Anniversaries and the Letter "F"

Last week was Thanksgiving. It marks a milestone in my life different from the traditional giving thanks and turkey dinner. On the Monday after Thanksgiving in 1967, I began my first full-time library job. It was at the UMass/Amherst library - then Goodell - typing the headings on the tops of catalog cards and then filing them into the card catalog. I'm so glad that those labor-intensive cards are gone.

Who would have thought that 48 years later I'd still be "wearing the sensible shoes" as they sometimes say on the AUTOCAT email list.

As I consider retirement, perhaps I should keep this date in mind. In two years it will be an even 50. Now that's something to celebrate.

On the MassCat front, I've finally cracked the letter "F" in my alphabetical list of possible duplicates. I've been working on F for a couple of weeks now. To put this in perspective, I briefly blogged about arriving at "E" in early May and "D" in June of 2014. Even though everything is automated, it's still pretty labor-intensive.

Resistance

I don't know why I have so much trouble posting to this blog on a regular basis. It's not as if I don't think about it. It's not as if I don't have (in my opinion) interesting posts to make.

During the day, I'll see or hear something that provokes a thought that might be interesting to develop on this blog. After all, that's why I started it - as well as chronicling my journey through a possible career change. The career change, though, is slowly but surely morphing into retirement.

Perhaps impending retirement is a good post for today.

Over the last few months, I feel as if my interest in being a librarian is seeping away. Once upon a time it was all I wanted to do. I have opportunities to work, but I am totally uninterested. I could give more continuing education programs, but just don't want to put the effort into marketing.

At the moment, I am perfectly content working 18 hours/week at MassCat where I correct typos (see the Portuguese Picket Dictionary), upgrade incomplete records, merge duplicate records, find records when member libraries cannot, or create records if they do not exist. The work is very detailed and requires lots of concentration. Many would find it boring. I get into the Zen of it.

I still enjoy leading the senior exercise class twice each week (and attending a third time). I sometimes think that some area of exercise or health would be a good career for me. Recently, I saw an article in the local newspaper (I still read a newspaper every day) about wellness coaches and I had a burst of enthusiasm for becoming one. However, after reading information about the training and requirements, I began to realize it would be a major commitment. And I'm not very good at bossing people around; at insisting someone do something he/she doesn't want to do. I don't think I could be firm enough to be effective.

So, for the moment, I'll continue my current schedule, enjoy reading lots of books, and make resolutions (which I sometimes keep) to clean the house more often.

Another Rejection

I received a letter last week regarding the position of Osteo Exercise Coordinator: They hired someone else. At least they interviewed me. Truth is, I'm kind of relieved. I've been so busy lately I was wondering how I was going to fit in another 15 hours/week if I got this job. And I make more money as a cataloger than they were offering.

So I guess I'm destined to be a cataloger forever - which is not at all bad. Every time I contemplate a career change, something happens to thwart any plans I might have.

Yesterday's program on Metadata and Dublin Core at the Digital Commonwealth conference went very well. A couple of people came up to me after the program and said how happy they were that they now understand what Metadata is. One young woman who is a Library Science grad student told me a story that made me very happy. She said she and some other students were working on a digital libraries project and she found the Digital Treasures site along with the information I compiled about creating metadata. She said the documentation was extremely helpful and she was so glad to meet me so that she could say so in person. Wow! My work has paid off. I smiled to myself all the way home.

The Accidental [fill in the blank]

Much of what I've done in my life has been by accident. I set goals, begin to work on them, and then something happens to change the track. (I was going to say "throw me off the track", but that sounds too negative and the results are not usually negative.)

I know people who are very focused, have always known what they want to do, and become very successful by a variety of measurements. I've rarely been that way for more than a short period of time. I'm more of an organic person, going with the flow.That doesn't mean I don't take initiative. I inquire about options, apply for jobs, sit in on others' classes and generally expose myself looking for opportunities and inspiration. While this has usually worked for me, it's also sometimes left me wondering if this was a legitimate way to run my life.

Well, now I have some validation. I recently finished reading Composing a Life by Mary Catherine Bateson. In the last chapter, she talks about how intently pursuing goals can be a restrictive way to lead one's life; that being willing to diverge, to follow an unexpected opportunity, leads to experiences one didn't know existed. Those experiences can be just as, if not more, fulfulling than the original goal.

So Thank You, Mary Catherine Bateson. I certainly consider you and the other women in your book extremely successful in your careers. And while mine hasn't reached quite the same heights, I found reading your stories (like Liz Gilbert's) reassuring. I know that, like me, you've had crises of confidence and sometimes doubt yourself, but through it all you continue to compose your life.

Passion, Inspiration, Motivation

There is a book by Marsha Sinetar called Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow. I've heard similar platitudes most of my life. The trouble is figuring out what I love.

