I have been a teen librarian for two years now, my anniversary was this month. It’s been my first true professional librarian job and I’ve enjoyed just about every aspect of it. I’ve learned a lot and hopefully have helped my coworkers and the teens I serve find new books and better understand the teen “mind” so to speak.
Upon reflection, there are several things that jump to mind about my first two years and what I’ve gained from this job. For my own memory-keeping, I’m going to talk about them here.
1. You must love teens. Seriously, if you are going to go into this profession and you don’t like teens, don’t do it. Also, even if you like teens but perhaps aren’t very good at interacting with them, don’t do it. (Reflecting on a coworker I have.) I am always somewhat awkward around little kids, while adults tend to annoy and frustrate me to a large extent. But teens, they are a wonderful group who excite, frustrate, and keep me engaged in my job.
2. Technology! I am one of the few under thirty people in my library district so unfortunately, the rest of my library coworkers come to me with any and all technology related questions, even though I am not always the best source. If someone needs to put music on their MP3 player, they call me. If someone is trying to move images from a camera to a USB drive, they call me. This is both good and bad because frankly I get sick of being the go-to technology person. (Fortunately this year my library is hiring an actual technology librarian so this will hopefully soon be alleviated.) I like technology and enjoy gaining experience with new things (Kindles, nooks, android, etc) but it can be hard being the one person everyone calls on for their questions.
3. Programming. Sometimes I think I have the best program idea ever and then… it flops totally. Or sometimes when I’m pressed for time I find a rather easy to do but perhaps not necessarily too exciting program (Cubee Crafts for example) and bang, twenty teens are there having the time of their life. It sometimes seems like a shot in the dark to find that perfect program but when it works well, it’s a beautiful thing to observe. I love seeing teens helping each other, laughing, and having a great time.
4. Coworkers. Love them or hate them, they are a fact of life, and in library land, there are some bitter, angry souls out there who you just wonder why they are even working with the public. Fortunately, there are some great librarians around too, and I happen to have quite a few at my job. They become my sounding board and my venting board because let me tell you, if you don’t rant about what Crazy Person A or Crazy Person X does from time to time, you will explode. Or at least I will.
5. Teen Librarians. They just do not seem to garner the same respect the adult reference bunch does, or heck, even the children’s librarians. It’s crazy town, but sometimes when I tell other librarians I am the teen services librarian for my library, they kind of look at me odd. Now, it could be in my imagination except for the fact I know it’s not. For some reason, working with teens is frowned upon. Frankly, it’s demoted even in terms of pay grade. It’s just not the popular thing to be a teen services librarian even though they need an advocate just as much as any other age group. But be aware, this is probably the least liked age group in terms of library users so you may just get some flack for working with them.
6. Storytimes. I never thought I’d be leading storytimes during grad school because as I said, I’m awkward around small children. I have found out however that storytimes are a true delight and frankly, the kids do not at all care how you behave, how well you read or sing, they just want to have fun, so with that attitude in mind, storytimes have become a lot more manageable for me. I’ll never be a true performer like a few of my coworkers are, but I can break out in song or finger play with the best of them.
7. Continuing education. Look for it everywhere and take advantage of any opportunity that arises. I’ve attended quite a few early childhood education events at my local community college to help strengthen those skills. I’ve done presentations, I’ve written successful grants. And when it comes down to it, because of these things, I’ve built up a good reputation with my administration where they will say yes to a lot of what I want to do. It’s a good feeling.
8. Take risks. Get yourself out of your comfort zone, whether that is reading, certain programs, or getting involved in your local community. All of that will help you meet teens, meet key players in your community who can help you help teens, and will just make you a more approachable figure as an advocate for teens.
9. Read teen books! Seriously one would think this would be patently obvious but it is not. I have a “teen” librarian in my district who never reads teen books. Like, ever. She has no knowledge of teen writers outside some of the “big” names (Green, Johnson, Meyer) and really has no clue that teens hardly read some of those same writers. While I cannot claim to be the world’s fastest reader, I do read a lot and that helps me use the books in my collection for teens. It’s obvious but yet it isn’t to all I guess.
10. Cuts will happen. When they do, advocate for more money of course because once lost, it’s nearly impossible to regain. But, try to keep a positive mind and do the best you can with what may remain. My library has faced some cuts this fiscal year and they haven’t been kind but we are persevering.
