[Publib] What I would want in a librarian

[Tina Albee]

John -

That was brilliant.  Thus far in my career at the West Palm Beach Public
Library, I have dressed up as a PE teacher, a witch, an elf (on several
occasions), and most memorably as the Statue of Liberty.  I know that I
am a far better librarian for having done so.

All the best,

Tina Maura Albee
West Palm Beach Public Library
www.bookgoddess.wordpress.com

Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:55:25 -0500
From: "John Richmond" <jdr1952 at gmail.com>
Subject: [Publib] What I would want in a librarian
To: publib at webjunction.org
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Someone with an eye for the absurd in the human condition, and an
appreciation for paradox and irony.  Someone who graduated from a school
that still has "library" in its name.  (O.K., maybe that's not
*necessarily* required.)  Someone who is creative, however you want to
interpret that.  (Example: I don't much care for planning programs.
For me, the collection is the basic "program" of the library.  But we
live in a program-happy world, so I would want someone with gifts in the
programmatic area.)  Someone who knows a lot more about, say,
technology, than I do; I am not threatened by that.  Someone with social
grace, pleasant, who will treat people who walk through the door as if
those people truly were, well, people.  Always allowing, of course, for
the fact that some of those people do, in fact, drive us *crazy*.
Someone who is not afraid to still say hopelessly retro things like, "I
love books," while also being attuned to other formats (a word of which
I am rather tired).  Someone who does not, say, cringe when a curious,
exploring three-year-old escapes the clutches of his/her mother and
wanders into the librarians' space, wanting to know what's up in this or
that office, and who *are* the people who live here/there? Someone who
is interested in delivering library services outside the four walls of
the library, whether live and in person or via technological avenues
(about which I may not be an expert...but please note earlier comment
about not being afraid of people who can do things I can't, or don't
care to).

That's it, for a start.  I also have a male (there are only three of us
here, out of 26 staff, which is hardly surprising) reference librarian
who, from time to time, is willing to wear a Mister Potatohead costume
when we have the annual Halloween story hours and parade of kids in
costume, with all of us stationed around the library to hand out
treats...and, by the way, I *do* let those little kids march through all
the behind-the-scenes areas, including in one door of my office and out
the other; we've suffered no major traumas for allowing such freedom,
either.  So, going back to the humor, absurdity, and irony and paradox
business, perhaps a good question for a new, prospective professional
should be, "If asked, would you be willing to wear a Mister Potatohead
costume during regular work hours, without feeling cosmically
humiliated?"

John Richmond, Director
Alpha Park Public Library District
Bartonville, IL