I know people who have passions. They can't not do whatever it is they're doing, whether it brings money or not. Artists are like that. I remember going to a talk by Jane Yolen a few years ago. She described how her husband had been diagnosed with cancer and was beginning radiation treatments. She came home after the first day, sat at her computer and a sonnet "oozed" from her fingers. She wrote a sonnet every day of her husband's treatments and the result was a small book The Radiation Sonnets.

Perhaps I'm a late bloomer; I haven't yet discovered my passion. There are lots of things I enjoy doing, but no one thing that I must do.

When I was in high school and thinking about careers, I knew I wanted to go to college and have a profession. Beyond that, there were no specifics. I thought I would be a teacher, more because I couldn't think of anything else. Before I finished my BA, I landed a job in what was then the Goodell Library at UMass/Amherst. I liked the work and was good at it, so I continued on to Library School.

All these years that I've worked as a librarian I've considered a career change several times. I used to knit constantly but couldn't figure out how to make a living at that, though it might be fun to own a yarn store. For about 8 years I taught an aerobics class at the Greenfield YMCA and I considered a career in physical fitness. I even took classes and became an ACE certified fitness instructor. But no one, not even a spry 20-something (and I was a spry 40-something then) can teach aerobics all day. Most people in this field are personal trainers and I never made that leap.

I enjoy cooking and I'm a good cook. My live-in partner tells me that I can always open up a restaurant. But I know that having a dinner party for 8 is very different from owing a restaurant. My sister has a degree in Culinary Arts. She worked in the restaurant business for a few years and is now studying to be an elementary school teacher. She says cooking was too much work for too little money. (Wait till she starts teaching little kids!)

I enjoy a clean house. I even enjoy the process of getting it there, but I have NO interest in turning that into a career.

Since I've become comfortable with Public Speaking, I've considered becomming a motivational speaker. What a great blend: helping people and also being the center of attention. It appears that motivational speakers can make lots of money, too. But does the world really need another one? Do I have a unique enough point of view that people would hire me instead of someone else?

Back in my teen years, I wanted to be a writer. I've had various and sundry experiences that involved writing and I very much like writing this blog. I suppose I could explore ways to earn a living from my writing.

A couple of days ago, I taught 2 continuing education workshops for the Connecticut State Library. The classes went very well; I felt as if I really connected with the students. They were very responsive and we all had a good time. It was an extremely satisfying experience: helping people and "showing off" what I've learned over the years. Now that I'm an adjunct faculty member at Simmons GSLIS-west, it looks as if I've ended up back at the beginning. I'm a teacher. Perhaps it's not a passion, but I'm definitely inspired.

All's Well

At least for the time being.

I headed out first thing this morning to the Franklin Hampshire Career Center. I only waited a few minutes before a different pleasant woman ushered me into her cubby. I explained about my workshops and she reopened my claim. Since these workshops are considered "self-employment" (unlike my "on call" work at Sprinfield City Library where I'm considered an employee) there was no form to send to anyone.

I asked what will happen the first week of November when I'm scheduled to teach two workshops and will be in the same situation. She said just come back and we'll reopen your claim again. Just like that. Problem solved.

While I keep telling myself and others that this is a good time for a career change for me, I keep returning to cataloging. I just logged off of a webinar sponsored by Lyrasis. Before CMRLS actually closed, we were notified by Lyrasis that staff could register for CE workshops free of charge. It was their way of helping us to maintain our skills while searching for work.

Earlier in the summer, I attended a webinar on Online Resources for Technical Services. Today's program was Introduction to A/V Cataloging. I already have both of those topics in my own repertoire of workshops, but I like to see how others handle the material and the different ways the information can be presented. A specific explanation or example might resonate with the audience better than another and if so, I want to include it when I teach.

Tomorrow I'm heading slightly north to Whately to the Technical Services Roundtable which will be followed by a program on implementing RDA.

I still have that job search material that I received from the career counsellor on my coffee table. I'll get to it someday.

Cleaning and Careers

Nearly every day I've been spending a few hours doing some very deep house cleaning. I'm the type who unscrews light bulbs and switch plates so that I can dust them (the light bulbs) and wash them (the switch plates). I've been working on the pantry lately.

I wish I could say that I've tossed a lot of stuff, but I'm not much of a hoarder and I only keep what I use or really love or to which I have an incredible sentimental attachment. Everything that was in the pantry is still there except for a few jars of condiments that were very old. After dusting and washing all the shelves, I made sure the labels of all the cans faced forward. They look beautiful and every time I open the door, I'm so pleased.

Washing shelves and arranging cans of beans and tomatoes gives me plenty of time to think about what I want to do with the rest of my life.