I love my job. I feel incredibly lucky that I live in a community that is passionate about its libraries. Yes, there are the crazy people, but I have many wonderful teens and many wonderful library users in general. There are certainly worse places to work (believe me, after hearing some of the patrons’ stories, I know this to be true.)
Upon reflection, there are several things that jump to mind about my first two years and what I’ve gained from this job. For my own memory-keeping, I’m going to talk about them here.
1. You must love teens. Seriously, if you are going to go into this profession and you don’t like teens, don’t do it. Also, even if you like teens but perhaps aren’t very good at interacting with them, don’t do it. (Reflecting on a coworker I have.) I am always somewhat awkward around little kids, while adults tend to annoy and frustrate me to a large extent. But teens, they are a wonderful group who excite, frustrate, and keep me engaged in my job.
2. Technology! I am one of the few under thirty people in my library district so unfortunately, the rest of my library coworkers come to me with any and all technology related questions, even though I am not always the best source. If someone needs to put music on their MP3 player, they call me. If someone is trying to move images from a camera to a USB drive, they call me. This is both good and bad because frankly I get sick of being the go-to technology person. (Fortunately this year my library is hiring an actual technology librarian so this will hopefully soon be alleviated.) I like technology and enjoy gaining experience with new things (Kindles, nooks, android, etc) but it can be hard being the one person everyone calls on for their questions.
3. Programming. Sometimes I think I have the best program idea ever and then… it flops totally. Or sometimes when I’m pressed for time I find a rather easy to do but perhaps not necessarily too exciting program (Cubee Crafts for example) and bang, twenty teens are there having the time of their life. It sometimes seems like a shot in the dark to find that perfect program but when it works well, it’s a beautiful thing to observe. I love seeing teens helping each other, laughing, and having a great time.
4. Coworkers. Love them or hate them, they are a fact of life, and in library land, there are some bitter, angry souls out there who you just wonder why they are even working with the public. Fortunately, there are some great librarians around too, and I happen to have quite a few at my job. They become my sounding board and my venting board because let me tell you, if you don’t rant about what Crazy Person A or Crazy Person X does from time to time, you will explode. Or at least I will.
5. Teen Librarians. They just do not seem to garner the same respect the adult reference bunch does, or heck, even the children’s librarians. It’s crazy town, but sometimes when I tell other librarians I am the teen services librarian for my library, they kind of look at me odd. Now, it could be in my imagination except for the fact I know it’s not. For some reason, working with teens is frowned upon. Frankly, it’s demoted even in terms of pay grade. It’s just not the popular thing to be a teen services librarian even though they need an advocate just as much as any other age group. But be aware, this is probably the least liked age group in terms of library users so you may just get some flack for working with them.
6. Storytimes. I never thought I’d be leading storytimes during grad school because as I said, I’m awkward around small children. I have found out however that storytimes are a true delight and frankly, the kids do not at all care how you behave, how well you read or sing, they just want to have fun, so with that attitude in mind, storytimes have become a lot more manageable for me. I’ll never be a true performer like a few of my coworkers are, but I can break out in song or finger play with the best of them.
7. Continuing education. Look for it everywhere and take advantage of any opportunity that arises. I’ve attended quite a few early childhood education events at my local community college to help strengthen those skills. I’ve done presentations, I’ve written successful grants. And when it comes down to it, because of these things, I’ve built up a good reputation with my administration where they will say yes to a lot of what I want to do. It’s a good feeling.
8. Take risks. Get yourself out of your comfort zone, whether that is reading, certain programs, or getting involved in your local community. All of that will help you meet teens, meet key players in your community who can help you help teens, and will just make you a more approachable figure as an advocate for teens.
9. Read teen books! Seriously one would think this would be patently obvious but it is not. I have a “teen” librarian in my district who never reads teen books. Like, ever. She has no knowledge of teen writers outside some of the “big” names (Green, Johnson, Meyer) and really has no clue that teens hardly read some of those same writers. While I cannot claim to be the world’s fastest reader, I do read a lot and that helps me use the books in my collection for teens. It’s obvious but yet it isn’t to all I guess.
10. Cuts will happen. When they do, advocate for more money of course because once lost, it’s nearly impossible to regain. But, try to keep a positive mind and do the best you can with what may remain. My library has faced some cuts this fiscal year and they haven’t been kind but we are persevering.
I love my job. I feel incredibly lucky that I live in a community that is passionate about its libraries. Yes, there are the crazy people, but I have many wonderful teens and many wonderful library users in general. There are certainly worse places to work (believe me, after hearing some of the patrons’ stories, I know this to be true.)
