My Destiny?

More and more I find myself thinking about life after school. Lately the thoughts have been mostly of how much I'll be able to enjoy my spare time again; school has certainly strained my abilities to multitask, and free time seems to have become a thing of the past unless I schedule it in. Despite this, I welcome the knowledge and training that my classes and my program are giving me. Both of my current classes have taught me so much. My information seeking class has really illustrated not only the technical aspects of searching, but truly knowing, understanding, and incorporating the needs of the users into all manner of searching tools. We have applied this to database creation, but really the theory applies to all means of seeking information. My management class has filled a lot of big gaps in my background when it comes to the topic of management; I wouldn't consider myself a competent supervisor at this point (although I know that I am an effective employee to my organization), but this class has taught me what skills to nurture and different ways to motivate, communicate, lead (and effectively follow), delegate, and generally manage those I supervise.

Other than thinking about the here and now, I've also put thought into where I would like to go with my career once I graduate from my program. My class last semester has stuck with me in that it highlighted a distinct need for outreach efforts and resources for all libraries, especially with so many people who have lost jobs and homes and need information and assistance to relocate, re-educate, and reapply themselves to new areas. The news is starting to report a changing trend and upswing in the economy, but so many people are not feeling the positive effects yet. Many children are also effected in a large number of ways too, and as more families fall below the poverty line, the result is that more children have too.

So my current dream job? To become an Outreach Librarian in a public library. I don't know if the job currently exists. I've looked at various job descriptions for librarians, including one with "outreach" mentioned in the title, but none of them quite describe what I'm aiming for. Oh well--I'll make my own position, if a public library will have me. This type of person on staff is a need that's not very well discussed from what I've found, which is odd since having such a person on staff would make so much logical sense. Librarians have often take on the roles of  teachers and social workers to fill a patron's specific need. Why not have librarians on staff that can perform those services for patrons all the time, ones that perfect their skills to assist patrons more effectively?

I anticipate my program will take another three years; then after that, who knows?

As a final note, I'm considering another name change for my blog: The Cooking Librarian. Anyone have input on whether or not to make the name change?