My Path to Librarianship

I am excited to start my first blog as I embark on a new chapter in my career – returning to Syracuse University to purse a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science. Most blog posts will reflect on the classes I am enrolled in, but I hope to find the time to expand on topics I discover outside of the classroom. For now, I will begin by reflecting on my first class, which reminded me why I wanted to follow this career path.

The class started out with everyone sharing a “headline” to describe who they are; these “headlines” provided an interesting perspective into the path each individual took to librarianship. My path was relatively unique – I enjoy working for non-profit organizations that are valued and embraced by a community. It slowly dawned on me one day that libraries are amazing non-profits with a mission that has survived hundreds of thousands of years. I would love to learn how libraries continue to reinvent themselves to ensure that they are relevant in today’s society. I have worked for many different non-profit organizations in the past (most with a mission to promote music and the arts) and I believe that these cultural organizations can learn a lot from libraries.

This belief was reinforced by a conversation in class that focused on “how to define librarianship.” The definition that resonated most with me stated that librarianship is dependent on the mission – it is what you want to accomplish to improve society. The definition of librarianship didn’t focus on function of libraries (such as managing collections) or the history of libraries, because the role/purpose of libraries has evolved over time. I believe this idea of social action is what is helping move the field of librarianship forward. This is exactly what arts organizations need – to have a social service mission focused on improving a community and meeting the needs of a community.

Now I am sure two years from now when I finish this degree I will look back on this blog entry and think I was completely crazy! But I do hope I can draw some parallels between libraries and non-profit arts organizations because I believe libraries have found a great model and continue to strive in today’s society thanks to innovative leaders.