Career change
For the first time in my life, I am working as a librarian. I have taken a job as the Systems Librarian at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. This is a good place for me; it allows me to keep on the geek tip while moving away from the insanity of the corporate world. It’s been a very long journey to this point. I finished my MLS at Simmons about 12 years ago, while I was working as a paraprofessional in the John Hay Library at Brown University. But when I moved to NYC, I couldn’t find a job in academic librarianship (yes, job scarcity is not just a 2.0 phenomenon) and thus I worked as a software developer for 10 years.
I’m really very happy to be here. The Garden is a beautiful place, and I think it offers some really unique opportunities for the library. I’m just familiarizing myself with the systems here so far; I’m going to be working on streamlining and improving workflow for some of those, and also on longer-range plans for things like an IR and some digitization projects.
Actually, it’s not really the first MLS job I’ve ever had; for the past few months I had been working part time in my local public library. But this will be my first full-time professional position. Wish me luck.