David’s Comments (group member since Jan 12, 2008)

David’s comments from the Public Librarians group.

Yes, Librarianship, like teaching, is kind to the geographically flexible. Things are tightening up right now, w/ state county and local governments freezing up, but you know more about that in California than most of the rest of us, yes? That said, you'll be doing school for a while, and one has to hope things will be getting better by the time you come out.
When I did library school I was able to do an evening program, which was nice and allowed me to keep my job as a library technician, and to take on additional work as a student librarian in the system where I wound up working. One thing I heartily advise to everyone who is doing library school is to seek out as many opportunities to do internships, directed fieldwork, or other kinds of actual librarian employment that may be available to students while they're getting their degree. These kind of 'extended auditions' can be a big help in getting a job afterward, and help defray the expenses while you're in school to boot. AND they are the sort of things that systems strapped for cash like, because they help libraries get more work hours for less money.
Our neighbors are both high school teachers, and all year long they envy me, until the Summer, when I envy them.

A daily bloodbath, Pat. Here is a post from our library blog on librarians in fiction, and another one , in which we are duly sensationalized. Or check out Jason Shiga's graphic novel 'Bookhunter,' which is basically the Dirty Harry version of librarianship.

I'm David, and I'm a readers advisory librarian in Seattle. I'm on the Fiction_L listserv, I write reviews and columns for various places - Booklist, Library Journal, the NoveList database - and I'm typically on some committee or other or am running my big mouth off at ALA. I like to make big big piles of books and then sometimes read them. I'm terrible at keeping track of what I read, and I don't think Good Reads or LibraryThing or any of this is making me one bit better, but I do like to see and comment on what my pals are reading, and some day... some day.... (-: