Routt's Library Roots & Routes
(How could I resist? For the record the first one is pronounced row-t and the last is roo-t, just like the second)
I blogged some about my education and career in Thing 10 but didn't explain much about how I came to libraries. My roots go back a generation -- my mother was a librarian. She was first an art librarian and then a library director at an Architecture school. She came to library work after we moved to Australia -- she did secretarial work and started working at Parahan College in the Art Library and doing her library degree at RMIT. Later she was hired for a department library at RMIT in the Architecture school which also included building, interior design and landscape architecture.
Both my parents worked so I spent a certain amount of time at both their work places. At my mother's work, occasionally I made myself useful -- I recall tipping in pages of plates in art books (so student's wouldn't rip them out), doing some checking in (with cards), date stamping check out cards and shelving at Parahan. At RMIT I was older and I recall helping to inventory the collection more than once (I was able to stand on the cabinets and get to the top shelves more easily). I think I even got paid on occasion.
When I was thinking about careers I was so NOT going to be a librarian. In high school I wanted to be a criminologist. I went to a liberal arts college with a Great Books program and decided that criminology wasn't quite for me but history would be fascinating to study. So I did a MA in history -- and concentrated on crime (women in Victorian Britain, particularly those that murder their husbands).
While doing my MA I worked out that academia, and particularly history, could be pretty unpleasant for someone who prefers to avoid conflict. I enjoyed doing research a great deal, I was okay at writing but rather scared of the idea of teaching. Therefore going on to do a Ph.D. did not seem like a good idea. A friend from college was doing an archival program at Drexel and told me about her experience.
It seemed like a good option for me too as it would use my love of history and research. I took as many archives courses as I possibly could in library school, but it soon became clear that archival work might not be easy to obtain. From the core courses I found that I rather enjoyed the minutiae of cataloging -- much more so than that of reference work. So I ended up taking many cataloging related courses as well. In library school I was sure I'd go to work in an academic library -- after all that is where my mother had been and my husband was doing his Ph.D. so it would seem fitting to be at an academic library if I couldn't find archival work.
My first professional position, however, was in cataloging although it was working for an outsourcing company (it was not-for-profit, with mostly clients in public libraries or schools). Then we moved to Omaha, where, after a period of unemployment and then a stint as temp worker (where I eventually was an executive secretary on long term assignment), I was surprised and pleased to be able to obtain employment in archives for a few years. I loved working with the hands on material (I am allergic to dust, so health wise this was not the best career for me), doing historical research again -- and I loved attempting to bring order out of chaos. I did not love other aspects of the work -- contract work, low pay with few benefits and a hostile work environment.
Although the public library was a huge change in many ways the permanent position with better pay and benefits helped ease the transition, but more importantly the other staff were welcoming and the work environment pleasant. My way here was not straight -- there were detours and stopovers but I am pleased to be in working as the technical services manager in a medium-sized public library.
Showing posts with label career. Show all posts
Showing posts with label career. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
CPD23 Thing 10
Talkin' about my education...
I've been lucky enough to have had an international (albeit Anglophone) education. I went to school in Melbourne, Australia (which means my US history and geography are spotty and I use British or Australian words at times). I returned to the US for college at a true liberal arts school which provided me with a very broad background. I then went to Canada for graduate school. I started with history -- Victorian British history and after it became clear that I was not going to be a history professor I began investigating archives.
I went to library school at the University of Toronto and specialized in archives. Along the way I learned that I had an aptitude for cataloging so I began to take cataloging courses too. The U of T program is a 2-year, accredited degree. When I was finishing we were able to choose between getting a Masters of Library Information Science or just plain MLS degree (I chose the latter).
... and my career
When I was doing my degree I was also able to work a few library jobs in other university departments. First I worked at a job I created in the philosophy department (where my husband was a graduate student) -- setting up their departmental library using bibliographic software, Endnote, as a kind of catalog. I did lots wrong but I got things started there. Then I was a graduate library assistant at the Criminology Library. I learned so much here -- from shelf reading (which I love to do), how to tattle-tape and how to be a great boss from the library director. I even got to do a bit of reference work.
After that I started working full time. I was lucky enough to get a cataloging job right out of library school. In fact I never attended my library school graduation because I was working. I worked for an outsourcing outfit in Kitchner, Ontario : Library Services Center (which was then called the Ontario Library Services Center). I couldn't believe that anyone would pay me to catalog when I knew so little.
