[Continued from: Part 5]
Nicholas read Part 5 and asked why I decided to work for a library instead of a bookstore company.
Question never occurred to me, to be honest. But the answer is simple.
Libraries are... well, libraries.
I wasn't interested about working with books per se. I was interested in working in a library. As I wrote in one of my very first post in June 2004, titled "How I came to be a Librarian"*, I wanted a job that gave back to society. In my mind, book stores and book companies didn't fall into that category then. Still doesn't -- not like libraries anyway.
* For some strange reason, the permalink to that post gave a 403 error message when I tested it. If it still doesn't work, click here to the archive and scroll down.
(Next: Part 7 -- the end, finally?)
Tag: life story, librarianship
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I just finished reading this series. I stumbled upon your blog here from your colleague (or ex-), Rojak Librarian, whose blog I stumbled upon while cruising around what's going on at Bt Brown. Coincidentally, I am considering a career as a librarian, possibly in the next 2 or 3 years (really need to get that paper from NTU first, since I my last 2 job applications to NLB were obviously thrashed).
ReplyDeleteI thank you for this series about what is the job of a librarian all about. Last Friday, I shared my 'ambition' with some friends and they laughed, asking 'Do you mean to say those librarians we see all had Masters degree? Are you sure you need Masters to be a librarian???' well. *shrugs*
Anyway, I love language and words. Reading and writing are therapeutic tools for me. Guess that's a good start (as any) to want to be a librarian? =P
I'd say it's having a service attitude first. Liking to read and write is a plus. But personally, the better librarians I've come across don't necessarily read or write well. But they tend to have a awesome attitude towards helping others :)
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