It seems it is time to come out of hiding…

Well, TNL wasn’t really hiding per se… And no, you are not going to be reading a bunch of excuses and self-analysis babble… let’s just skip all that and come right to the point…

It seems there has been some talk about us librarians and what we actually do.

Let me see…I have been a librarian for ohh…24 years.. and man, what a ride it has been (and still is)!

I can tell you this… it ain’t the same as each year goes by. And each year gives you a little mini roller coaster ride of its own. You know – just to get your adrenaline pumping a bit.

The other day, an old friend wanted to bring a sweet, young thing to visit. The young lady was thinking of a career change. She had acquired a culinary degree from France. After trying to fulfill some Christmas cake orders, she decided that maybe, just maybe, baking isn’t as stress-free as she wants it to be. So she thought of that one single place in which the world stands still; cushioned in its silence from all stress – our beloved library.

Mind you, I still go “shhh…” when the occasion arises. I still answer questions about the darndest thing keeping a straight face to assure people that there are no stupid questions. I deal so much more with people that I need an emotional bank account more than I need cataloguing skills. I teach. And teach and teach some more.

Each passing year brings us new groups of students with changing information needs and with different levels of information literacy. What about the ever-changing information landscape and fast-encroaching technology? And don’t get me started on making do with shrinking budgets.

We never did get to meet the sweet, young thing with the culinary degree. Maybe she decided baking was a healthier choice to librarianship.