Right now, I’m at the beginning of a course which repeats material I was first exposed to in Library School. I’m thinking that this must be difficult for students who haven’t yet had a primer. Not to mention that the course readings are using terms like, “entity,” “relationship,” and, “attribute,” without first defining them. Outside of working with relational databases, I would not know what those terms meant (I still need to periodically review, now).

Today just seemed like a good opportunity to complete the second set of readings and quizzes. I do have a bunch of optional readings I can go through, one of which I completed earlier…it’s just weird to see myself consistently as one of the first people to talk, and one of the first people to show up in meetings. Am I also one of the first people to look at the long optional readings, a week after they were assigned? I don’t know.

What is relatively clear is that I’m used to online learning (which, I don’t know, should be obvious to me). That fact, though, is a relatively good thing, because it means that I can learn at a distance; and when that’s possible, there are places across the country and world that I could have access to (granted, of course, that my language and cultural skills are up to par).

The last time I was in at work, I did some research on jobs…Because I haven’t worked in an Academic Library, and because I have nine years of experience in a Public Library, this basically predisposes me to Adult Services in a Public Library setting. There are several gaps in my knowledge, at this point; mostly where it comes to dealing with behavioral infractions, reference interviews, and cataloging. Of course, I’m dealing with the latter now; and have books on the former two, which I’m in the process of reading.

It’s just…I don’t know, “interesting?” that I would be best qualified to serve in a position as a Public Librarian. I realized — very late in the game, essentially after I graduated — that the skill set I had been aiming for (HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript, Drupal, Python or Ruby, etc.) was, essentially, that of a Web Developer. At this point, however, I wonder if I want to be a Web Developer because I’m related to techies and want to be like them, or if it’s because I actually enjoy (or think I would enjoy) the work.

I’m pretty sure the main reason I was oriented in this direction is the fact that as a young adult, I found a lot of community online that was difficult to find offline. However…as a person solidly moving into their “adult” years…I’m finding that “online” community as I knew it was relatively…naive. I still have a hard time reading even some of the ALA’s email lists. I also find that people IRL who are into what I used to be into, online, are not necessarily people I would choose to spend time with. Not to mention the fact that social media can go terribly wrong — sometimes by design.

Of course, with the whole STEM and Maker Space thing, there is probably a lot of demand for people who are versed in tech, within Public Libraries. Even more so if they understand and enjoy working with kids…which isn’t really my specialty.

However…if I’m aiming for Public Services or Digital Services, I have a pretty good background to draw from. I’m not highly socially oriented, but I’ve been improving in my skills; also, in the library field, I’m not alone in not being an extrovert by nature. That whole thing about community-building online is also made a whole lot more real with in-person community!

The difference between being a Public Librarian and being a Web Developer is a huge one. The things I would need to know would be wildly different. The work environment is wildly different. When I think of being a Web Developer, I think of spending large amounts of time in front of a computer screen; a Public Librarian would be interfacing with people for much of the time.

Not only that, but I can teach people crafts as a Public Librarian, and get paid for it. That isn’t quite the case with Web Development.

Perhaps most pointedly…I had considered becoming a Librarian while I built my tech skill set. That’s still possible, but I need to fill the role of a Librarian first, in this scenario. Among other things, that means that I can prioritize reading, customer-service skills, Cataloging knowledge and practice, and second-language-learning over computer programming. At least so, for the short-term.

…I think I can get back to studying, now.