Growing up, I liked to imagine what it
would be like to work in a library. What little I knew about them was
what I’d gleaned from movies and TV because my conservative parents
never took us to any and only let me read books they purchased from the
Bible Book Store. I didn’t know any librarians in real life—outside of
the elderly woman who ran our tiny school media center—but I understood
librarians were smart and savvy. Cool and collected. They were
everything my rowdy, boundary-busting, literature-hating family was not.
I envisioned a sweet future for myself sitting behind an elaborately
carved wooden desk, surrounded by towering stacks of leather-bound
books. I’d read for hours in total silence, vanilla and almond perfuming
the air. Pages wafting in a gentle breeze. Nobody around to bother me.
With librarianship, I’d finally have solitude. Peace.
I cling to these happy memories whenever somebody breaks the copy
machine for the fourth time that day by jamming a ballpoint pen inside
the feed tray. Or spills their kale smoothie down the side of the
circulation desk. Or when a person decides to eat an extra large pizza
while vaping in the women’s bathroom. I think: remember why you chose
this job? The elegance? And I laugh.
The reality of being a librarian is that it’s hardly ever about
sitting down and it has absolutely nothing to do with peace and quiet.
It’s about assisting others. It’s about community service. Librarianship
asks you to do 12 things at once and then when you’re in the middle of
those projects wonders if you’ve got any tax forms left or an eclipse
viewer. It’s endless questions. It’s “my two dollar fine pays your
salary.” It’s a grubby little hand at storytime grabbing your leg and
smearing glitter glue down the side of pants you’ve already worn twice
that week. It’s finding the right answer to a question and reveling in
that small joy for a bare moment before another patron comes up to ask
you something even weirder. It’s library work, and it’s exhausting. ... [mehr] https://lithub.com/what-exactly-does-a-librarian-do-everything/
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