200 reasons I love being a librarian

I can’t remember exactly which blog I saw it on, but I like the idea of reflecting on things I’m thankful for. I was thinking of maybe trying to blog regularly about things I am thankful for. Maybe, because I don’t want to get sappy about it. Or commit myself to something I can’t do. I mean, what if I am not thankful enough to find things to blog about?

Then I read Steve Pavlina’s 200 things I love about writing – he’d meant to write 20 but made a mistake and turned it into 200, and decided to see what he could come up with. He says “Consider making a similar list for your own career”. And I thought, in for a penny… here is my list of 200 reasons I am thankful I am a librarian:

  1. learning
  2. learning obscure stuff
  3. learning not-so-obscure stuff
  4. other people
  5. other librarians
  6. learning from other people
  7. people who use the library
  8. working closely with colleagues with different backgrounds
  9. colleagues with so many different interests
  10. conversations
  11. conversations with intelligent people
  12. conversations on different topics
  13. change
  14. books
  15. computers
  16. technology
  17. trying to figure out what’s next
  18. trying to figure out what’s important
  19. information
  20. serving
  21. going the extra mile
  22. anticipating what the library user needs
  23. being myself
  24. being the expert
  25. being the learner
  26. stimulating people
  27. stimulating my team mates
  28. asking questions
  29. answering questions
  30. finding the right questions to ask
  31. finding answers
  32. evaluating the answers
  33. teaching
  34. coaching
  35. mentoring
  36. encouraging the overwhelmed
  37. helping
  38. guiding
  39. holding the learner’s hand
  40. listening to the user
  41. listening to colleagues
  42. listening to myself
  43. understanding the user’s needs
  44. understanding colleagues’ needs
  45. understanding my own needs
  46. ideas
  47. knowledge
  48. thought
  49. systematic
  50. connection
  51. connecting people with ideas
  52. connecting people with information
  53. connecting people with each other
  54. flexibility
  55. adaptability
  56. agility
  57. inspiration
  58. creativity
  59. community service
  60. not-for-profit
  61. common good
  62. helping people improve themselves
  63. improving myself
  64. history
  65. tradition
  66. local culture
  67. professional culture
  68. preserving history
  69. preserving what community sees as important
  70. providing books for leisure
  71. providing entertainment
  72. providing a meeting place
  73. providing study materials
  74. non-judgmental
  75. neutral
  76. open to all
  77. empowering people
  78. empowering each other
  79. enabling discovery
  80. enabling questioning
  81. fulfillment
  82. stopping discouraged students from dropping out
  83. a listening ear
  84. a shoulder to cry on
  85. giving
  86. sharing
  87. growing
  88. making a difference
  89. challenging the status quo
  90. challenging oneself
  91. facing challenges
  92. delivering services with a limited budget
  93. delivering creative solutions with a limited budget
  94. working together
  95. people don’t recoil from you
  96. people think you read books all day
  97. amusing stereotypes
  98. good conditions
  99. nice environment
  100. smell of books
  101. access to information
  102. access to a network of intelligent people
  103. meeting enthusiastic interesting people
  104. helpful colleagues
  105. helpful culture
  106. passionate discussions with colleagues about the future of our profession
  107. passionate discussions with colleagues about books we’ve read
  108. responsive to feedback
  109. buying books (using other people’s money)
  110. looking through publishers’ catalogues
  111. learning about interesting new electronic information resources
  112. learning about interesting new electronic information resources even if we can’t afford them
  113. translating a title
  114. transliterating a title
  115. cataloguing that obscure book
  116. looking at a book in an unfamiliar language and trying to work out what it’s about
  117. looking through donations of old books and finding gems
  118. looking through donations of old books and finding stuff that’s got cat pee on it
  119. looking through donations of old books and not knowing what you’ll find
  120. trying to work out what the client is asking for
  121. trying to work out how you are going to find what the client wants
  122. being a detective
  123. using old technology
  124. weeding the collection
  125. weeding the collection and getting sidetracked reading that book you didn’t know existed
  126. weeding the collection and finding that book that’s been missing since 1992
  127. telling an academic staff member that that journal he’s wanted for years is now available
  128. working together
  129. collaborating on projects
  130. public speaking
  131. getting over my fear of public speaking
  132. teaching a group of 5 students
  133. presenting a lecture to 500 students
  134. finding ways to make that class you have taught 100s of times interesting for yourself
  135. willingness to try new things
  136. curiosity
  137. enthusiasm
  138. motivation
  139. positive
  140. responsive
  141. “can do” attitude
  142. lots of opportunities
  143. lots of opportunities to challenge myself
  144. taking care
  145. passing it on
  146. enabling expression
  147. being constant
  148. reliable service
  149. willingness
  150. willingness to try
  151. good attitude
  152. interest in other people
  153. interest in each other
  154. accuracy
  155. being exacting
  156. having fun
  157. laughing at ourselves
  158. daring
  159. engaged
  160. part of the community
  161. leading the way
  162. providing building blocks
  163. just in time
  164. just in case
  165. using our imaginations
  166. willingness to play
  167. being cautious
  168. throwing caution to the wind
  169. providing support
  170. always there
  171. defined goals
  172. changing goals
  173. staying relevant
  174. keeping up
  175. not a fad
  176. approachable
  177. open
  178. kind
  179. courteous
  180. humble
  181. proud
  182. considered
  183. thoughtful
  184. intellectual
  185. simple services
  186. appropriate services
  187. services people want
  188. serious
  189. serendipitous
  190. strategic
  191. certain
  192. uncertain
  193. big picture
  194. attention to detail
  195. attentive
  196. able
  197. intelligent
  198. creative
  199. funny
  200. committed
  201. driven
  202. what’s next?

Okay so maybe it’s not so difficult to be grateful after all. I’m sure there’s repetition in this list, and maybe my meaning isn’t always clear (the lucidity of stream of consciousness depends on one’s clarity of thought, doesn’t it?) but it was a very useful exercise regardless – it’s always good to be positive.

It took Steve Pavlina 30 minutes to come up with his list, it took me about an hour (the last 20 minutes during my commute to work this morning). I even went over the 200 limit!

Addendum: Just noted that the Annoyed Librarian’s just posted Five Reasons I Like About Being a Librarian.

2 Comments

Sanford Aranoff 19 December 2007

I am an adjunct Associate Professor of Mathematics at Rider University, active as a substitute teacher and mentor in high schools, and a retired professor of physics from Rutgers University. I have taken extensive notes from my experiences and given them to my protégés. Recently I collected them into a book. I suggest that your library purchase the book for the benefit of students, parents, and teachers.

I just wrote a book, “Teaching and Helping Students Think and Do Better”. This is available on amazon.com, ISBN 978-1-4196-7435-8. May I suggest that you order a copy for the library? The readers will be very pleased!

The reviews are superb. Students, teachers, and professors who have looked at the book give it the highest rating.

Typical comments that I hear are things like this: “Hi, Dr. Aranoff!” said a girl, “I got a 100 on the test! I am so happy! Thank you so much!”

I also wrote a paper in Gifted Education Press Quarterly

Penny 31 December 2007

Wow! Great list 🙂 I can relate to them.