There are plenty of reasons to bow down in gratitude before your local librarian, but why stop at hero worship? If you find books, or just learning in general, particularly interesting, why not consider a career in the field of information science? Here are ten signs that a library might be the perfect place for you to truly shine:
1.You Have a Passion for Organization
Not everybody does; it’s hard to have the patience or the dedication for it. So when you don’t mind losing yourself amidst the stacks and spending long days in numerical organization, you know it’s a calling that should be heeded.
2. You Never Want to Stop Learning
Some people are content to stagnate in their pool of knowledge from the time they get their diploma, but not you. That’s a good thing: being a librarian has a whole lot to do with reading and research, so your days of learning never have to end. And you know what that means–an assured victory for you and your friends at pub trivia night, and it all comes from a great career.
3.You Enjoy the Silence
Sure, the stereotype of spinster librarians wheezing “SHHHH!” from behind the desk is just that–a stereotype, and an outdated one at that. Still, librarianship is a relatively quiet profession, perfect for thoughtful and intelligent folk who want out of the Type A personality corporate race.
4.It’s a Profession With Range
The world of librarianship is a swiftly changing one — whereas once it was nothing but card catalogs and the Dewey Decimals, today it’s a world of computer programming and internet archiving for the tech-savvy, and more forms of active research than ever. Not to mention specializations: from law libraries to children’s libraries, there is something right for every brand of information aficionado.
5.It Goes So Well With Your Flawless Sense of Style
Your cardigans and those thick-rimmed glasses: totally cool. In terms of hipness, being a librarian these days is almost on par with working in a record store.
6.Your Co-Workers Are Probably Just as Cool as You
Unlike more run-of-the-mill office jobs, library science requires a specific degree and attracts a specific type of person. That means that, wherever you go, your co-workers are likely to be intelligent, witty, and well-read–just like you.
7.You Want to Learn Skills You Can Use
Who uses their cash register skills once they clock out for the day? You, however, will leave work a master of the internet search, an information maven, and a little bit more organized in your personal life with every passing day.
8.You’re Into Books on the Company Dime
Sure, they aren’t your books per se, but the library requires constantly updated material and it isn’t going to purchase itself. You get to call the shots on what your library needs–and what it needs just might happen to be what piques your particular interest.
9.You Enjoy Getting Time Off
Everyone enjoys time off from work, but not everyone gets into the right career fields to make it happen. Librarians tend to get about a month’s worth of vacation time every year–and that isn’t including the obvious downtime of librarians at schools and universities.
10.You Want a Job with Security
It isn’t a well-publicized career choice, but it fills a certain role that can’t exactly be outsourced or done better by machines. There will always be libraries, and we will always need librarians. As long as a friendly face with a helpful answer is needed behind a public desk, you will always be in demand.
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