I learned so much. How to work as part of a team, what cataloging for an audience meant, what a corporate author really meant, how to catalog a wide variety of materials, how to cope when you have to start working 40 hours a week for the same pay of 35 because the company is in dire financial straits, how to catalog in an online system (which was the new Horizon which made my life easier years later) and how to work in an open office environment. I also managed to screw up my right hand with RSI (thank goodness for the Canadian health care system which made it possible to treat that even when poor) so I have learned to be very careful with ergonomics and how to mouse with my left hand.
We left Ontario for Omaha in the mid-90s when my husband was hired as a professor at Creighton University. I struggled to find work when we first moved here. I did interviews for the few job openings I found -- my lack of a car or a drivers license hampered my search a bit. After 6 months out of work I turned to temp work. I temped for about a year and eventually was offered a job as an archivist at the Union Pacific Museum.
This was a contract position but it was archives. The museum at that time was located in the Durham Museum in downtown Omaha -- a restored Art Deco train station. While I was there Union Pacific completed it's takeover of Southern Pacific which meant a huge amount of material for the UP Museum. I worked extensively with SP archives. And I learned that working with photographic materials is very different than print but wonderful.
I dealt with a wide variety of materials from corporate memos and records to silver tea sets and publicity stills and station plans and blueprints. I worked with train fans who wanted to plans or photos of all the SP stations, those who wanted to know what colors to paint their trains; researchers who knew something about history and trains and those who knew nothing (do you have an aerial, color shot of the Golden Spike?, Uh, no.). At this early stage of online commerce I saw first hand how putting a buy online with a credit card increased our photo sales incredibly. I also learned how to put together displays, something I had never, ever done before.
But this was a contract position -- no benefits and little chance of anything changing so I was still looking for a permanent job. I found one at the Douglas County Historical Society as the Librarian/Archivist. Here I learned so much about Omaha history and genealogical work. I didn't do as much cataloging as I would have liked but I did manage to help the society to a new membership/cataloging database, PastPresent.
I left for a variety of reasons, including low pay and few benefits. I interviewed 3 times with the Omaha Public Library -- for a serials cataloger position , an adult reference librarian position and finally a cataloger and reference librarian position. After the city had a job hiring freeze I eventually started in January of 2002.
The split position, 20 hours reference and 20 hours cataloging, was a new one for OPL. I rather enjoyed it. I worked the main reference desk -- handling calls of all types most mornings and came downstairs to the oasis of quiet in the afternoon. I cataloged adult nonfiction. I worked evenings and weekends but it wasn't bad. When the cataloging department manager retired I became first the interim manger and eventually the manager of the new Technical Services department. It was a combination of the acquisitions and cataloging departments which have shared spaced in the basement of the downtown library for many years but didn't become one department until more recently.
Since I have been manager the department has gone through not only the merger but also the building of shared facility with our local community college, Metro Community College. This meant a shared ILS which has been a challenging experience at times (sharing catalog records has been the easiest part). We also have worked to meet the challenge of 48 hours turnaround (that means 48 hours from when we receive the materials until they get out to our patrons) and preparing an opening day collection for a renovated library branch in under 2 months. We also worked on an opening collection for a brand new library branch in another shared facility with Omaha Public Schools. Now we are working on changing from the Horizon ILS (by Sirsi-Dynix) to Millennium (by III) -- hoping to go live by the end of month.
But I really I love my job. I greatly enjoy the work I do. I enjoy the challenges I encounter. Sure, it is not all wonderful all the time but I generally have a high rate of job satisfaction. I don't know what the future will bring but I always trust that things work out eventually.
I've been lucky enough to have had an international (albeit Anglophone) education. I went to school in Melbourne, Australia (which means my US history and geography are spotty and I use British or Australian words at times). I returned to the US for college at a true liberal arts school which provided me with a very broad background. I then went to Canada for graduate school. I started with history -- Victorian British history and after it became clear that I was not going to be a history professor I began investigating archives.
I went to library school at the University of Toronto and specialized in archives. Along the way I learned that I had an aptitude for cataloging so I began to take cataloging courses too. The U of T program is a 2-year, accredited degree. When I was finishing we were able to choose between getting a Masters of Library Information Science or just plain MLS degree (I chose the latter).
