Full disclosure.
I feel I have to explain something so as not to mislead people.
I say I am a Librarian.
According to the bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Librarians use the latest information technology to perform research, classify materials, and help students and library patrons seek information.
At my last job at a small school library, I was called a Para-Librarian. Which is basically a person working in a field without the degree for it.
I now work at a big university and do 95% of the tasks of a librarian and some more they made up just to make my job more fun. (rolls eyes) Here they don't use the word para-librarian.
Mostly because they are more US and THEM here. Sad but true. I am a "cataloger" or Receipts and Resource Specialist ( I receive the items and catalog them and process invoices of items). I considered library school. It was going to be all on me money wise they weren't giving me any funds and I would be out over 40 thousand before I was done just for a title and a SLIGHT pay increase. My job is no different than some Librarian. Heck I have more tasks them some of them.
Everyone I know who works my same job, they also call themselves Librarians and tell people that's what they do. Essentially we are. 10 years ago they would of called us that too before the whole "get a grad degree in it". Who would you rather hire a recent grad with no experience or me who has been at it 6 years?
So I am a Librarian. I just don't have a masters in it.
Comments
For years I worked as a systems engineer and called myself an engineer. More importantly, my company called me an engineer.
Then the state decided that calling myself an engineer when I wasn't a Licensed Professional Engineer™ was tantamount to a para-legal calling themselves a Lawyer™ or a medicine man calling himself a Doctor™. It is, in fact, a crime for non-engineers to be called an engineer in Texas (and many other states). I believe that is true of architects as well.
So, I went and took the tedious exam, passed, and am now legally a Licensed Professional Engineer in Texas and two other states.
Is there some sort of certification you can pursue that will entitle you to call yourself a Librarian™?
That said,
Follow your dream. Pursue happiness.
Did you ever advertise to be a personal shopper? I personally think you would be a rock star at that. Your taste is exquisite, your bargain sense amazing. You would be a great value to hire, except when you add in a plane ticket to Texas. :-(
this is the story of my mother. i'm totally not suggesting you do the same as she did, but it can at least offer a bit of encouragement in perhaps a roundabout way.
my mother got her MS in Library Science. In Poland, in the 70s. When we emigrated, nobody wanted to give her work, regardless of the degree. eventually, she worked in various university libraries doing various "para-librarian" duties (again, despite the degree and fluency in English)and eventually ended up at the Catholic Diocese in Austin, as the director of their archives. So, she officially became an archivist rather than a librarian. With 2 friends she started her own business...erm....archiving, i guess. Her final position was as the Director of Special Collections and Archives at the research center in the library at Rice University. She was also commissioned by the Pontifical Committee (Vatican's archivists) to do some archival work for them and one year later was invited to be a member of the Pontifical Committee--the 1st female member in history. Private audience with the Pope, giant certificate, all that jazz.
point is: librarianism may not be your calling in life, but whatever that calling may be for you, the old adage says it all--where there's a will there's a way. we believe in you!! you do too, i think, so don't get discouraged. : ) big hugs! (and sorry for the rant)
I am not discouraged at all. I was just explaining exactly what it is I do.
Honestly I have absolutely no intentions of ever becoming a librarian. I don't plan on doing this job much longer at all actually. (see next post) 5 years ago I looked into school to get a bump in pay but never really wanted to be a librarian.
I did this post because I was getting various emails from people confused on what I did.