This past year I realized that some of my favorite things about teaching English are what a librarian does all day: research and teaching research, recommending books, keeping up with young adult lit...
And so I decided to feel out the idea of becoming a librarian. The first and biggest concern was that I just finished earning/*paying for* a Master's of English, and a Master's of Library Science would be a whole new few years and, more importantly, a whole lot more money. That's not currently feasible for my husband & me. So I scoured the internet and found a summer library internship with a district here in New Orleans. The internship is unpaid, but it's only 20 hours a week so I thought I could just work another part time job to make money. I've yet to find one, but thankfully I still have a few teaching checks left.
Like I was hoping, this internship has created some connections, and I've been in the running for the possibility of actual library employment once the summer is over. Unfortunately, only part time positions are available so far. I'm still interviewing for teaching jobs so that I have something to fall back on come autumn and also as another avenue to get my foot in the door.
At my internship, I'm stationed at a school that has a library space and *lots* of books, but they are in complete disarray. As in, no one has been using this library because it is impossible to find anything. Non fiction is mixed with fiction, chapter books are mixed in with atlases, and nothing is alphabetized. However, by the end of the summer it will be a functional and cataloged library! Often I'm there alone, so I listen to podcasts and organize to my heart's content. The only thing that could make it any better is if I were getting paid, haha.
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| constant avalanche of books |
Some podcasts I've discovered are
It's a big adjustment not being a student...I've been one nonstop for the past 21 years! I've been reading a lot of things I've always wanted to get around to and have been relaxing more than I have since childhood. It's a bit boring but probably important.
- WTF with Marc Maron (he just interviewed President Obama! It was fascinating)
- The History of English Podcast (so fascinating and accessible)
- Nerdist Podcast
- and, of course, Welcome to Night Vale , which is the funniest thing I've ever heard
It's a big adjustment not being a student...I've been one nonstop for the past 21 years! I've been reading a lot of things I've always wanted to get around to and have been relaxing more than I have since childhood. It's a bit boring but probably important.
I just finished A Confederacy of Dunces and am in the middle of American Gods. Next on my list is Five Days at Memorial to help me understand more about Katrina and its aftermath. I was young and egocentric when it happened, and my knowledge is severely lacking. I want to change that in order to live here respectfully.
It's my desire to work around books and kids, so I am grateful to be where I'm at and will keep striving to make a living doing what I love.
Hey Ms. VC-- hamcat and public librarian here :)... you've probably looked into this but just in case you haven't, sometimes school districts will pay for teachers to get an MLIS as long as they commit work at a school in the district for some time after that. I went to library school in DC and there were a lot of people in my program from a specific district (in VA) that were getting their certification/degree paid for and had jobs set up already. You might look into that as way to pay for your MLIS especially if you end up teaching next year rather than working in a library. On a side note, I've actually always wanted to be a school librarian but planned poorly and didn't get a teaching certificate/education degree in undergrad and have noticed that on many postings in the states I've looked (the DC area, NV, and CO) that they value a teaching degree/experience over an MLIS/library experience... so don't give up! I hope the connections you're making pan out into a full time library gig or you figure out another way to do it... librarians are awesome :D
ReplyDeleteHi! Thanks for the thoughtful comment and suggestion! I just found out that I got one of the teaching jobs I interviewed for, so I'll definitely try to work something out. Library power for life!! :D
DeleteI listed to the WTF podcast too and loved it. I used to listen to The Nerdist all the time but Chris started getting a little too big for his britches for my liking (although he does have killer guests). Love Confederacy of Dunces and Five Days at Memorial (we read it for book club and it made for some great conversation!).
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your graduation and job offer!