I have begun this journey into library science in a quest to find the “perfect” career: doing something that I love, that I am good at, and that serves society and the world. After much reflection and research I decided that becoming a teacher-librarian might be the best path for me. I love children, I love teaching, I love children’s books, I love children’s libraries. But my idea of what it meant to be a school librarian was informed by my own experience as a child, parent, and teacher. The role of the teacher-librarian is changing in the 21st century, and I wonder: will I love it? I am not particularly savvy with technology, the new web 2.0, or social media. In fact, historically, technology has always been a “necessary evil” in my life and I have always relied heavily on my “IT Guy” (aka my husband and my mother before that) when the technology gremlins have attacked and I’ve become hopelessly frustrated by my supposedly life-enhancing laptop/iphone/internet/streaming provider/etc. It has only been in this semester that I’ve learned what it meant to “embed” a link, what a widget was, and I still don’t have a twitter account!
In reviewing Joyce Valenza’s revised manifesto for 21st century librarians this week, I was particularly struck by one of her last bullets:
● You enjoy what you do and let others know it. It’s always better when you do what you love. (And, if you don’t love this new library world, find something else to do.)
I wonder: will I love this new library world?
It’s still very exciting and interesting, but scary too. What kind of librarian do I want to be? What kind of librarian does the world need?
Jessica Tessler 