... and my career
When I was doing my degree I was also able to work a few library jobs in other university departments. First I worked at a job I created in the philosophy department (where my husband was a graduate student) -- setting up their departmental library using bibliographic software, Endnote, as a kind of catalog. I did lots wrong but I got things started there. Then I was a graduate library assistant at the Criminology Library. I learned so much here -- from shelf reading (which I love to do), how to tattle-tape and how to be a great boss from the library director. I even got to do a bit of reference work.
After that I started working full time. I was lucky enough to get a cataloging job right out of library school. In fact I never attended my library school graduation because I was working. I worked for an outsourcing outfit in Kitchner, Ontario : Library Services Center (which was then called the Ontario Library Services Center). I couldn't believe that anyone would pay me to catalog when I knew so little.
I learned so much. How to work as part of a team, what cataloging for an audience meant, what a corporate author really meant, how to catalog a wide variety of materials, how to cope when you have to start working 40 hours a week for the same pay of 35 because the company is in dire financial straits, how to catalog in an online system (which was the new Horizon which made my life easier years later) and how to work in an open office environment. I also managed to screw up my right hand with RSI (thank goodness for the Canadian health care system which made it possible to treat that even when poor) so I have learned to be very careful with ergonomics and how to mouse with my left hand.
We left Ontario for Omaha in the mid-90s when my husband was hired as a professor at Creighton University. I struggled to find work when we first moved here. I did interviews for the few job openings I found -- my lack of a car or a drivers license hampered my search a bit. After 6 months out of work I turned to temp work. I temped for about a year and eventually was offered a job as an archivist at the Union Pacific Museum.
This was a contract position but it was archives. The museum at that time was located in the Durham Museum in downtown Omaha -- a restored Art Deco train station. While I was there Union Pacific completed it's takeover of Southern Pacific which meant a huge amount of material for the UP Museum. I worked extensively with SP archives. And I learned that working with photographic materials is very different than print but wonderful.
I dealt with a wide variety of materials from corporate memos and records to silver tea sets and publicity stills and station plans and blueprints. I worked with train fans who wanted to plans or photos of all the SP stations, those who wanted to know what colors to paint their trains; researchers who knew something about history and trains and those who knew nothing (do you have an aerial, color shot of the Golden Spike?, Uh, no.). At this early stage of online commerce I saw first hand how putting a buy online with a credit card increased our photo sales incredibly. I also learned how to put together displays, something I had never, ever done before.
But this was a contract position -- no benefits and little chance of anything changing so I was still looking for a permanent job. I found one at the Douglas County Historical Society as the Librarian/Archivist. Here I learned so much about Omaha history and genealogical work. I didn't do as much cataloging as I would have liked but I did manage to help the society to a new membership/cataloging database, PastPresent.
I left for a variety of reasons, including low pay and few benefits. I interviewed 3 times with the Omaha Public Library -- for a serials cataloger position , an adult reference librarian position and finally a cataloger and reference librarian position. After the city had a job hiring freeze I eventually started in January of 2002.
The split position, 20 hours reference and 20 hours cataloging, was a new one for OPL. I rather enjoyed it. I worked the main reference desk -- handling calls of all types most mornings and came downstairs to the oasis of quiet in the afternoon. I cataloged adult nonfiction. I worked evenings and weekends but it wasn't bad. When the cataloging department manager retired I became first the interim manger and eventually the manager of the new Technical Services department. It was a combination of the acquisitions and cataloging departments which have shared spaced in the basement of the downtown library for many years but didn't become one department until more recently.
Since I have been manager the department has gone through not only the merger but also the building of shared facility with our local community college, Metro Community College. This meant a shared ILS which has been a challenging experience at times (sharing catalog records has been the easiest part). We also have worked to meet the challenge of 48 hours turnaround (that means 48 hours from when we receive the materials until they get out to our patrons) and preparing an opening day collection for a renovated library branch in under 2 months. We also worked on an opening collection for a brand new library branch in another shared facility with Omaha Public Schools. Now we are working on changing from the Horizon ILS (by Sirsi-Dynix) to Millennium (by III) -- hoping to go live by the end of month.
But I really I love my job. I greatly enjoy the work I do. I enjoy the challenges I encounter. Sure, it is not all wonderful all the time but I generally have a high rate of job satisfaction. I don't know what the future will bring but I always trust that things work out eventually.
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