To be a Librarian

If you know me, you probably know that my dream job is to be a Children's Librarian. I have frequent rants about it. Well, rants implies being irritated and launching into a lengthy monologue because of it, what I mean instead would be launching into a lengthy monologue simply because I'm passionate about the subject and enjoy talking about it. I know being a Librarian isn't the best paid job, I know that it might be hard to find a job, I know that there's a lot of school involved, but I also know that it's the thing that I get most excited about, the thing that I want to work towards. I've always loved books and because of that I've always loved libraries. I have been a frequent visitor to my hometown library since before I can remember, and I have been working at libraries since my sixteenth birthday when I was finally old enough to apply for my first job. I'm eighteen now and working part time at the library at my college, as I have mentioned before. I think I officially decided I wanted to be a Librarian the second year of working at my Library. (When I say my library that would be this one: http://www.jclibrary.info/)

I specifically want to be a Children's Librarian because I love kids. That sounds a bit obvious, I know, but I want to be there for them. Education is such a beautiful wonderful thing, and I feel like part of the problem with our education system as it is, is that the love of it is sadly not emphasized. The emphasis is on grades, it's on getting through, and there's something so sad about that. The child who loves to read, who loves to learn, is far more likely to succeed with their education, because they are the ones who are going to go above and beyond. They are the ones who are going to want to pick up books that they read about in other books because they are interested. Instead of just filling the requirements they are going to want to do more, find out more, discover more. Part of the beauty of being a Children's Librarian is that it's part of their job to work out introducing this love of learning. As a Librarian you are outside of the school system, and yet you are someone that students come to for help and advice. Whether it is for school or for free-time, you get to introduce books, all the books that you have loved and that have changed your life.

Also, crafts. Arts and crafts are the best, and guess what a Children's Librarian gets to do? Design fun programs! Summer programs, and programs for drawing, reading, etc, etc. Does that sound like fun or what?

The other reason I want to be a Children's Librarian is something I learned while working at the library over the years. There are so many kids who come to the library who need someone. You see so many kids who so obviously don't have anyone, their home lives are less that ideal. There are kids who come to the library after school because there isn't anyone at home. Or come to the library with their parents and behave terribly, but really what they're doing is seeking attention. Their parent is sitting at the computers and the kid is doing anything that they can think of just to get their parent to pay attention to them, and it's heartbreaking. There are kids who are dressed in mismatch clothes, who haven't had their hair brushed, and there's nothing sadder than that. Those kids need someone. They need someone who's going to care, who wants to listen to them, who wants to hear what they have to say. Everyone needs someone like that in there life, and that person can be all the difference in a child's life. Over the course of working at the library I had kids who would just follow me around while I was shelving books because I was someone to talk to, someone who didn't tell them to go away and be quiet. I want to be that person in those children's lives.

That's why I want to be a Children's Librarian. Why I think working at the library is wonderful. Why I think more people should visit the library. Why I think the library's so very important.