn't come across as too negative - I'm tempted to publish and edit at a later date!  I'm at that awkward phase of life where things have still got to come together, and I still worry that I'm not doing enough/not good enough/not going anywhere - and that is the reasoning behind the 500 Days of Summer picture at the top!