The Logical Operator

In the roundabout, 6-degrees-of-separation manner that weblogs have, I came across a blog post at the Chronicle that commented on a blog post I commented on over at ACRLog about librarians who spend time being a librarian, but being outside the library. Now, since this post isn’t exactly about the whole idea of having multiple offices, let’s suffice it to say I did it, it worked pretty well, it’s over now, and while it was a good way to begin establishing relationships with my “constituents,” I’m not sure it was so good that it needs to be resurrected.

The real gem of this Chronicle-by-way-of-ACRLog is a set of comments from Dr. Tim, who - completely apropos of nothing - lambastes the readership of the Chronicle, imploring them to avoid encouraging anyone to get an MLS while (it seems) rolling in deep piles of money from his medical practice, and regaling us with accounts of his take-home pay.

And, if he’s to be believed, that take-home pay is considerably more than my take-home pay.

Dr. Tim is a crazy diamond, and I hope he shines on.

But then again, I didn’t do this for the money. If I was interested in a job where money was made, I’d have gone into finance, accounting, or maybe organized crime. Seriously. This is not to say that I would avoid wealth were it to come my way (I’m not stupid, after all); likewise it is not to suggest that I haven’t drafted a detailed plan for what I’d do with my Powerball winnings. But I became a librarian because it interested me. I like libraries, even if they are always too stuffy and never cold enough. I fell into the field during a period of casting about for a real career path, and was taken in by it. And after a year or so in school, I began to see what librarianship could be - how it really is a teaching job, and how, despite having very little tolerance for the classroom setup, I actually do enjoy teaching.

Now, I make more now than what I made before. But that wouldn’t have mattered, really - it was a moderate step up when I got the job, but I’d have taken it regardless - it was something I wanted to do, a step into a whole new career, and it made me happy. I think I’m pretty good at it. I’d hazard a guess, too, that this is the reason why many librarians do what they do: it makes them happy, and it’s what they want.

And…I’ve lost the plot. I had a point here, and it escaped me. I’ll post this up, and if I remember where I was going with it, I’ll go there.