I didn't set out to be a librarian. Like many other people, it happened by accident. I had dropped out of UMass/Amherst after 2 years and needed a job. I went to the personnel office in the administration building and filled out a general application. After taking the typing test I was told there was an opening in the library. I was not thrilled. I wanted something more glamorous, but I needed the paycheck.

Shortly after starting there, I was assigned to a project reclassifying some 250,000 books from the Dewey Decimal System to the Library of Congress System. What an education! And I decided I liked the work. So after finishing my BA (with tuition waivers because I was full time staff), I attended library school at Simmons College in Boston.

It's been a great career. I've done a lot of traveling and met lots of interesting people along the way. I'm well known throughout Massachusetts and also Connecticut because I've taught lots of cataloging workshops. But do I want to continue doing this? Is this a good time to try something different? If so, what?

I actually made a career change once. I sold textbooks for the College Division of what was then Harper & Row Publishers. I was an okay sales rep but not great. After 5 years of my job being on the line every minute, I made the transition back to libraries. I had missed working in a library.

I've thought about other careers. I was a part-time aerobics instructor at the Greenfield YMCA for about 8 years. I was even certified by the American Council on Exercise. (I thought it quite interesting that after earning my MS at Simmons I didn't have to do another thing to continue being a librarian, but I continually had to take courses to maintain my certification as a fitness instructor.)

Not even an energetic 20-year-old can be a full-time aerobics instructor. In order to make a living, one usually becomes a personal trainer or something similar, and for whatever reason I never made that leap. When I moved from Greenfield, I left that volunteer position along with any intentions of pursuing a career in fitness.

So what's next for me? I'll let you know as soon as I find out.

The Gremlin

It happened again. A couple of weeks ago I received a call from my local public library that I book I requested via C/W MARS had arrived. I don't remember requesting this book. I have a very good memory and I'm sure I'm not getting senile, so I have some theories on what happened. One is that once I requested the title, there was no reason for me to remember that I had done so. I knew the process would work itself through and it did. My other theory is that there is a benevolent gremlin who decides there are some books I really should read, gets into my C/W MARS account and requests them for me.

This time the title is Inventing the Rest of Our Lives by Suzanne Braun Levine. Being the anal retentive person I am, I'm sure I'll finish this book, but so far it's not striking any major chords with me.
Some of the situations don't really apply to me. I don't have kids so I haven't had to juggle that aspect of my personal life with my work life. And I won't have to contend with "emply nest syndrome" either.

I went through a major work/personal crisis back in my early thirties and another the year I turned 50. I've resolved (at least somewhat) many of the issues Levine discusses.

However, one chapter that I have been dwelling on is called the "Fertile Void". Since I was laid off and am no longer working, I've started to seriously think about what I want to do with the rest of my life.

I've always worked and most of that time I've worked in the library field. Even though I talked about retiring "someday" I always envisioned myself working. Every day that I'm not working in a library is creating more and more distance between me and a library career. (I'm still a Trustee at Hatfield Public Library and on the board of the Friends of UMass/Amherst Libraries - that's different.) I have less and less motivation to read the posts on the email discussion list AUTOCAT or read the electronic newsletter from the American Library Association. It's been weeks since I looked at a library-related blog.

I still check the MBLC job postings, but I'm thinking that my next job will not be in a library. Or maybe I'll actually retire.

Still Searching

This week I applied for another job and received two rejection notices. Actually, one of the rejections had been in my spam box for a couple of weeks (I get so little spam with gmail I sometimes forget to check it) so maybe the score is actually 1-1.

Neither the job for which I applied nor the most recent rejection are in libraries. I've been checking the MBLC job search site regularly, and there are some interesting positions available. As usual, many of them are not within commuting distance and a very high priority for me right now is a short commute. For the last 5 years, my daily drive has been a minimum of an hour and 20 minutes each way. When I carpooled, (which was most days for the last 2 years) the time was longer.

For the 4 1/2 years before that, the commute was usually an hour and the traffic was terrible. Connecticut drivers on I-91 are fast and aggressive. When I was assigned to a project in a library, I often had a shorter and easier drive (Brattleboro VT, So. Hadley MA), but occasionally it was much longer (Rutland VT, Londonderry NH, Boston MA). Those longer trips generally involved staying overnight.

My dream is to have a job within 1/2 hour of my home, although I like an occasional longer drive. I feel differently about driving long distances to different places (a fun adventure) and driving a long distance to the same place day after day (I'd rather not).

While I've worked in libraries for many years, I sometimes think about a career change. I'm at that stage now. I love libraries and believe in them, but I also want to experience more of the non-library world. The skills I've been using are transferable to many other areas. My job now is to find out where those skills are most needed.